Exploring the Linux 6.15 Release: Key Changes and Updates for Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS Architectures

Linus Torvalds recently announced the release of Linux 6.15, which experienced a slight delay due to a last-minute bug report that necessitated disabling one new feature. The release includes a variety of fixes, primarily focused on driver improvements, along with adjustments to the bcachefs file system, core networking, and memory management.

With the release, the merge window for new contributions to the Linux kernel opens immediately. Despite it being Memorial Day in the U.S., Torvalds emphasizes that the merge window will proceed as scheduled, humorously commenting on the challenges presented by winter weather affecting previous merges.

The notable changes in Linux 6.15 include:

• Removal of Support for Certain 32-bit Systems: Support for larger 32-bit x86 systems with more than eight CPUs and more than 4GB of RAM has been removed, reflecting the shift of workloads towards 64-bit systems.

• Improvements to Filesystem Mounts:

  • A new API provides information about filesystem mount and unmount events.
  • The statmount() system call now captures details about ID mappings on filesystem mounts.
  • Enhancements allow the creation of ID-mapped mounts from existing ID-mapped mounts and improvements to the mount-API for complex filesystem hierarchies.

• FUSE Subsystem Updates: The FUSE subsystem now supports enforcing timeouts on requests to handle unresponsive user-space servers and can manage filenames longer than 1,024 characters.

• Merging of the fwctl Subsystem: This subsystem is designed to pass command data directly to complex firmware systems, with three new drivers included in this release for various hardware components.

Arm Architecture Highlights

The Arm architecture continues to see extensive contributions and improvements, including:

• Enhancements for Allwinner and Rockchip devices, with new drivers and adjustments for specific hardware functionalities.
• Updates in various drivers, including PCIe, network, and I2C drivers, to support new models and enhance compatibility.

RISC-V Architecture Changes

Several updates have also been made to the RISC-V architecture:

• New support for the BFloat16 floating-point extension and various other enhancements to the architecture’s functionality and performance.

MIPS Updates

There are limited updates for the MIPS architecture, focusing mainly on multi-cluster support and minor configuration changes.

For more details on the changes and improvements in Linux 6.15, you can check the release notes directly from the Linux kernel community.

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