I earlier reported that Linux 4.0 is coming. Now it is here: Linux 4.0 debuts with the usual no fanfare. Linux Lord Linus Torvalds made it official with a typically brief post to the Linux kernel mailing list. The new number isn’t a sign of a major upgrade, which is not to say this release is devoid of improvements.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux Kernel 4.0 Features Live Kernel Patching, PS3 Support
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2015/04/linux-kernel-4-0-new-features
A new stable release of the Linux Kernel has been announced by Linus Torvalds on the Linux kernel mailing list.
Linux 4.0, codenamed ‘Hurr durr I’m a sheep’ — no, really — brings with it a small set of new hardware support, driver improvements, performance tweaks, bug fixes and the like.
New Linux Kernel 4.0 Features
Install Kernel Updates Without Rebooting
If you’ve ever been put out by the need to reboot your Linux box to finish installing a kernel update you won’t be alone. It’s a minor inconvenience on the desktop, and a major one for servers.
update manager in Ubuntu
Reboot-free Kernel Updates
The ability to install/apply security patches to the Linux kernel “live”, without the need to reboot, has been a long-held want of many Linux enthusiasts for years.
For servers, enterprise and mission-critical use cases where uptime is priority live kernel patching is a pretty big deal.
The good news is that Linux 4.0 makes having to reboot to complete a kernel update a thing of the past.
Well, almost.
The initial groundwork to support reboot-free patching arrives in this latest release, ready for experienced sysadmins to take advantage of in Linux 4.0.
Desktop Linux distributions should also be able to take advantage of the feature too (though given the complexity involved in configuring the reboot-less functionality on the end-user side it may be a little way off).
Other Changes
Improvements to Intel ‘Skylake’ platform
Intel Quark SoC support
Various patches to improve Linux running on a Playstation 3
TOpen-source AMD Radeon driver supports DisplayPort Audio
Various misc HID driver tweaks, including Lenovo compact keyboards, Wacom Cintiq 27QHD
Toshiba power settings driver adds USB sleep/charge functionality, rapid charge, sleep w/ music, etc
File System tweaks, including F2FS, BtrfFS, etc
Although classed as stable there is, at present, no need for desktop users or new-comers to go upgrade.
The impatient and adept can take a crack at installing Linux 4.0 in Ubuntu 15.04 Beta by grabbing the appropriate set of packages from Canonical’s mainline kernel archive or by risking a third-party PPA hosted on Launchpad.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux Getting Extensive x86 Assembly Code Refresh
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/15/04/13/2245207/linux-getting-extensive-x86-assembly-code-refresh
A massive x86 assembly code spring cleaning has been done in a pull request that is to end up in Linux 4.1. The developers have tried testing the code on many different x86 boxes, but there’s risk of regression when exposing the code to many more systems in the days and weeks ahead.
Linux 4.1 Brings Many Potentially Risky x86/ASM Changes
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-4.1-For-x86-ASM
Another one of the Linux 4.1 pull requests sent in today by Ingo Molnar is for the x86/asm code.
There’s a lot of new work that’s gone into the Linux 4.1 kernel with this pull, which could potentially cause regressions, particularly with the Assembly code. The developers have tried testing the code on many different x86 boxes, but there’s risk of regression when exposing the code to many more systems in the days and weeks ahead.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Red Hat and Canonical talk Linux 4.0 integration as work on 4.1 causes hissy-fits
Meanwhile Torvalds warns that we’re getting closer to creating The Terminator
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2403744/linux-40-arrives-as-a-pretty-small-release
RED HAT has been telling The INQUIRER about its plans to integrate the latest Linux 4.0 kernel into its products.
In a statement, a spokesman told us, “Red Hat’s upstream community projects will begin working with 4.0 almost immediately; in fact, Fedora 22 Alpha was based on the RC1 version of the 4.0 kernel.
“From a productization perspective, we will keep an eye on these integration efforts for possible inclusion into Red Hat’s enterprise portfolio.
Meanwhile, Canonical Head Honcho Mark Shuttleworth has confirmed that Linux Kernel 4.0 should be making its debut in Ubuntu products before the end of the year.
In an earlier note to The INQUIRER, Shuttleworth confirmed that the newly released kernel’s integration was “likely to be in this October release.”
“Feature-wise, 4.0 doesn’t have all that much special. Much has been made of the new kernel patching infrastructure, but realistically that wasn’t the only reason for the version number change. We’ve had much bigger changes in other versions. So this is very much a ‘solid code progress’ release.”
In a subsequent post Torvalds jokes, “the strongest argument for some people advocating 4.0 seems to have been a wish to see 4.1.15 – because ‘that was the version of Linux Skynet used for the T-800 Terminator.’”
Tomi Engdahl says:
“No Reboot” Kernel Patching – And Why You Should Care
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/no-reboot-kernel-patching-and-why-you-should-care