The June 2024 release of the Arch Linux ISO snapshot is now available, featuring the new Linux kernel 6.9. This release is ideal for users who are setting up the leading rolling-release distribution on fresh deployments.

The release marked as Arch Linux 2024.06.01 integrates the recently-launched Linux 6.9 kernel as its core, enhancing hardware recognition capabilities on both new and some older machines where previous versions may have failed to identify certain components.

The default kernel for Arch Linux 2024.06.01 is the Linux 6.9.3. This update has already been incorporated into Arch Linux’s stable repositories a few weeks prior, allowing current users who perform regular updates to benefit from the new kernel. Additionally, this snapshot includes all the package updates that were released in May 2024.

Moreover, this latest ISO snapshot of Arch Linux brings the updated Archinstall 2.8 installer. Released on April 15, 2024, Archinstall 2.8 enhances the setup experience by enlarging the default size of the ESP system partition to 1 GB, refining microcode processing, and synchronizing udev prior to lsblk after formatting, which assists in the automatic partitioning process.

The Archinstall 2.8 installer has been enhanced with new features including an updated guide on resizing the booted ISO root partition, the capability to set a keyboard layout during minimal installation, a switch from weekly to daily updates of the official image, an improvement in the display of installed packages across various profiles, and fixes for issues related to Btrfs mount options, the GRUB boot directory, fstab line endings, enabling testing repositories, custom mirrors, and sizing of the /home partition.

Arch Linux 2024.06.01 is ready for download from the official website. This ISO release is intended for new installations only, as current Arch Linux users can update their systems by executing the sudo pacman -Syu command in their preferred terminal emulator.

Last updated 11 hours ago

ChicagoVPS is your gateway to unparalleled hosting solutions. Our state-of-the-art datacenters and powerful network ensures lightning-fast speeds and uninterrupted connectivity for your websites and applications. Whether you’re a startup looking for scalable resources or an enterprise in need of enterprise-grade hosting, our range of plans and customizable solutions guarantee a perfect fit. Trust in ChicagoVPS to deliver excellence, combining unmatched reliability and top-tier support.

For Inquiries or to receive a personalized quote, please reach out to us through our contact form here or email us at sales@chicagovps.net.

Download Now: Arch Linux’s First ISO Release Powered by Linux Kernel 6.9
 

Linus Torvalds announced today the release and general availability of Linux kernel 6.9, the latest stable version of the Linux kernel that introduces several new features and improved hardware support.

Highlights of Linux kernel 6.9 include Rust support on AArch64 (ARM64) architectures, support for the Intel FRED (Flexible Return and Event Delivery) mechanism for improved low-level event delivery, support for AMD SNP (Secure Nested Paging) guests, and a new dm-vdo (virtual data optimizer) target in device mapper for inline deduplication, compression, zero-block elimination, and thin provisioning.

Linux kernel 6.9 also supports the Named Address Spaces feature in GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) that allows the compiler to better optimize per-CPU data access, adds initial support for FUSE passthrough to allow the kernel to serve files from a user-space FUSE server directly, adds support for the Energy Model to be updated dynamically at run time, and introduces a new LPA2 mode for ARM 64-bit processors.

Rust language has been updated to version 1.76.0 in Linux 6.9, which also reworks the locking mechanism in the GPIO subsystem, adds support for the ORC stack unwinder and kernel live patching for the LoongArch architecture, mitigates the RFDS (Register File Data Sampling) vulnerability affecting Intel Atom processors, and adds support for the membarrier() system call for the RISC-V architecture.

Other noteworthy changes in Linux kernel 6.9 include LZ4 compression support for the hibernation image creation and loading code, support for NFSD administrators to revoke NFSv4’s open and lock state, subvolume children btree support, improved journal pipelining, discard path improvements, improved directory structure checking, and new mm helper in the bcachefs file system introduced in Linux kernel 6.8.

The F2FS (Flash-Friendly File System) flash file system received zoned block device support, per-file compression, and enhanced data recovery after a sudden power cut on a zoned block device, the exFAT file system received improvements to directory synchronization performance, the EXT4 file system received an inode flag for atomic writes and online resize improvements, and the Btrfs file system received more zoned mode fixes and minor performance optimizations.

On top of that, the memory-management performance has been improved, the perf tool received several new features, BPF token support was added for delegating a subset of BPF subsystem functionality from privileged system-wide daemons like systemd, and ARM 64-bit processors received initial support for the contiguous PTE bit to allow the TLBs to map a range larger than a single PTE if the range is physically contiguous.

Linux 6.9 brings improved networking capabilities, featuring TCP_NOTSENT_LOWAT support in MPTCP, capability to forward ICMP Error messages in IPSec, standalone control state machine for bonding according to IEEE 802.1AX-2008 5.4.15, aid for hosts running on multiple separate MCTP networks, support for new 2.5GE and 5GE Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) link modes, SPP (signaling and payload protected) AMSDU support, and expanded-bandwidth OFDMA assistance.

