The Chonkerton

[$] The "rnull" Rust block driver

dev_tools

LWN.net reports that the null block driver, a tiny kernel component used mainly for benchmarking, simply accepts every I/O request and marks it complete instantly. In June twenty twenty-six, developer Andreas Hindborg contributed a patch set that rewrites this driver in Rust, showing that the kernel’s Rust APIs can handle even low‑level block drivers. The Rust version, dubbed “rnull,” has been merged into the mainline kernel and now provides feature parity with the original C implementation, enabling direct performance comparisons.

Source: https://lwn.net/Articles/1090378/

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton