Linux Kernel 5.6 has received a lot of updates and new features during its merge window, which opened the day after the release of Kernel 5.5.
In the kernel mailing list, Linus Torvalds announced the release of kernel 5.6-rc1 along with the closing of the merge window for 5.6 series.
The first release candidate of kernel 5.6 includes various changes ranging from the platform support for the Amazon Echo, AMD Family 19h, networking support for WireGuard, Intel Virtual Bus to the general hardware support for USB4 and Logitech input devices.
Key highlight features added to Kernel 5.6:
- The Year 2038 Problem fixed
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2000 Turing support
- Ext4 performance fixes
- Sound driver update
- CPU idle cooling thermal driver support
- Server-side copy support
Following the existing rule of the Kernel development cycle, the merge window opened for approximately two weeks. Subsequently, Torvalds begins the period of stabilization for kernel 5.6 to resolve the problems and bug fixes.
Also, it is quite estimated that Linux kernel 5.6 will release at the end of April, following the tradition of new major kernel release every two or three months.
If you want to try the Kernel 5.6-rc1, you can download the release candidate from here.
For all the detailed features, you can read Michael Larabel’s blog Phoronix where he meticulously keeps track of extensive Linux 5.6 features.
For all the new releases and updates about the Linux Kernel, keep following the Fossbytes.
