Linux 6.0 is expected to arrive soon. The next version of the Linux kernel is jumping version numbers, with some performance gains, but it’s not a major change all the same: What was previously planned to be version 5.20 is now Linux 6.0 according to Linux 5.19 announcement.
There will be new hardware support. Especially Support for the RISC-V architecture continues to accrue, with changes that improve the new platform’s support for handling for Docker containers and apps packaged with Ubuntu’s Snap system, plus page-based memory types.
There is one big ticket feature has made it for the Linux 6.0 kernel: the Runtime Verification infrastructure for running Linux on safety-critical systems. Over last few years researchers have been exploring the possibility of verifying the Linux kernel behavior using Runtime Verification. Runtime Verification (RV) is a lightweight (yet rigorous) method that complements classical exhaustive verification techniques (such as model checking and theorem proving) with a more practical approach for complex systems. RV works by analyzing the trace of the system’s actual execution, comparing it against a formal specification of the system behavior. The usage of deterministic automaton for RV is a well-established approach.
Information sources and links to more information:
Ready for the Linux 6.0 splashdown? Here are some of the highlights
Don’t panic if you’re not a fan of big changes… it’s 5.20 by another name
https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/08/linux_6_point_0_highlights/
Linux Kernel 6.0 is Likely the Next Version Upgrade With Initial Rust Code
Linux Kernel’s next upgrade is going to be 6.0, instead of Linux 5.20. That’s what Linus Torvalds is going with. Sounds good!
https://news.itsfoss.com/linux-kernel-6-0-reveal/
Linux 6.0 Adding Run-Time Verification For Running On Safety Critical Systems
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.0-Runtime-Verification
De Oliveira, Daniel Bristot; Cucinotta, Tommaso; De Oliveira, Romulo Silva. *Efficient formal verification for the Linux kernel.* In: International Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods. Springer, Cham, 2019. p. 315-332.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-30446-1_17
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/rostedt/linux-trace.git/tree/Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst?h=for-next&id=ff0aaf671230d409a68fd7400f41e9eb3ac61dd8
https://lore.kernel.org/all/CAHk-=wgrz5BBk=rCz7W28Fj_o02s0Xi0OEQ3H1uQgOdFvHgx0w@mail.gmail.com/
146 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 6.0 on nurkan takana
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13874-linux-6-0-on-nurkan-takana
Linus Torvalds kertoi eilen avanneensa ytimen 6.0-version kehitysprosessin RC1- eli release candidate 1 -versiolla. Versionumerolla ei tosin ole mitään merkitystä Torvaldsille. – Jos haluatte kutsua versiota 5.20:ksi, siitä vaan. Numerolle ei ole pienintäkään väliä, Torvalds evästi.
Meskalina says:
We are all waiting :)))
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 6.0 lähes valmis – C:n rinnalle tulossa Rust
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/14044-linux-6-0-laehes-valmis-c-n-rinnalle-tulossa-rust
Eilen illalla Linus Torvalds julkisti tulevasta Linux 6.0 -ytimestä jo RC7-version. Näin voidaan odottaa, että lopullinen 6.0-ydin saadaan valmiiksi ensi viikon sunnuntaina. Seuraavassa eli 6.1-versiossa Linux ottaakin ison askeleen eteenpäin.
Torvaldsin mukaan 6.0 ei näytä kasvavan normaalia suuremmaksi paketiksi, vaikka hän alun perin niin epäilikin. Suuri osa uudesta ytimestä liittyy GPU-prosessoreihin ja verkkoajureihin, mikä on uusissa Linux-ytimissä normaalia kauraa.
Enemmän on luvassa seuraavassa eli 6.1-versiossa. Torvalds myönsi kernelin ylläpitäjien konferenssissa toissa viikolla, että mikäli mitään ihmeellistä ei tapahdu, seuraavaan kerneliin tuodaan C-kielen rinnalle Rust.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Removing an obsolete AMD fix makes Linux kernel 6 quicker
Performance-killing workaround rediscovered after 20 years
https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/27/obsolete_amd_acpi_fix/
An ancient fix for power management issues on AMD systems has been reducing Linux’s performance since 2002. Now it’s gone.
One of the joys of modern silicon chips is that power management is vitally important. It hasn’t been about saving power or extending battery life since the 20th century. Processor vendors survive by selling us more and more transistors, solely on the basis that most of them are turned off most of the time – otherwise the chips would rapidly incinerate themselves, no matter how good their cooling.
