Linux Kernel 6.11 RC2 Released: Focusing on \

Linux Kernel 6.11 RC2 Release: Enhanced Stability and Fix Errors

Linus Torvalds , the leading developer of the Linux kernel, announced the release of Linux Kernel 6.11 RC2 on August 4, 2024. This release focuses on solving the build and test problems found in RC1 while continuing to improve all aspects of the kernel.

Table of contents

- Main areas of improvement

• Kernel Virtualization (KVM)
• network
• Graphics and display
• File system
• Schema-specific changes
• Specific driver updates
• Solve build and test problems
• Build error regression in Linux kernel 6.11-rc2
• Test Linux kernel 6.11 RC2

Main areas of improvement

The second version candidate for Linux Kernel 6.11 (RC2) introduces various enhancements, updates, and bug fixes. Here are some significant improvements and fixes in Kernel 6.11 RC2.

Kernel Virtualization (KVM)

Some improvements and fixes have been made to the kernel-based virtual machine (KVM) subsystem:

• Fixed determination of the maximum NPT mapping level for private pages in x86 KVM.
• Eliminates log spam generated by limited APIC timer cycles.
• Disable pre-failure of the SNP VM before initialization.

network

The network stack has undergone many updates and bug fixes:

• Improved processing of RSS (receiver scaling) context.
• Fixed an issue in Mellanox MLX5 driver.
• Enhanced MPTCP (Multi-Path TCP) scheduling and connection management.
• Resolved various Bluetooth-related errors.

Graphics and display

The Direct Render Manager (DRM) subsystem has attracted attention:

• Fixed issues related to overlay processing when using screen targets in VMware graphics.
• Improved AMD GPU power management support.
• Resolved various minor errors in Intel and other graphics drivers.

File system

Both XFS and Btrfs file systems have been improved:

• Fixed memory leaks in XFS and improved error handling.
• Resolved potential corruption issues in Btrfs.

Schema-specific changes

Some architecture-specific improvements have been made:

• Enhanced support for various ARM and ARM64 CPU models.
• Improved CPU functional processing on RISC-V.
• Fixed issues related to x86 performance events and CPU identification.

Some inaccuracies and outdated information in existing documents were also fixed.

Specific driver updates

While 6.11-rc2 focuses primarily on bug fixes and stability improvements, it also addresses some driver updates to specific drivers, including drivers for GPUs and network adapters. These updates include:

• drm/amdgpu: Fixed APU processing, continuous processing of IB resolution, and support for the gpu_metrics sysfs interface.
• drm/i915: Fixed potential integer overflow issue.
• drm/vmwgfx: Fixed overlay issues, deadlocks during dma buf fence polling, and dumb buffer handling.
• ice: Improved Rx queue processing, XSK pool management, and interrupt mapping.
• net/mlx5: Fixed error handling, health exhaustion and lock management.
• net/mlx5e: Added checks on return values, requirements for mlx5 tc classifier operation support, and fixes for CT entries update leaks.
• net/phy: realtek: Fixed the KSZ9131 MDI-X status issue.

Solve build and test problems

An important focus of 6.11-rc2 is to solve the build and test problems encountered in the previous version candidate.

Linus Torvalds noted that RC1 encountered some small but annoying build and test failures in Guenter's test matrix. While these issues are mostly “stupid and trivial,” they highlight some areas that need attention. RC2 is designed to remove most of this "stupid noise" without introducing new major issues.

Geert Uytterhoeven's analysis report submitted to the Linux kernel mailing list details these solutions.

• Error Solution: A total of 20 error improvements are listed, demonstrating the commitment to code stability. It is worth noting that some errors related to the Sparc schema and the bcachefs file system were resolved.
• Warning Solution: This report highlights 19 warning improvements in 6.11-rc2, indicating concerns about code quality and maintainability. Many of these warning solutions involve missing prototypes and uninitialized variables.

Build error regression in Linux kernel 6.11-rc2

Compared with v6.10, build error regressions in Linux kernel version 6.11-rc2 include:

• Incompatible pointer type error for m68k architecture in arch/mips/sgi-ip22/ip22-gio.c.
• The logic in drivers/md/dm-integrity.c is not an error.
• Frame size errors for m68k architecture in fs/bcachefs/data_update.c.
• Constant errors for powerpc architecture in include/linux/compiler_types.h.
• Several overflow errors and unknown pseudo-operation errors for the sh4 architecture.

Build error improvements in Linux kernel version 6.11-rc2 compared to v6.10 include:

• Fixed various bugs in arch/sparc, including missing prototypes, undefined symbols, and relocation errors.
• Unused variables were removed and pragma and options usage in drivers/gpu/drm/msm/adreno was corrected.

Compared to v6.10, build warning regressions in Linux kernel version 6.11-rc2 include:

• Uninitialized variables may be used in fs/btrfs/fiemap.c.
• Warning about missing clone3() entry point in kernel/fork.c.

Build warning improvements in Linux kernel version 6.11-rc2 compared to v6.10 include:

• Resolved overwrite warnings in various .config files.
• Fixed missing prototypes in arch/mips/sgi-ip22 and arch/sparc/prom.
• Resolved warnings for uninitialized variables in drivers/base/regmap/regcache-maple.c.
• Fixed an issue where uninitialized variables might be used in fs/btrfs/extent_io.c.

In summary, Linux kernel version 6.11-rc2 reduces build errors and warnings in various architectures including MIPS, PowerPC, SH4, and SPARC.

These improvements mainly revolve around fixing missing prototypes, solving variable initialization issues, and resolving compiler errors.

Test Linux kernel 6.11 RC2

Linux Kernel 6.11 RC2 brings many improvements and fixes in various subsystems.

Users and developers are encouraged to download the second candidate of 6.11 from the Kernel.org website or Linus Torvalds git tree for testing.

Note that because these development versions are experimental, they should not be used in production systems.

If a typical development cycle is followed, we can expect the final version of Linux 6.11 to be released around September 22, 2024 .

resource:

• Linux Kernel 6.11-rc2 Release Notes

Next read:

• Linux Kernel 6.11 RC3 release

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