How to Build, Install, and Benchmark a PREEMPT‑RT Linux Kernel on an OK3588 Board

Introduction

The PREEMPT‑RT (or RT) patch adds real‑time capabilities to the Linux kernel, reducing latency and improving predictability for time‑sensitive applications such as industrial control, audio processing, and robotics.

Environment

Hardware: Feiling OK3588 development board

Kernel source: 5.10.66‑rt53 Build host: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (cross‑toolchain aarch64-linux-gnu‑)

Real‑time kernel features

Low latency : Faster response to external events.

High‑priority scheduling : Guarantees timely execution of critical tasks.

Preemptive support : Allows real‑time tasks to interrupt long‑running kernel code.

Lock optimizations : Reduces lock contention and critical‑section duration.

Improved thread handling : Better scheduling policies for real‑time threads.

What the patch changes

High‑resolution timers for nanosecond‑level precision.

Interrupt threading so that interrupt handlers run in kernel threads.

Replace spinlocks ( spinlock_t) with real‑time mutexes ( rt_mutex) to make critical sections preemptible and support priority inheritance, preventing priority inversion.

Installing and using the real‑time patch

Download the kernel source:

wget https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/vX.Y/linux-X.Y.Z.tar.xz