This requires sophisticated interfaces between the OS and the hardware, and way back in 1996, a new standard called ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) replaced the positively stone age APM (Advanced Power Management) from the Windows 3 era.
It was still a fancy new feature when The Reg reported on Linux on Itanic in 1999, and a worrying security issue in 2006. It’s long been a problem for Linux because PC vendors mainly test against the industry-standard OS, which remains Windows.
In 2003, Linus Torvalds – famed for his diplomacy – said:
ACPI is a complete design disaster in every way. But we’re kind of stuck with it. If any Intel people are listening to this and you had anything to do with ACPI, shoot yourself now, before you reproduce.
This was a year after the Linux kernel gained ACPI support, and around then, a bug was found with some AMD Athlon machines that used VIA chipsets.
When the kernel sent the STPCLK# signal to switch a CPU core to idle (although of course there was only one core in those days), the problematic machines took a while for it to happen, and so the kernel developers added some dummy I/O read instructions, just so that the processor wouldn’t continue working when it was meant to be stopping. It improved compatibility and power management.
The problem is, as AMD engineer K Prateek Nayak found recently, that Linux still does it on AMD processors.
The issue it fixes is long gone, as are any 2002 Athlon PCs in production, we suspect.
Hansen explains:
This workaround is very painful on modern systems. The”inl()” can take thousands of cycles.
His patch links to some benchmark numbers, but the bottom line is that the minimum throughput increases by about 14 times, and the mean throughput by just over a half.
Although kernel 6.0 is due on Sunday, the patch has already been accepted and should be included.
In an era where mitigations for modern CPU problems can reduce performance by 70 per cent – although if you like to live dangerously, you can turn them off – removing obsolete fixes to give some speed back is very welcome indeed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/14075-linux-siirtyi-6-0-aikaan
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) changes for Linux 6.1 but with a documentation update does provide a good reminder for a public service announcement: run-time disabling of SELinux is deprecated and will be removed in the future.
https://www.phoronix.com/news/SELinux-Runtime-Disabling
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-iGPU-Avoid-Linux-5.19.12
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 6.0 arrives as Linus Torvalds promises ‘core new things’ ahead
Linux 6.0 is a major new kernel number, but doesn’t represent fundamental changes. That’s coming in Linux 6.1.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-6-0-arrives-as-linus-torvalds-promises-core-new-things-ahead/
Linus Torvalds has announced the stable release of Linux 6.0 but flagged it doesn’t contain the “core new things” coming in Linux 6.1.
Since the first release candidate (rc1) for Linux 6.0 in August, Torvalds has played down the meaning of the major version number change, which would have otherwise been 5.20. While he has called 6.0 a “fairly sizable release”, he also said at conference last month “I wanted 6.0 to be boring.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.0-New-Features
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Rust-For-Linux-6.1-Pull-Request
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linus Torvalds’s faulty memory (RAM, not wetware) slows kernel development
Emperor penguin swipes Intel’s attitude to ECC memory and maybe wimpy Mac performance too
https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/10/linus_torvalds_ecc_memory_fail/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux kernel 6.0 debuts, Linus Torvalds teases ‘core new things’ coming in version 6.1
Linux boss’ launch message is more ‘6.0 is overrated’ than ‘The joy of 6.0’
https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/02/linux_kernel_6_0_released/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linus Torvalds to kernel devs: Grow up and stop pulling all-nighters just before deadline
Release candidate one for Linux 6.1 has appeared
https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/17/linux_6_1_rc1/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/linux-update-4k-raspberry-pi
Tomi Engdahl says:
Compute Accelerator Subsystem Being Introduced For Linux 6.2
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.2-Compute-Next
It’s happening: the new “accel” compute accelerator subsystem is now queued for introduction with the Linux 6.2 kernel once that merge window opens in December.
