1 Jun
2011
1 Jun
'11
6:37 p.m.
Since people usually are using Jack by a package, when
thy use real-time
audio apps IMO it's ok to include it to a Jack package, anyway, IMO
there should be a dependency setting without nice and with memlock.
Neither jack, ardour or any other app actually uses the 'nice' option simply
because it is in the limits file. The file just says that if applications/users want
to use a value this is what they are allowed to configure themselves without
having to have root permissions and thereby invalidate a otherwise reasonable
security policy. That is why having a 'nice' value in the file is useful: users
can
tune the system without needing the recourse of having the root password.
FWIW very often there are recommendations to _avoid_ a
kernel-rt, since
a distros 'default', 'desktop', 'generic' kernel should have the
same
capabilities and the kernel-rt should have disadvantages. The resume
then could be, that people wonder, that they can't use Linux for complex
audio sessions.
The issue is bigger than Linux. I was talking to Stings pianist, Kipper, on this
subject a while ago now. He had just bought the biggest FO Mac for his studio.
After a few days he pretty much took it back to the store and dumped it on them
as it did not do what was written on the tin, demanding that they make it work.
They had to tune it. OK, it finally did what he needs but the only difference is
that either you have to do the work or somebody else does. Linux in itself is not
the issue.
IMO it doesn't make sense to package audio and
MIDI applications without
packaging the environment to use those apps.
Again, this is not limited to Linux and the PAM limits file is not in itself the solution.
The limits file only enables the possibility that applications can ask for what devos
think is optimal for their function and that somebody can configure an optimised
system without having to be root. That means the limits.conf should give that user
or group sufficient access to all the resources that they might need. That includes
negative 'nice' values for the cases where it might be useful.
Regards, ninck.