The modifications within the newest Linux kernel, Linux 6.16, could also be small, however they embody some important ones. Linus Torvalds himself summed up this release as looking fine, small, and calm, however not “actually not all that attention-grabbing (in all one of the best methods!).”
This is my record of what is new and improved.
First, the Rust language is continuous to change into extra well-integrated into the kernel. On the high of my record is that the kernel now boasts Rust bindings for the motive force core and PCI gadget subsystem. This strategy will make it simpler so as to add new Rust-based {hardware} drivers to Linux.
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Moreover, new Rust abstractions have been built-in into the Direct Rendering Supervisor (DRM), significantly for ioctl dealing with, file/GEM reminiscence administration, and driver/gadget infrastructure for main GPU distributors, reminiscent of AMD, Nvidia, and Intel. These modifications ought to cut back vulnerabilities and optimize graphics efficiency. This may make players and AI/ML developers happier.
Linux 6.16 additionally brings common enhancements to Rust crate help. Crate is Rust’s packaging format. This may make it simpler to construct, preserve, and combine Rust kernel modules into the kernel.
For these of you who still love C, don’t be concerned. The overwhelming majority of kernel code stays in C, and Rust is unlikely to exchange C quickly. In a decade, we could also be telling one other story.
Past Rust, this newest launch additionally comes with a number of main file system enhancements. For starters, the XFS filesystem now helps giant atomic writes. This functionality signifies that giant multi-block write operations are “atomic,” that means all blocks are up to date or none. This enhances knowledge integrity and prevents knowledge write errors. This transfer is important for firms that use XFS for databases and large-scale storage.
Maybe the preferred Linux file system, Ext4, can be getting many enhancements. These boosts embody quicker commit paths, giant folio help, and atomic multi-fsblock writes for bigalloc filesystems. What these enhancements imply, in case you’re not a file-system nerd, is that we must always see speedups of as much as 37% for sequential I/O workloads.
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In case your Linux laptop doubles as a music participant, one other good new function is you could now stream your audio over USB even whereas the remainder of your system is asleep. That functionality’s been accessible in Android for some time, however now it is a part of mainline Linux.
If safety is a high precedence for you, the 6.16 kernel now helps Intel Trusted Execution Know-how (TXT) and Intel Trusted Domain Extensions (TDX). This addition, together with Linux’s improved help for AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization and Secure Memory Encryption (SEV-SNP), allows you to encrypt your software program’s reminiscence in what’s often known as confidential computing. This function improves cloud safety by encrypting a consumer’s virtual machine reminiscence, that means somebody who cracks a cloud cannot entry your knowledge.
There are a number of different Linux chip enhancements on this launch. For starters, Linux now helps Intel Advanced Performance Extensions (APX). With APX, Linux can now use 32 general-purpose x86 registers. That is double older chips’ 16 registers. This enchancment means you may see elevated efficiency from next-generation Intel CPUs, such because the Lunar Lake processors and the Granite Rapids Xeon processors.
You will additionally have the ability to entry this improved processor efficiency by way of the brand new CONFIG_X86_NATIVE_CPU option. This selection permits customers to construct kernels optimized particularly for his or her processor. Whereas some folks view this transfer as a means for Linux hobbyists to get probably the most energy from their laptops and desktops, I additionally see it as a way for enterprise builders to create optimized Linux kernels for his or her servers.
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Linux 6.16 brings improved help for Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs. The Blackwell chips, used mostly for AI, are already being deployed in high-end Linux desktops.
On the community entrance, modifications to how TCP/IP works with DMABUF will allow gadgets, together with GPUs and AI accelerators, to hurry up their networks whereas not burdening the CPU. Whereas a mean consumer could not discover this transformation, high-performance networkers will see the acceleration.
And likelihood is that common customers will see the advantages in the event that they use OpenVPN. OpenVPN’s native networking protocol nonetheless will not run as quick as WireGuard, however it would, at the very least, give it extra of a race.
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Wanting forward, Torvalds warns that issues could not go so easily with the 6.17 launch. “It is value noting that the upcoming merge window for six.17 goes to be barely chaotic for me,” Torvalds mentioned. “I’ve a number of household occasions this August (a marriage and a giant birthday), and with mentioned household being unfold not solely throughout the US, however in Finland too, I am spending about half the month touring.” That schedule would sluggish anyone down.
So, like a real workaholic, Torvalds has already began front-loading his 6.17 workload. He hopes to get the majority of the work achieved throughout the subsequent two weeks earlier than he begins his travels. Torvalds mentioned: “I already ended up giving a heads-up on that to the individuals who are likely to ship me probably the most pull requests. And certainly, I have already got 50 pull requests pending, so due to individuals who took that heads-up to coronary heart.” Nonetheless, Torvalds “may delay rc1 a bit simply to catch up.”
In the event you’re a Linux kernel developer, although, do not suppose you could count on to take it simple and slip a late pull request. The other is true, warned Torvalds: “That doesn’t imply that I will be extra lenient to late pull requests (most likely fairly the reverse, because it’s simply going so as to add to the potential chaos).”