In recent months there has been a lot of work on this proposed subsystem intended for AI accelerators ever since a consensus was reached among upstream developers to build it off the existing Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) subsystem. As these AI accelerators have a lot in common with GPUs, it makes sense to re-use as much of that existing infrastructure as possible
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.1-Regression-Fix
Tomi Engdahl says:
Longstanding bug in Linux kernel floppy handling fixed
Good news, everyone! Er, someone. Anyone? Bueller?
https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/07/longstanding_bug_in_linux_kernel/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Updated Linux Kernel 6.1 Makes Rust the Greatest Programming Language
https://www.analyticsinsight.net/updated-linux-kernel-6-1-makes-rust-the-greatest-programming-language/
Updated Linux 6.1 kernel series comes with new and updated drivers for better hardware
The Linux kernel 6.1, which has been in development for more than two months, now includes experimental support for the Rust programming language. Making Rust the greatest programming language. Remember that this is merely a very basic version of Rust and cannot be used in any real-world use cases, even if it may seem extremely intriguing to some people.
The multi-generational LRU VM effort to more accurately identify the memory pages that are actually in use is another significant feature in Linux 6.1. Additionally, the new kernel series adds support for destructive BPF programming, PKCS#7 signature verification in BPF programs, and a new security-module hook for managing the creation of user namespaces.
Greg Kroah-Hartman asserts that the Linux kernel 6.1 should be an LTS (Long Term Support) series that could receive updates for at least two years
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 6.2 “char/misc” Changes Land With Continued Intel Gaudi2 Enablement
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.2-More-Gaudi2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 6.2′s Call Depth Tracking Helps Recover Lost Performance On Intel Skylake CPUs
https://www.phoronix.com/review/skylake-retbleed-stuff
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 6.3 To Enable Display Support For Intel Meteor Lake, DP MST DSC Enabled
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.3-Meteor-Lake-Display
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/AMD-Guided-Auto-Mode-v2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 6.3 To Remove Obsolete GPU Drivers: ATI Rage 128, 3Dfx, S3 Savage, i810 & More
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.3-Dropping-Old-DRM
Tomi Engdahl says:
Spotted in the wild: Chimera – a Linux that isn’t GNU/Linux
It’s not yet reached alpha, but it’s already breaking new ground
https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/13/chimera_non_gnu_linux/
Chimera Linux is a new distro under construction that is not only systemd-free, it’s GNU-free as well. Its creator hopes to reach alpha testing this spring.
Chimera Linux is a new project which began in mid-2021, but has already made considerable progress. Its solo developer is Czech programmer Daniel “q66″ Kolesa, who gave a talk about his project at FOSDEM last weekend.
His talk was part of the FOSDEM’s BSD program stream, which itself is a hint that this is not a typical Linux distribution.
There’s a certain kind of Unix geek who insists that Linux should properly be called GNU/Linux, because the kernel is built with the GNU C Compiler, everything is linked against the GNU C library, uses the GNU coreutils, and usually multiple other components from the GNU Project.
Chimera Linux is an existence proof that this is not a hard requirement: it avoids all of these. Chimera is compiled with LLVM, uses the same musl C library and packaging tools as the lightweight Alpine Linux distro, the new Dinit init system, and much of the rest of the userland is drawn from the current version of FreeBSD.
Chimera is an attempt to bring some of that design clarity to Linux. It’s not all FreeBSD all the way down: this is still a Linux-based OS, and it remains binary-compatible with Linux. In a way, Chimera is the inverse of the now unmaintained Debian GNU/kFreeBSD. That project put the GNU userland and Debian tools on top of a BSD kernel.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Canonical Puts Real-Time Ubuntu Into General Availability as it Seeks to Dominate the AIoT
https://www.hackster.io/news/canonical-puts-real-time-ubuntu-into-general-availability-as-it-seeks-to-dominate-the-aiot-3307ab450cf8
Real-time Ubuntu 22.04 LTS now available to Ubuntu Pro users, with a free tier for “personal and small-scale commercial use.”
Canonical has announced general availability of an officially-supported real-time kernel for its popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, with which it’s hoping to make a splash in the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) market.
“The real-time Ubuntu kernel delivers industrial-grade performance and resilience for software-defined manufacturing, monitoring, and operational tech,” claims Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical’s chief executive officer. “Ubuntu is now the world’s best silicon-optimized AIOT platform on NVIDIA, Intel, MediaTek, and AMD-Xilinx silicon.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linus Torvalds releases ‘pedestrian’ Linux Kernel 6.2, urges testers to show it some love
Intel has as much to celebrate as anyone thanks the arc of progress catching up to its GPUs
https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/20/linux_kernel_6_2_released/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The quest to make Linux bulletproof
What the big players and an outlier are doing, and why
https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/16/bulletproof_linux/
Commercial Unix was expensive so it was carefully tended – and indeed tendered. Linux is free so it has to fend for itself.
