Moblin V2 vs. Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Ubuntu MID

At the final test, measuring how long it took SQLite to perform 12,500 database insertions, Moblin V2 Alpha 2 came out well in front of the 2.6.28-based Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Ubuntu MID. The reasoning for this is quite simple. As we illustrated in our Linux 2.6.24 through 2.6.29 benchmarks, from the Linux 2.6.26 kernel up until the 2.6.29 kernel there was a serious performance regression. In the 2.6.26, 2.6.27, and 2.6.28 kernels it took nearly four times as long to perform the same SQLite insertions as it did on the Linux 2.6.29 kernels and pre-2.6.26 kernels. With Ubuntu 9.04 using the Linux 2.6.28 kernel while Moblin V2 is based upon the Linux 2.6.29 kernel, these SQLite results are expected.

The test results between these three lightweight, mobile-oriented Linux distributions were mixed. The LPIA-based Ubuntu MID was the fastest in three of the seven tests while Ubuntu Netbook Remix was the fastest in three of the others. When it came to SQLite where there is the bug we exposed in the 2.6.26 - 2.6.28 kernels, Moblin V2 came out ahead. However, in some of these tests, the results between the three distributions were close. Worth reiterating though is that there are currently different debugging options enabled on Moblin V2. Additionally, the packages between Ubuntu MID and Ubuntu Netbook Remix are quite similar besides the desktop environment, but the Mobile Internet Device spin is built using LPIA optimizations where the netbook version uses the standard i386 packages.

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