With enhancements in networking, gaming, and system calls, Linux Kernel 6.8 is poised to offer a solid foundation for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, ensuring support throughout the distribution’s lifespan.
Ubuntu users are in for a treat as Linus Torvalds has officially announced the Linux kernel 6.8 on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML). This version is set to be the General Availability (GA) kernel for the upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release, meaning it will be supported for the entire lifespan of the distribution. This release as fairly average in size compared to the previous one, it doesn’t skimp on new features and improvements. One of the highlights is the experimental Intel Xe DRM driver, which is part of a range of hardware support updates that include AMD Zen 5, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and more.
For Raspberry Pi enthusiasts, Linux 6.8 introduces support for the Raspberry Pi 5 in the V3D DRM driver, promising a solid graphics experience out of the box when paired with Mesa 23.3. This is a significant development for other Linux distributions that can now benefit from this mainline addition. The zswap subsystem has been enhanced to manage memory pressure more effectively, and a new feature prevents direct writes to block devices with mounted filesystems, reducing the risk of filesystem corruption. Intel ‘Meteor Lake’ CPUs will now reach their advertised boost speeds, thanks to an adjustment in the Intel P-State CPU frequency scaling driver.
Laptop users, particularly those with Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12), Acer Swift Go 14, and ASUS Expertbook B5, can expect improved performance during peak loads. Additionally, AMD Ryzen 7000 and 8000 laptops will see mitigations for radio frequency interference affecting Wi-Fi and GPU memory clocks. Networking enhancements in Linux 6.8 are set to boost TCP performance with many concurrent connections by up to 40%. Gamers will appreciate support for new controllers and gamepads, including Nintendo Switch Online controllers and the official Steam controller.
Other notable features in Linux 6.8 include new system calls, a deadline servers mechanism, Rust kernel support for LoongArch CPUs, and enhancements to the KVM guest-first memory feature. The perf tool now supports data-type profiling, and there’s initial online filesystem check and repair for Bcachefs. Linux kernel 6.8 is available for download, but users are advised to wait for their Linux distribution to officially package and update the kernel. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS users will have Linux 6.8 included by default, and it will also be backported to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS in the upcoming HWE/Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS release.