Linux itself was inspired by the tried and tested designs of the proprietary Unixes that preceded it – or predeceased it – which it drove into extinction. Some of their tech continues to make its way into Linux, and some is being reinvented, usually to get round IP issues. The goals are to make Linux more resilient: fault-tolerant, self-healing, and in general to lower the cost of its maintenance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu 22.04.2 is as predictable as an operating system can be… and that’s a good thing
The latest iteration of the Ubuntu Long Term Support release has arrived. Although it might not include much in the way of a wow factor, it’s got everything you need for a desktop OS.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/ubuntu-22-04-2-is-as-predictable-as-an-operating-system-can-be-and-thats-a-good-thing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Who writes Linux and open source software?
Developers and, more to the point, the companies that employ them
https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/24/who_writes_open_source/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Montako merkkiä on Linux-ytimessä?
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/14691-montako-merkkiae-on-linux-ytimessae
Linux on maailman ylivoimaisesti käytetyin käyttöjärjestelmä ja esimerkiksi sulautetuissa sovelluksissa sille ei ole oikein vaihtoehtoa. Linux-ytimessä on hieman yli 30 miljoonaa riviä koodia, mutta kuinka monta merkkiä siinä on?
Pitää muistaa, että Linux-ytimen reilut 30 miljoonaa riviä koodia pitää sisällään vain varsinaiset lähdekooditiedostot. Dokumentaatiot, konfigurointitiedostot ja muut eivät sisälly lukuun.
Mutta mitä tarkoittaa 30 miljoonaa riviä merkkeinä? Aiemmin yhdellä rivillä oli maksimissaan 80 merkkiä, mutta tästä rajoituksesta käytiin keskustelu Linux-postituslistalla pari vuotta sitten. Esimerkiksi Linus Torvalds ei pitänyt koodin pilkkomista 80 merkkiin enää kovinkaan tarkoituksenmukaisena, kun näyttöjen koot ja resoluutiot ovat kehittyneet niin paljon vuosien aikana. 80 x 25 merkin terminaali ei enää ole de facto -työkalu koodaajille.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hangover 0.8.3 Released For Enjoying Windows x86/x86_64 Apps/Games On Linux ARM64
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Hangover-0.8.3
Tomi Engdahl says:
openSUSE finds an elegant solution to x86-64 version support
Piggybacking on the hwcaps tunable in glibc, it’s shipping platform-optimized libraries
https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/09/opensuse_finds_x86_64_solution/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Unlike Windows, Linux has a myriad of open-source apps available for free. Here are the best Linux alternatives for some of the popular Windows apps.
Why Run Windows Apps on Linux? Here Are 15 Linux Alternatives
BY
ALI ARSLAN
PUBLISHED MAR 26, 2022
https://www.makeuseof.com/best-linux-alternatives-to-popular-windows-apps/?utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_campaign=Echobox-MUO&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1678368141
Unlike Windows, Linux has a myriad of open-source apps available for free. Here are the best Linux alternatives for some of the popular Windows apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ipmitool Repository Archived, Developer Suspended By GitHub
https://www.phoronix.com/news/ipmitool-GitHub-Suspended
The ipmitool utility on Linux systems is widely-used for controlling IPMI-enabled servers and other systems. This tool for interacting with the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) is extremely common with server administrators while now its development is in a temporary state of limbo due to GitHub.
Those navigating to ipmitool/ipmitool on GitHub as the official repository for this project will find that it’s now in a “public archive” state. Thus immediately comes to mind did development end on this important Linux server tool? The GitHub repository makes no mentions of what happened or plans.
He found a message on the old IPMItool SourceForge project area from Alexander Amelkin, who has been maintaining ipmitool since 2018:
“Sorry to say, but on March 1st without any prior notice or any explanation whatsoever, GitHub has suspended my personal account and made orphan all the projects that I owned / maintained.
That includes ipmitool and frugen.
This mailing list and the old sourceforge project page are the only means of communication with you that I have left. I am currently searching for a way to unblock my GitHub or (less preferably) migrate ipmitool once again to another less hostile service.