New drivers have also been integrated in Linux 6.9, these include drivers for ChromeOS’s Embedded Controller, Marvell’s Octeon PCI Endpoint NIC VF, RENESAS’s FemtoClock3 Wireless clock generator, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite (X1E80100) processor, Samsung’s Wireless Action Mouse, Keyboard, GamePad, Book Cover, Universal Keyboard, and HOGP Keyboard Bluetooth devices, Snakebyte’s gamepads, and Goodix Berlin’s I2C and SPI touch controllers.

Apart from these, it also includes additional AMD IP blocks for catering to future AMD hardware, Intel Xe graphic driver updates, Displayport tunneling support for Intel i915 graphics driver, HDMI compatibility for the Rockchip RK3128 processor, SoundWire assistance for AMD ACP 6.3 configurations and DSPless mode support for Intel Soundwire systems, battery charge management support for Fujitsu laptops, and refresh rate key support for Lenovo IdeaPad laptops.

Finally, the Linux kernel 6.9 labels the EXT2 file system as deprecated due to its lack of protection against the Year 2038 problem. Although EXT2 is still functional in the Linux kernel 6.9, developers recommend avoiding this feature. Similarly, Linux 6.9 has eliminated the older NTFS filesystem implementation, choosing NTFS3 as the default for NTFS filesystem support.

The Linux kernel 6.9 will be a transient branch with support for just a few months. It will pave the way for the Linux kernel 6.10, which has officially entered its merge window, as announced by Linus Torvalds. The release of Linux kernel 6.10 is anticipated around mid or late September 2024. In the meantime, you can download the current Linux kernel 6.9 through Linus Torvalds’ git tree or the kernel.org webpage.

Last updated 2 hours ago

ChicagoVPS is your gateway to unparalleled hosting solutions. Our state-of-the-art datacenters and powerful network ensures lightning-fast speeds and uninterrupted connectivity for your websites and applications. Whether you’re a startup looking for scalable resources or an enterprise in need of enterprise-grade hosting, our range of plans and customizable solutions guarantee a perfect fit. Trust in ChicagoVPS to deliver excellence, combining unmatched reliability and top-tier support.

For Inquiries or to receive a personalized quote, please reach out to us through our contact form here or email us at sales@chicagovps.net.

Unveiling the Linux Kernel 6.9: A Look at New Features and Enhancements
 

Linux 6.9 is the next major kernel series in development and Linus Torvalds has announced the availability of the first Release Candidate (RC) for public testing.

We are only two weeks past the release of Linux 6.8, and the merge window for Linux kernel 6.9 has closed. It’s now time for the community to test the Release Candidate (RC) development versions, typically aimed at early adopters, distro maintainers, and bleeding-edge users.

Linus Torvalds states that Linux kernel 6.9 appears to be a fairly standard release promising further improvements to the AMDGPU graphics driver, enhanced timer performance, updates to the workqueue subsystem, architecture updates, removal of the old NTFS code, core networking updates, VM and kernel enhancements, as well as improvements to tooling and documentation and a slew of new drivers for superior hardware support.

The timer subsystem has undergone a significant rewrite, resulting in per-cpu timer wheels to boost timer performance, which can be crucial, particularly for networking,” said Linus Torvalds. “Another notable core update is to the workqueue subsystem, where a major addition is BH workqueue support. This is mainly important as it signals we finally have a path away from tasklets. The tasklet interface has frankly been deprecated for some time, but we’ve never really had any good alternatives.

Linux kernel 6.9 also promises more improvements for the bcachefs file system introduced in Linux kernel 6.7, AMD P-State “preferred core” support, support for larger Linux console fonts for 4K displays, improvements to the new Intel Xe driver introduced in Linux kernel 6.8, passthrough mode for the FUSE file system, and much more.

The final release of Linux kernel 6.9 is expected to hit the streets in mid-May 2024, either on May 12th or May 19th, which depends on how many Release Candidate (RC) milestones Linus Torvalds will release until then.

If Linus Torvalds announces seven RC versions, we should expect Linux 6.9 to arrive on May 12th. But if he’ll announce eight Release Candidates, we’re looking at May 19th for the final release of Linux kernel 6.9.

However, just like Linux kernel 6.7 and Linux kernel 6.8, the Linux 6.9 kernel will be a short-lived series supported for only a few months with security and bugfix updates, so if you’re counting on long-term support, you should use one of the available LTS kernel branches available on kernel.org.

Until then, you can take the first Linux kernel 6.9 Release Candidate for a test drive on your GNU/Linux box by downloading the tarball from Linus Torvalds’ Git tree or the kernel.org website, but please keep in mind that this is a pre-release version, so don’t install or use it on a production machine!

Last updated 1 hour ago

ChicagoVPS is your gateway to unparalleled hosting solutions. Our state-of-the-art datacenters and powerful network ensures lightning-fast speeds and uninterrupted connectivity for your websites and applications. Whether you’re a startup looking for scalable resources or an enterprise in need of enterprise-grade hosting, our range of plans and customizable solutions guarantee a perfect fit. Trust in ChicagoVPS to deliver excellence, combining unmatched reliability and top-tier support.

For Inquiries or to receive a personalized quote, please reach out to us through our contact form here or email us at sales@chicagovps.net.

Linus Torvalds Unveils First Release Candidate of Linux Kernel 6.9