Linus Torvalds has announced a new release candidate of forthcoming Linux 4.8 kernel. Debuted as the Linux 4.8-RC5, the new update is touted to be “noticeably bigger” than its predecessor with some major new changes.
The fifth RC comes preloaded with significant improvements to Mellanox MLX5 network driver and some tweaks in Overlay FS and NFS filesystems. There are also some minor tweaks to enhance user experience.
Linux lord Linus Torvalds decided to push the improved version when he saw things starting to go slow in the development cycle of Linux 4.8. “My hope last week that we were starting to calm down and shrink the releases seems to have been premature,” Torvalds wrote in a community email.
Linux community is expecting to see some more Release Candidates before the final version. If the development cycle proceeds with the same pace, we can soon expect another bigger RC release. There is a speculation that the final version of Linux 4.8 kernel will be out by October 2.
Meanwhile, Linux enthusiasts and beta testers can download the kernel 4.8 RC5 sources from its official website. It is recommended not to replace RC5 with your current stable kernel.
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