Linux patriarch Linus Torvalds has released version 6.12 of the Linux kernel. This version has new capabilities to prioritize important processes over less important ones and offers more extensive hardware compatibility.
The patch PREEMPT_RT has officially made it to this latest kernel release. It is the capstone of a series of features gradually added since 2005 to enable real-time computing by making kernel processes preemptible. In other words, tasks lower on the priority list can be interrupted on the spot to give way to more important processes.
This new kernel release includes the latest addition, which basically completes the functionality. It is available in the 6.12 kernel versions for Intel and AMD systems (both 32—and 64-bit), 64-bit ARM, and RISC-V architectures.
Even more task-ordering capabilities
The kernel offers even more flexibility in prioritizing with the scheduling feature sched_ext. It uses BPF (Berkeley Packet Filter, a technology that lets small programs run directly in the kernel) so users can customize how the system schedules tasks. For example, one of the first uses of this feature was to optimize game performance by ensuring smoother frame rates.
Some more business-oriented possibilities would include prioritizing video rendering and other tasks that benefit from as little latency as possible, prioritizing security data on edge devices over other output, or optimizing workloads in multi-tenant cloud environments.
File system improvements
There are file system enhancements too. Thee include expanded XFS support that enables larger block sizes, updates to the EROFS system for mounting file system images, and ID-mapped mounts in the FUSE subsystem. These provide faster and more efficient processing of large data sets, improved compatibility for containerized and virtualized environments, and better performance in memory-hungry applications.
Furthermore, Torvalds himself made improvements to address marking in user space. This functionality prevents applications from unauthorized access to the kernel. This tweak reduces the performance impact caused by mitigations of earlier Spectre-v1 vulnerabilities.
More hardware support
Significant progress has also been made in terms of hardware support. For example, the Raspberry Pi 5 now has mainline support, and devices such as the ARM-based GameForce Ace, ODROID-M Single Board Computers (SBCs), and Wacom drawing tablets have improved compatibility. Laptops with Snapdragon chips also have new or improved support. Furthermore, several ThinkPad models are getting new or improved support. Dell owners who like to run Linux can look forward to improved power management options.
When the system crashes, an error message with a QR code linking to the ‘panic report’ will now pop up. This is an alternative to error messages that often run off the screen, get cut off, or prove impossible to copy.
Also read: Torvalds’ small security tweak improves Linux performance