How to build a Linux Kernel Module in Rust? A brief introduction

Speaker: Simon Brummer

Description

The introduction of Rust as a second programming language in the Linux Kernel caused noticeable attention in the software developer community and beyond, as it promises a safer and more accessible way to write Kernel modules compared to good old plain C.

In my talk, I take the audience on a journey into the world of Linux Kernel Modules written in Rust. In this session, we go through a simple “character device” driver implemented in Rust and all necessary steps to develop, build and run a Kernel Module in a live environment. This talk is concluded by a summary of my lessons learned and a Q&A session.

Being a introductory talk, no prior knowledge in Kernel programming is required.

Additional notes

The talk contains a life demo and example code. My goal is to encourage viewers to experiment with Kernel development in Rust. To achieve this, I provide a fully functional development environment and the example code along with the slides. Hopefully participants tinker with it on the impl days.

Track

Technology & Community

Level

Introductory and overview