Linux Kernel 6.1 Introduces Faulty CPU Core Detection Logging Feature

According to a report by Phoronix, Linux kernel version 6.1 is introducing a new logging system for identifying bad CPUs and its associated cores within a server. The logging system can detect exactly which core, CPU and socket failed at a specific time.

This isn't a fully automated system, and it's only for logging; it won't stress the CPU to check for faults. As a result, Rik Van Riel — who is responsible for authorizing the CPU logging system for 6.1, says system admins will want to run commonly run kernel code known to cause faults with a known faulty system with the logger enabled to see which cores are bad.

This program isn't really designed for consumers, but is aimed primarily at system admins running a host of Linux-based servers. For these admins, this new tool can be really useful for hunting down mysterious hardware faults when full blown CPU stress testers such as Prime95 or Aida64 are perfectly stable.

TOPICS
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.