Introduction

Debugging the Linux kernel is one of the most challenging aspects of system-level programming. This comprehensive guide explores advanced debugging techniques that have proven invaluable in my experience developing embedded systems and custom kernel modules.

Key Topics Covered

• Setting up KGDB for remote debugging
• Using ftrace for function tracing and performance analysis
• Dynamic debugging with pr_debug and dyndbg
• Memory debugging with KASAN and SLUB_DEBUG
• Analyzing kernel crashes with crash utility
• Real-time debugging techniques for embedded systems
• Custom debugging infrastructure for driver development

Essential Tools

The article covers a comprehensive toolkit including GDB with kernel extensions, perf profiling, SystemTap for dynamic instrumentation, and custom debugging frameworks I've developed for embedded Linux systems.

Practical Examples

Each technique is illustrated with real-world examples from my work on SR-IOV virtualization, GPU driver development, and embedded system optimization. Code snippets and step-by-step procedures are provided throughout.