Linus Torvalds has announced the fourth release candidate (RC4) for Linux Kernel 6.14. The Linux kernel 6.14-rc4 is a routine release candidate that focuses on stability and maintenance.
In the announcement mail, Linus Torvalds describes kernel 6.14-rc4 as a "boring" release, which indicates a stable state without significant problems.
This continues to be the right kind of "boring" release: nothing in
particular stands out in rc4.
The updates include driver fixes, filesystem improvements, core kernel enhancements, and networking adjustments. Most changes are small and non-disruptive, suggesting that the 6.14 release is progressing well.
Table of Contents
Key Areas of Focus
Driver Updates
A large portion of the updates involve driver fixes across various subsystems. These include drivers for GPU, sound, NVMe, and network devices.
Specific drivers receiving attention include nouveau, msm, xe, i915, hda, SOF, tas2781, conexant, arizona/madera, cs35l41, imx-audmix, rsnd, rockchip, pci, tcp, fc, wwan(mhi_wwan_mbim), Ethernet (axienet), and PDC(qcom-pdc).
Filesystem Improvements
Several smaller fixes apply to filesystems such as XFS, SMB, NetFS, CacheFS, and Bcachefs.
For example, XFS receives fixes to prevent mounting with norecovery when quotacheck is active and to correct online repair probing. The SMB client addresses failures to open files under certain conditions.
Networking Enhancements
Networking also receives considerable attention. Updates include fixes for geneve, gtp, tcp, flow_dissector, arp, wwan(mhi_wwan_mbim), and nfp.
BPF Updates
Several updates focus on the Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF), including fixes to the verifier and selftests. These address deadlocks, softlockups, and errors related to map key extraction. Examples include fixing deadlocks when freeing cgroup storage and preventing the extraction of constant map keys for irrelevant maps.
Architecture-Specific Updates
There are specific updates for arm64, powerpc, s390, and x86 architectures.
Sound Open Firmware (SOF) Updates
SOF drivers receive fixes and enhancements, particularly for AMD platforms. These include adding quirks for ACP post-firmware run delays and support for PTL-H.
Noteworthy Fixes
- BPF: A fix addresses a deadlock when freeing cgroup storage, improving stability.
- NVMe-TCP: A fix improves the reliability of NVMe-TCP connections by addressing connect failures when receiving partial ICResp PDUs.
- XFS: A fix prevents mounting XFS filesystems in specific modes to avoid issues.
- ALSA/Realtek: A fix addresses audio-related issues on Realtek hardware.
- NetFS: A fix avoids hangs in network file system operations.
- DRM/MSM/DPU: A fix skips watchdog timer programming for certain hardware configurations.
Try Linux Kernel 6.14 RC4
To ensure a smooth final release, we recommend the users and developers to test the new release candidate. You can download Linux Kernel 6.14 RC4 from the Kernel.org website or the Linus Torvalds's git tree.
The Linux kernel 6.14-rc4 appears to be a standard maintenance release candidate. Its focus on bug fixes and incremental improvements across various subsystems indicates a stable development process.
The release is described as "boring", which is a positive sign. The changes are mainly non-critical but contribute to the kernel's overall stability and functionality.
