Linux Kernel 6.17 Release Candidate 7 released
Linus Torvalds has announced the availability of the seventh release candidate for Linux Kernel 6.17. This update marks a normal week's worth of development, with nothing particularly significant or notable standing out among the changes.
The update includes a diverse set of fixes and improvements across various areas of the kernel, including device drivers (such as GPU, networking, and sound), self-tests, arch-related fixes (mostly related to KVM), filesystems (primarily SMB), and core kernel code. The fixes are spread relatively evenly throughout the different components, making it challenging to identify any specific patterns or areas that have received significant attention.
This update's most notable feature is the number of contributors who changed the kernel. The list of authors includes numerous developers from various organizations and companies, such as AMD, IBM, Intel, and NVIDIA, among others.
The update itself includes over 700 commits from more than 100 different authors, covering a wide range of topics and areas within the kernel. Some notable contributors include Linus Torvalds himself, along with other prominent kernel developers like Jens Axboe, David Sterba, and Hugh Dickins.
Among the many changes and fixes in this update are some significant improvements to the KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) subsystem, which has seen a large number of commits aimed at addressing various issues and enhancing its performance. Other areas that have received attention include networking (with fixes for various network drivers), device drivers (such as those for NVIDIA GPUs and Intel audio devices), filesystems (including SMB and Btrfs), and core kernel code (with improvements to memory management, scheduling, and locking).
As always, users and developers are encouraged to test the latest kernel update and report any issues or bugs they may encounter. With this update, Linux Kernel 6.17-rc7 is now available for testing and evaluation purposes, with a final release expected in the coming week.
Linux kernel 6.17-rc7 released
Linux kernel version 6.17-rc7 is now available:
Full source: https://git.kernel.org/torvalds/t/linux-6.17-rc7.tar.gz
Patch: https://git.kernel.org/torvalds/p/v6.17-rc7/v6.16
You can view the summary of the changes at the following URL:
https://git.kernel.org/torvalds/ds/v6.17-rc7/v6.17-rc6
