On Jan. 19, Linus Torvalds officially released the Linux 6.13 kernel. I can’t call the 6.13 kernel a major release, but it’s still a step forward in performance, security, and hardware support. That’s not a small deal.
One of Linux 6.13’s standout features is the introduction of lazy preemption support. This new model simplifies the kernel’s preemption logic and configuration options, potentially improving overall system responsiveness.
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Linux kernel developers, particularly Peter Zijlstra, have worked in this area for several years. The idea behind lazy preemption is to simplify kernel scheduling and provide faster overall performance. However, that task is easier said than done.
You see, the problem is that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for determining whether it’s better for a system to respond quickly to an event, say clicking a mouse button, or give long-running CPU jobs all the time they need. By default, the Linux kernel has four different ways of dealing with this issue. Now, with lazy preemption, we have five.
This new standard is simple at heart. The new flag, TIF_NEED_RESCHED_LAZY, tells the kernel that rescheduling will be necessary at some point, but it doesn’t have to be right now. The net effect should be a kernel with better throughput for long jobs and cleaner code.
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Eventually, as Linux kernel developer Jonathan Corbet observed: “The end goal of this work is to have a scheduler with only two non-real-time modes: PREEMPT_LAZY and PREEMPT_FULL. The lazy mode will occupy a place between PREEMPT_NONE and PREEMPT_VOLUNTARY, replacing both of them. It will, however, not need the voluntary preemption points that were added for the two modes it replaces. Since preemption can now happen almost anywhere, there is no longer a need to enable it in specific spots.”
The kernel also introduces AutoFDO and Propeller optimization support when compiling Linux with the increasingly popular LLVM Clang compiler. Serious Linux developers who use this compiler should see faster code builds.
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As usual, the new Linux 6.13 comes with improved hardware compatibility. At the top of the list is a new AMD 3D V-Cache Optimizer driver for gamers’ new favorite CPU, the multi-CCD Ryzen X3D processor. The AMD EPYC 9005 “Turin” server processors are also supported for people who care more about servers than desktops. On the Intel side, 6.13 supports Intel Xe3 graphics and Panther Lake processors.
It’s not just the new hardware that’s getting support. The 6.13 kernel also improves support for older Apple devices, including numerous iPads and iPhones. In addition, there’s support for pre-M1 Apple System on Chips (SoCs). This update is significant for users of legacy Apple hardware, as it lays the groundwork for running Linux on devices that include Apple A7, A8, A8X, A9, A9X, A10, A10X, and A11 SoCs. The update also offers support for the iPhone 5S, iPhone 8 series, iPhone X series, iPad Air, and iPad Mini 2/3.
However, before getting too excited about this new Apple support, remember this is bare-bones state support. With it, you can boot the mainline Linux kernel, but asking for more is too much. In short, this option is not meant for Joe or Jane User but for hardcore, old-school Apple device hobbyists who want to explore bringing Linux to these older platforms.
An improvement that more people will appreciate is that Linux now supports running Linux in protected virtual machines on ARM Confidential Compute Architecture (CAA). This support is a big deal for people who demand confidential computing security on their ARM processor-powered systems.
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As Torvalds noted in his release announcement: “Nothing horrible or unexpected happened last week, so I’ve tagged and pushed out the final 6.13 release.” This smooth release process bodes well for the stability of the new kernel version.
With Linux 6.13 now available, attention turns to the development of Linux 6.14, with the merge window already open. The next major kernel release is expected to arrive in late March 2025. The big news here should be more Rust support in the kernel than before.
As always, users of rolling release distributions will likely see this kernel update first, while others may need to wait for their distribution’s next point or major release to receive Linux 6.13. Of course, if you’d rather not wait, you can download Linux kernel 6.13 today from Torvalds’ git tree or the kernel.org website. Most people, however, will do better to wait for your favorite Linux distributor to bake it into their stable software repositories.
Finally, Linus Torvalds announced he would award five random Linux kernel developers with his handmade guitar effect pedals. What, you may ask?
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Well, you might know Torvalds is a big-time scuba diver, but you may not know one of his hobbies is building LEGO kits. Lately, though, he’s also started building guitar pedals from kits, which he called “LEGO for grown-ups with a soldering iron“.
Torvalds built five pedals and will send one each to randomly selected developers. He enjoyed the pedal-building process. So, now you know what Torvalds does when it’s too cold to dive, and he needs a break from the kernel.
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Source: Robotics - zdnet.com
