Linux Kernel Developers Summit


The Linux Kernel Developers Summit is an annual gathering of the top Linux kernel developers. Attendance at the summit is by invitation only, and the conference was first held in San Jose in March, 2001. It was organized by Theodore Ts'o to provide a face to face venue for kernel developers to discuss current and future issues surrounding Linux kernel development, and was initially run by Usenix and then VA Linux's Open Source Developer's Network. Subsequent summits from 2002 to 2006 were held the two days prior to the Ottawa Linux Symposium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada at the same conference center with Usenix providing all of the logistical support. The 2007 Kernel Summit was held on 4–6 September 2007 at the DeVere University Arms Hotel in Cambridge, England, and was the first time the summit was moved outside of North America.
The discussions at the kernel summit have traditionally been highly technical, with a focus on issues that were not getting resolution via electronic mail. In recent years, however, the summit has been gradually focusing more on higher level development process issues. An example of an important development process decision made at the kernel summit was the decision to move to a rolling stable 2.6 kernel every few months, instead of the formerly used model utilizing a 1-2 year development cycle. The Linux Technical Advisory Board is elected at a bird-of-a-feather session at the Linux Kernel Summit.
The summit usually hosts around 80 or so attendees.
DateHost countryLocationWebsiteSummary
March 30–31, 2001USHyatt Hotel, San Jose, CA
June 24–25, 2002CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 21–22, 2003CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 19–20, 2004CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 18–19, 2005CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 16–18, 2006CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
September 4–6, 2007UKDeVere University Arms Hotel, Cambridge
September 15–16, 2008USPortland State University, Portland, OR
October 18–20, 2009JapanAkihabara Convention Hall, Akihabara, Tokyo
November 1–2, 2010USHyatt Regency Cambridge, Cambridge, MA
October 23–25, 2011CZEClarion Congress Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic
August 27–29, 2012USSan Diego, CAN/A
October 23–25, 2013UKEdinburgh, United Kingdom
August 18–20, 2014USSheraton Chicago, Chicago, IL
October 26–28, 2015KORConrad Hotel, Seoul, South Korea
October 31 - November 1, 2016USSanta Fe Convention Center, Santa Fe, NM