AVX-512 Optimization Boosts Linux RAID Performance by Up to 41% on AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
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Written by Michael Larabel in Linux Storage on 12 June 2026 at 06:42 AM EDT. Add A Comment
Lightly toasted, lightly seasoned, mostly correct.
Summary
Eric Biggers, a Google Linux cryptography expert, has developed an AVX-512 optimized xor_gen() function for the Linux kernel's software RAID code. This optimization targets parity block generation and validation for RAID5/RAID6, showing up to 41% improvement on AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X processor. The work continues Biggers' history of x86_64 and AVX-512 optimizations within the Linux kernel's crypto and RAID subsystems.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledBiggers has written an AVX-512 optimized xor_gen() function for the RAID code.
The Linux kernel's xor_gen() function is used for generating and validating parity blocks such as for RAID5/RAID6.
Eric Biggers of Google worked on some pretty nice Intel/AMD x86_64 optimizations over the years.
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