What is Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK)?

Oracle introduced the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel as an alternative to the standard Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK) in Oracle Linux. The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is designed to provide better performance, scalability, and reliability for Oracle Linux installations, particularly when running on Oracle’s hardware and software systems.

Some key features of the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel include:

  • Improved Performance: UEK is optimized for modern hardware and includes enhancements to take advantage of newer processor features.
  • Better Scalability: It is designed to scale well on systems with a large number of CPU cores and memory.
  • Btrfs Support: UEK includes support for the Btrfs (B-tree file system) with advanced features like snapshotting and data checksumming.
  • Updated InfiniBand Support: UEK incorporates updated InfiniBand support for high-speed networking.
  • Bug Fixes and Security Patches: The kernel undergoes rigorous testing and is frequently updated with bug fixes and security patches.

It’s important to note that the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is specific to Oracle Linux and may not be directly applicable to other Linux distributions.

You can find more details at: https://blogs.oracle.com/scoter/post/oracle-linux-and-unbreakable-enterprise-kernel-uek-releases