Linux 2.6.32 Kernel Released

Just as planned, Linux 2.6.32-rc8 was the last test release and the final Linux 2.6.32 kernel is now available as of last night.

The Linux 2.6.32 kernel brings improvements to the Btrfs file-system, ATI R600/700 KMS + 3D support, Intel DRM improvements (improved power management), other DRM changes, VGA Arbitration, virtualization improvements, and much more.

The Linux 2.6.32 kernel release announcement can be found at LKML.org while an extensive list of 2.6.32 changes can be found at KernelNewbies.org. We have already published Linux 2.6.32 kernel benchmarks (with special interest towards the EXT4 performance drop).

The Linux 2.6.33 kernel merge window will soon open and a good number of changes will be pushed into the next kernel release. Among the changes to look forward to in Linux 2.6.33 include the much-anticipated KMS page-flipping ioctl, VMware's new DRM that is needed by their new Gallium3D driver, R600/700 DRM interrupts support, DisplayPort for ATI Radeon KMS, and the Radeon KMS driver will be merged out of the driver staging area. Of course, many other changes will also happen outside of the DRM realm. Of course, our new kernel test farm is continuously running and looking forward to benchmarking this new code.