The linux kernel is a constantly developing piece of software; new features and drivers are being added all the time. Fortunately for administrators, the system call API is very stable, so using a newer kernel with your distribution is typically quite painless. Building and installing a new kernel from source sounds quite intimidating, but in reality, could not be easier. While you can find a 3rd party repo to install a newer kernel version from, I’m going to walk you through the steps to accomplish such a process.