Two weeks after this apparent user block and archiving of all the open-source projects he maintains, there is no apparent resolution. The ipmitool project itself is at a standstill. There is no clear indication why GitHub blocked Amelkin but may have to do with him being based out of Moscow, Russia as his repositories do not appear otherwise controversial.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux Will Stop Randomizing Per-CPU Entry Area When KASLR Is Not Active
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Random-Per-CPU-Entry-ASLR
With the Linux 6.2 release kernel developers addressed “a tasty target for attackers” after it was realized that the per-CPU entry data was not being randomized, even in the presence of Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR). The per-CPU entry area randomization has been present since Linux 6.3 but then was realized it’s being activated even if KASLR was disabled, so now that is changing to avoid possible confusion.
It was recently realized that the x86_64 per-CPU entry area randomization is happening even if KASLR is disabled. Thus with this randomization always happening even if Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization is off could lead to confusion/issues by users/developers. In particular, when debugging the kernel, benchmarking and expecting deterministic results, and related scenarios where that added randomization isn’t desired.
Sent out today as part of the x86/urgent pull request as updates ahead of today’s Linux 6.3-rc4 release is the fix to only randomize the per-CPU entry area when KASLR is enabled.
That patch is also marked for back-porting, so it should be appearing in the Linux 6.2 stable series soon
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linuxeja on yli 600, tässä suosituimmat
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/14786-linuxeja-on-yli-600-taessae-suosituimmat
Linux-jakelujen tarkkaa määrää on vaikea antaa, sillä uusia luodaan ja olemassa olevia muokataan koko ajan. On kuitenkin arvioitu, että tällä hetkellä saatavilla on yli 600 erilaista Linux-jakelua. Näitä ovat suositut jakelut, kuten Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS ja Arch Linux, sekä vähemmän tunnetut jakelut, jotka on räätälöity tiettyihin tarkoituksiin, kuten tietoturvaan, koulutukseen, multimediatuotantoon ja pelaamiseen.
Suosituimmat Linux-jakelut käyttäjämäärien suhteen ovat:
Ubuntu: Debian-pohjainen jakelu, joka tunnetaan helppokäyttöisyydestään, säännöllisistä julkaisuistaan ja vahvasta yhteisön tuesta. Joka kolmas Linux-tietokone pyörii Ubuntulla.
Linux Mint: Ubuntu-pohjainen jakelu, joka on suunniteltu käyttäjäystävälliseksi ja mukana tulee useita työpöytäympäristöjä.
Debian: yksi vanhimmista Linux-jakeluista, joka tunnetaan vakaudestaan ja turvallisuudestaan.
Fedora: Red Hatin sponsoroima yhteisölähtöinen jakelu, joka tunnetaan huipputeknologiastaan ja keskittyy avoimen lähdekoodin ohjelmistoihin.
CentOS: yhteisövetoinen jakelu, joka perustuu Red Hat Enterprise Linux -lähdekoodiin ja tunnetaan vakaudestaan ja luotettavuudestaan.
Arch Linux: kevyt ja joustava jakelu, joka on suunniteltu kokeneille käyttäjille, jotka pitävät tee-se-itse-lähestymistavasta.
openSUSE: yhteisölähtöinen jakelu, joka tunnetaan helppokäyttöisyydestään ja laajasta ohjelmistopakettien valikoimastaan.
Manjaro: Arch Linuxiin perustuva käyttäjäystävällinen jakelu, joka on suunniteltu helposti asennettavaksi ja käytettäväksi.
Kali Linux: Debian-pohjainen jakelu, joka on suunniteltu penetraatiotestaukseen ja digitaaliseen rikostekniseen tutkimukseen.
Elementary OS: Ubuntu-pohjainen jakelu, joka tunnetaan kauniista ja intuitiivisesta käyttöliittymästään.
