Can the Linux kernel sustain 30 more years of growth? Toward mitigating bottlenecks in its development model
Abstract
The Linux kernel, a cornerstone of modern computing and Free Software, forms the foundation of the GNU/Linux ecosystem and critical services like the Internet. Its development model integrates diverse workflows that extend beyond technical concerns. Despite its success, the project relies on key individuals and ad-hoc tools, raising sustainability and workforce renewal concerns. Moreover, known challenges within its development model remain underexplored in academic research. This paper presents ongoing efforts to develop taxonomies that describe these workflows, aiming to identify bottlenecks and guide the creation of Free Software tools to support the kernel long-term sustainability.
Keywords:
GNU/Linux, Free Software, Open Source Software, Software Development Model, Software Engineering, Bottleneck Mitigation
References
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Jonathan Corbet. 2017. Patch flow into the mainline for 4.14. Linux Weekly News. [link]
Jonathan Corbet. 2021. Finding real-world kernel subsystems. LinuxWeekly News. [link]
Jonathan Corbet and Greg Kroah-Hartman. 2017. Linux Kernel Development Report. Linux Foundation. [link]
W. Edmonds and Thomas Kennedy. 2017. An Applied Guide to Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods. SAGE Publications, Inc, USA. DOI: 10.4135/9781071802779
Vahid Garousi, Michael Felderer, and Mika Mäntylä. 2018. Guidelines for including grey literature and conducting multivocal literature reviews in software engineering. Information and Software Technology 106 (09 2018).
Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss. 2017. Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge, USA.
Daniel Izquierdo-Cortazar, Nelson Sekitoleko, Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona, and Lars Kurth. 2017. Using Metrics to Track Code Review Performance. In Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering (Karlskrona, Sweden) (EASE ’17). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 214–223.
Greg Kroah-Hartman. 2016. Kernel Recipes 2016 - Patches carved into stone tablets. Linux Kernel community. [link] Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Image modified by adding the overlaying rectangle with the “contributor-maintainer interface” text.
Leonardo Alexandre Ferreira Leite, Paulo Roberto Miranda Meirelles, and Fábio Kon. 2022. A grounded theory of organizational structures for development and infrastructure professionals in software-producing organizations. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of São Paulo.
Nicolas Palix, Suman Saha, Gaël Thomas, Christophe Calvès, Julia Lawall, and Gilles Muller. 2011. Faults in Linux: Ten Years Later. ACM SIGARCH Computer Architecture News 39 (03 2011).
Peter C. Rigby, Daniel M. German, Laura Cowen, and Margaret-Anne Storey. 2014. Peer Review on Open-Source Software Projects: Parameters, Statistical Models, and Theory. ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol. 23, 4, Article 35 (Sept. 2014), 33 pages. DOI: 10.1145/2594458
Abraham Silberschatz, James L Peterson, and Peter B Galvin. 2008. Operating System Concepts. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., USA.
Rodrigo Siqueira, David Tadokoro, and Matheus Tavares. 2025. Kworkflow. University of São Paulo. [link] Archived in Software Heritage:swh:1:dir:90dc41328e09271597eb1f4f47d8a4c2e972a5bb.
David Tadokoro, Lorenzo Salvador, and Rodrigo Siqueira. 2025. Patch-Hub. University of São Paulo. [link] Archived in Software Heritage: swh:1:dir:23424ae7165f4c170f860c4cd05a63ff2bcad75d.
Melissa Shihfan Ribeiro Wen. 2021. What Happens When the Bazaar Grows: A comprehensive study on the contemporary Linux kernel development model. Master’s thesis. University of São Paulo.
Published
2025-09-22
How to Cite
TADOKORO, David; SIQUEIRA, Rodrigo; MEIRELLES, Paulo.
Can the Linux kernel sustain 30 more years of growth? Toward mitigating bottlenecks in its development model. In: BRAZILIAN SYMPOSIUM ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (SBES), 39. , 2025, Recife/PE.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 845-851.
ISSN 2833-0633.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbes.2025.11607.
