Key enhancements in the X86 kernel include adjustments to the Precision Time Measurement (PTM) wait times, improved handling of the IGC_PTP_ENABLED flag, and the addition of a lock to prevent simultaneous PTM transactions. Additional changes tackle various other areas such as ensuring initialization of completion entries, correcting NULL dereferences, and updating support for i.MX94 among others.
The release also features several small fixes across different subsystems, including memory leak resolutions in various drivers and enhancements to the performance of existing functionalities. There’s a clear emphasis on refining the codebase through adjustments to existing implementations and the removal of unused declarations.
As Torvalds humorously remarks, this release can be seen as a reason for celebration for developers and enthusiasts alike, regardless of any personal observances. The source code and patch are available for download, allowing developers to explore the latest updates in the kernel.
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Looking forward, the Linux Kernel continues to evolve with features aimed at improving performance, stability, and security. The ongoing development emphasizes a collaborative effort from contributors worldwide, ensuring that the kernel remains adaptable to modern computing environments. Future releases may include more significant enhancements and support for emerging technologies such as advanced hardware capabilities and improved virtualization features. The emphasis on community involvement helps shape the direction of the Linux Kernel, ensuring it meets the needs of its diverse user base. As the kernel advances towards its final release, continued testing and feedback from developers will be crucial in identifying any last-minute issues and ensuring a robust and reliable operating system for users globally
Linux Kernel 6.15-rc3 released
Linus Torvalds has announced the fifth release candidate for Linux kernel 6.15 with a few minor fixes. The main changes are to address ublk driver issues and related self-tests. The merge window was large, but it has not caused any significant issues.
The list of changes in the X86 kernel includes improvements to various features, such as increasing wait time before retrying PTM, moving ktime snapshots into PTM retry loops, handling the IGC_PTP_ENABLED flag correctly, and adding a lock preventing multiple simultaneous PTM transactions. Other changes include avoiding NULL dereference in nvmet_auth_sq_free(), ensuring full initialization of completion entries, and clearing CC and CSTS when disabling the controller. Other improvements include resetting old folio orders and removing rogue intr_tear_rd_ptr values. Other changes include removing volatile qualifiers from io helpers, adding i.MX94 support, and removing unused forward declarations. The list also includes fixes for unused forward declarations, iomap, NVMe, sysfs links, and more.