Linux-ytimen osalta tällä hetkellä kehitetään versiota 6.3, josta julkaistiin viikonloppuna rc4-versio.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Real-Time Linux Gets Long-Term Support
Feb. 20, 2023
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS not only provides long-term support, but also real-time task management.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded/article/21260344/electronic-design-realtime-linux-gets-longterm-support
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux Kernel 6.3 is released with some major new features
The latest Linux kernel boasts security, speed, and power improvements for Intel, AMD, ARM, and RISC-V architectures.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-kernel-6-3-is-released-with-some-major-new-features/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Universal Blue is a new paradigm for the Linux desktop and it’s brilliant
There’s a new type of Linux distribution that does something no other operating system can do, and it blew my mind over the weekend.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/universal-blue-is-a-new-paradigm-for-the-linux-desktop-and-its-brilliant/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Ubuntu-Snaps-Docker-Comparison
Tomi Engdahl says:
Parallel CPU Bring-Up Poised For Linux 6.5
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Parallel-CPU-Bringup-TIP-Linux
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Snap-based, containerized Ubuntu desktop could be offered in 2024
Ubuntu could join Fedora in offering an immutable desktop option.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/05/a-snap-based-containerized-ubuntu-desktop-could-be-offered-in-2024/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux Patches Posted That Would Allow Boot-Time Disabling Of x86 32-bit Processes
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Boot-Disable-32-bit
SUSE engineer Nikolay Borisov sent out a set of patches today for “ia32_disabled” that would allow disabling of support for x86 32-bit processes from running on x86_64 Linux systems. As a first step this would be a boot-time option when “ia32_disabled” is set.
SUSE is interested in the ability for disabling the IA32 compatibility layer and the proposed patches would allow disabling the 32-bit system calls on 64-bit kernels as well as disabling 32-bit processes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Deprecated Bloodstained Code in the Linux Kernel
https://lowendbox.com/blog/the-deprecated-bloodstained-code-in-the-linux-kernel/
Over the years, something like 20,000 developers have contributed to the Linux kernel.
But one contributor is a lot more famous than the community would like. And his code is now scheduled to be removed in 2025. The code removal is somewhat for technical reasons, but they stem mainly from lack of upstream maintenance.
The guy who should be be maintaining the code can’t maintain it. He can’t even use a computer, because he’s in prison for life for murder.
Hans Reiser – inventor of ReiserFS – was born in Oakland, California and was a computer child prodigy.
The technical details of ReiserFS are interesting if you are a filesystem geek, and you’re probably not. At the time it was introduced to the Linux kernel (2.4.1) it sported some novel ideas, such as including all metadata in a B-tree as opposed to the fixed-offset method common in then-current ext2 and predecessor Berkeley FFS.
It was never really finished
Meanwhile, ResierFS has been deprecated from the Linux kernel and is scheduled to be removed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Experimental Patches For Rust-Written Linux Network Drivers
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Rust-Network-Patches
A new set of patches this weekend begin laying the groundwork for Rust abstractions for Linux network device drivers so that Rust code can be used for constructing new network device drivers. The patches also include a dummy Rust network driver.
Longtime kernel developer Fujita Tomonori sent out a set of patches on Sunday providing the Rust abstractions for network device drivers plus the initial Rust dummy driver to help in reviewing this early code. So far no actual hardware device driver for Rust in the networking subsystem has been published.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/100064470498902/posts/pfbid0RpTCT1fnhYXA6FzBhwVGLAhaFrz1pBdFh4zZRzFWZSX2v4ZQhXai6MPpHZnKJCgXl/
Wow. Red Hat cutting back RHEL source availability: CentOS Stream will now be the sole repository for public RHEL-related source code releases. For Red Hat customers and partners, source code will remain available via the Red Hat Customer Portal. This move will impact Oracle, Rocy, Alma, and any other distro using RHEL source code to build their operating system. However, Red Hat/IBM isn’t violating the GPL with this move. If they distribute binaries to you, you have access to the source code those binaries were built from. So they are keeping the GPL promises. What do you think? #linux #opensource
Looks like ibm isn’t playing nice anymore
Source; https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/furthering-evolution-centos-stream
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/25/exploring-the-anatomy-of-a-linux-kernel-exploit/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/23/et-tu-red-hat/
Something odd happened to git.centos.org last week. That’s the repository where Red Hat has traditionally published the source code to everything that’s a part of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to fulfill the requirements of the GPL license. Last week, those packages just stopped flowing. Updates weren’t being published. And finally, Red Hat has published a clear answer to why:
Red Hat has decided to continue to use the Customer Portal to share source code with our partners and customers, while treating CentOS Stream as the venue for collaboration with the community.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huge Open Source Drama
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF5pyVUQBH8
Red Hat just erected a paywall in front of the source code to their Linux distribution.
Are they burning bridges to the wider open source ecosystem?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Redhat goes CLOSED SOURCE?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of18sAJgHxE
This is a MAJOR development with Redhat NO LONGER giving public access to the base RHEL source code.