On September 29, 2024, Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux Kernel 6.12 RC1. This marks the closing of the merge window, starting the process of testing and refining the kernel before its final release. Despite ongoing conference travel for Torvalds and several other maintainers, development has progressed steadily, with a few standout features in this release.
Table of Contents
Notable New Features
Two significant new features stand out in Linux 6.12 RC1:
- PREEMPT_RT: Now mainlined, this feature enables real-time capabilities, making Linux more responsive for time-critical applications. To enable it, users must select the "EXPERT" option in the configuration menu.
- sched_ext: This scheduling extension has been merged, improving how the kernel handles tasks.
Driver Updates
As with most kernel releases, drivers make up a large portion of the changes. In Linux 6.12 RC1, about 55% of the patches are dedicated to drivers. These include updates across various hardware platforms, including USB, Thunderbolt, and serial drivers.
Device tree source files (dts), which describe hardware layouts, account for an additional 5% of the updates. Together, drivers and dts files make up 60% of the overall changes.
Documentation and Tooling
Another 5% of the updates involve documentation improvements. Keeping documentation up-to-date is crucial for ensuring the kernel remains accessible to developers and users alike.
Tooling updates, primarily focused on perf (a tool for performance profiling) and self-tests, account for 10% of the changes.
Core Kernel Changes
The remaining 25% of the updates involve core kernel components. This includes:
- Architectural Updates: There are various platform-specific improvements, including updates for x86, ARM, PowerPC, LoongArch, and MIPS architectures.
- Filesystem Enhancements: The kernel sees continued development on filesystems such as btrfs, bcachefs, ext4, NFS, and XFS. Notably, bcachefs, a filesystem that offers hybrid storage features, continues to receive attention.
- Networking: Both server and client-side networking components, such as SMB and NFS, have received updates. Core networking and security layers also see various changes.
- Memory Management (MM): The release includes updates to how the kernel manages memory, ensuring smoother operations and optimizations in resource handling.
- Rust Support: The Linux kernel’s journey into supporting the Rust programming language continues with incremental updates in this release.
- Security Layers: Enhancements to the kernel’s security modules and fixes to existing vulnerabilities are part of the continuous work to keep the kernel secure.
Overall Statistics
Linux 6.12 RC1 includes over 11,000 commits from more than 1,700 authors, with 850+ merge requests processed. This broad participation highlights the continued strength and engagement of the Linux kernel development community.
Try Linux Kernel 6.12 RC1
Now that the merge window is closed, testing will ensure that this release is stable and ready for wider use.
Users are encouraged to test the first release candidate of 6.12 by downloading it from the Kernel.org website or the Linus Torvalds's git tree.
Please note that these development versions should not be used on production systems due to their experimental nature.
Estimated Linux Kernel 6.12 Final Release Date
Linux Kernel 6.12 RC1 was released on September 29, 2024. Assuming a typical 7-8 week RC period, we'd expect RC7 or RC8 around November 17-24, 2024.
If no major issues are found, the final release would likely come about a week after the last RC.
Therefore, we can estimate that the final release of Linux 6.12 will likely occur in late November or early December 2024, probably around November 24 - December 1, 2024.
Please note that this is an estimate. The actual release date can vary depending on the number and severity of issues found during the RC period. If significant problems are discovered, the release could be delayed. Conversely, if testing goes smoothly, it might be released slightly earlier.
Linus Torvalds and the kernel development team prioritize stability and reliability over strict adherence to a release schedule, so the exact date may shift based on the development process.
Conclusion
Linux Kernel 6.12 RC1 brings important new features like PREEMPT_RT and sched_ext, along with a wide range of improvements across various subsystems. As the development cycle progresses, we can expect further refinements and bug fixes before the final release.
