From 896a1469413d430f1aa1b78bb0480a897bc99ac1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Florian Lehner Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2026 11:04:52 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 1/4] README: Add policy around updating supported Linux kernel version Fixes https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ebpf-profiler/issues/1178 And enables work on https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ebpf-profiler/pull/1172 and https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ebpf-profiler/issues/1257. Signed-off-by: Florian Lehner --- README.md | 4 ++++ 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 93e9332c7..751963c80 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -58,6 +58,10 @@ Since the profiler is Linux-only, macOS and Windows users need to set up a Linux [7ddc23ea](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-ebpf-profiler/commit/7ddc23ea135a2e00fffc17850ab90534e9b63108) is the last commit with support for 4.19. Changes after this commit may require a minimal Linux kernel version of 5.4. +### Updating the supported Linux kernel version + +The project maintains its minimum supported kernel version in line with the lowest kernel version currently provided by actively maintained major Linux distributions, which include Debian stable, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu LTS, and Amazon Linux. The minimum requirement may be increased when all such distributions no longer ship a specific kernel version. This approach enables the codebase to utilize newer eBPF features and avoids the need to maintain compatibility shims for obsolete kernels. + ## Alternative Build (Without Docker) You can build the agent without Docker by directly installing the dependencies listed in the Dockerfile. Once dependencies are set up, simply run: ```sh From 8f3bd95718962434a7707962b56ffd158d77150c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Florian Lehner Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:31:54 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 2/4] add Suse Linux Signed-off-by: Florian Lehner --- README.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 751963c80..c21711374 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ Since the profiler is Linux-only, macOS and Windows users need to set up a Linux ### Updating the supported Linux kernel version -The project maintains its minimum supported kernel version in line with the lowest kernel version currently provided by actively maintained major Linux distributions, which include Debian stable, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu LTS, and Amazon Linux. The minimum requirement may be increased when all such distributions no longer ship a specific kernel version. This approach enables the codebase to utilize newer eBPF features and avoids the need to maintain compatibility shims for obsolete kernels. +The project maintains its minimum supported kernel version in line with the lowest kernel version currently provided by actively maintained major Linux distributions, which include Debian stable, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu LTS, Amazon Linux and SUSE Linux. The minimum requirement may be increased when all such distributions no longer ship a specific kernel version. This approach enables the codebase to utilize newer eBPF features and avoids the need to maintain compatibility shims for obsolete kernels. ## Alternative Build (Without Docker) You can build the agent without Docker by directly installing the dependencies listed in the Dockerfile. Once dependencies are set up, simply run: From a753f7cda4a2318cef7eee045f53047ee5f04a6a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Florian Lehner Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:38:21 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 3/4] add note Signed-off-by: Florian Lehner --- README.md | 2 ++ 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index c21711374..57cbb48ce 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ Since the profiler is Linux-only, macOS and Windows users need to set up a Linux The project maintains its minimum supported kernel version in line with the lowest kernel version currently provided by actively maintained major Linux distributions, which include Debian stable, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu LTS, Amazon Linux and SUSE Linux. The minimum requirement may be increased when all such distributions no longer ship a specific kernel version. This approach enables the codebase to utilize newer eBPF features and avoids the need to maintain compatibility shims for obsolete kernels. +It should be noted that certain distributions incorporate eBPF features from newer kernels into their supported versions. When this occurs, the distribution's stated kernel version does not accurately reflect its true eBPF capabilities and will not prevent us from increasing the minimum supported version. + ## Alternative Build (Without Docker) You can build the agent without Docker by directly installing the dependencies listed in the Dockerfile. Once dependencies are set up, simply run: ```sh From 6daad43db818a221915b09abeb0143fd9f610d1f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Florian Lehner Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:01:02 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 4/4] Update README.md Co-authored-by: Christos Kalkanis --- README.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 57cbb48ce..31c45c90e 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ Since the profiler is Linux-only, macOS and Windows users need to set up a Linux The project maintains its minimum supported kernel version in line with the lowest kernel version currently provided by actively maintained major Linux distributions, which include Debian stable, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu LTS, Amazon Linux and SUSE Linux. The minimum requirement may be increased when all such distributions no longer ship a specific kernel version. This approach enables the codebase to utilize newer eBPF features and avoids the need to maintain compatibility shims for obsolete kernels. -It should be noted that certain distributions incorporate eBPF features from newer kernels into their supported versions. When this occurs, the distribution's stated kernel version does not accurately reflect its true eBPF capabilities and will not prevent us from increasing the minimum supported version. +It should be noted that certain distributions incorporate eBPF features from newer kernels into their supported versions. When this occurs, the distribution's stated kernel version does not accurately reflect its true eBPF capabilities and will not prevent us from increasing the minimum supported version. On such kernels, the `no-kernel-version-check` configuration option can be used to bypass the checks and allow the profiler to execute. ## Alternative Build (Without Docker) You can build the agent without Docker by directly installing the dependencies listed in the Dockerfile. Once dependencies are set up, simply run: