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July 16, 2008

Two days ago, open source developers from around the world released the latest stable version of the Linux kernel, version 2.6.26, adding some improvements for wireless, server virtualization, multimedia and a few other features.

The new kernel is available about three months after version 2.6.25, a longer-than-usual release cycle.

Linux creator Linus Torvalds said in an e-mail announcing the release that he was proud of the progress made so far on the new kernel and that this represents another milestone for the Linux community as a whole.

Historically, new Linux kernel editions are usually adopted as rapidly as possible into mainstream operating system distributions (called distros), bringing the new features directly into use on various production systems.

Among the most significant improvements are changes to the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) virtualization software, first included in the OS in February 2007. KVM normally uses the technique of full virtualization, which simulates all the underlying hardware necessary to run a given client system, with the support of virtualization technologies built into AMD and Intel chips.

The latest kernel update adds limited support for paravirtualization, a technique that only partially virtualizes the hardware in order to improve performance.

Additionally, for the first time, KVM has also been ported to non-x86 hardware platforms Intel IA-64 and IBM PPC and S/390, the Linux developers said.

With version 2.6.26, the kernel for the first time gets a built-in debugger, despite Linus Torvalds's previous warnings against such matters. In an email quoted with the new kernel's release notes, Torvalds said that not having a built-in debugger forces users to be more careful.

Torvalds said "I happen to believe that not having a kernel debugger forces people to think twice about their problem on a different level than with a debugger. The remote debugger KGDB will nevertheless appear in the kernel due to popular demand."

The new Linux kernel builds on the wireless stack added in version 2.6.22 by adding support for the draft wireless mesh standard 802.11s, using work provided by the Open 80211-s project. Mesh is a network topology in which wireless nodes act as relays for each other, providing the potential of better redundancy and higher overall throughput than in a traditional star topography.

The new kernel is available now from the Linux kernel Web site.

Other additions to the kernel include improved Webcam support with a driver for UVC devices, a built-in RAM memory tester, support for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project, new and practical features for a virtualization technology called "containers" and various other new drivers developers can use.

Source: Linus Torvalds, Linux inventor.

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