Linus Torvalds and Andrew Morton Release Final Linux Kernel 2.6.0 Production Version

New Linux kernel most stable new production release ever and promises to reshape computing industry with key new enterprise and desktop features

BEAVERTON, OR - December 18, 2003 - The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global consortium of leading technology companies dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux, today announced that that Linus Torvalds and production kernel maintainer Andrew Morton have released the 2.6 Linux production kernel.

The new operating system software - available on the Web as source code at www.kernel.org or ftp.kernel.org - is a major release of a new Linux production kernel. The last time this happened was with the 2.4 version of the kernel, released in January 2001. Torvalds released the original Linux kernel in September 1991 as a student in Finland.

"With the new kernel, I think we're getting closer to Linux for everyone," Torvalds said. "I think this is the best yet and I had a lot of fun working on it. I want to thank all of the contributors who joined us."

Torvalds, a Lab Fellow at OSDL, will now hand off ongoing maintenance of the new 2.6 Linux production kernel to Andrew Morton, whose Linux development work is sponsored by OSDL. Torvalds, Morton and other key Linux developers are expected to start work in early 2004 on a new test and development Linux kernel to be called version 2.7.

The new Linux kernel has already received broad support from some of the world's leading technology companies, including Computer Associates, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Intel, Mitsubishi Electric, Miracle Linux, MontaVista Software, NTT COMWARE, NEC, Novell, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, SUSE and Turbolinux. http://www.osdl.org/newsroom/press_releases/2003/2003_12_18_beaverton_quotes.html .

With the new production Linux kernel, customers will see significant performance and reliability improvements in a wide range of computing uses for Linux, from embedded to desktop to data center and telecommunications applications. Improvements include scalability to 64-CPU systems and beyond, faster threading, added memory support, enhanced disk drive performance and storage access, broader embedded chip support, and bolstered desktop computer enhancements for plug and play, studio-quality sound, USB, firewire, and more.

"The new Linux kernel is an important milestone in the advance of Linux into mainstream computing," said Timothy Witham, OSDL Lab director. "The 2.6 kernel is a big step in giving Linux users a reliable, thoroughly-tested foundation for a new generation of applications and services that promise to change the computing landscape forever."

Considered by many experts to be the most stable initial Linux production kernel release ever, the 2.6 kernel has undergone extensive testing by OSDL and other industry experts. The Lab's Linux test infrastructure consists of OSDL's Scalable Test Platform (STP) and Patch Lifecycle Manager(PLM) systems, plus a compile regression test platform. The Lab publishes testing results online at http://www.osdl.org/projects/26lnxstblztn/results/.

In addition to a compilation of comprehensive kernel testing results, the Lab has also posted to its Web site information about the development of the new Linux kernel, including an illustration about how the kernel is created http://www.osdl.org/newsroom/graphics/linux_dev_process_final.png [ Image ], a timeline on the history of the linux kernel [ Image ] and a summary of the key features and functionality that have been added to the new 2.6.0 Linux kernel since the initial 2.4.0 kernel was released in 2001 Linux 2.6.0 What's new [ http://www.osdl.org/newsroom/press_releases/2003/2003_12_18_beaverton_2_6_new.htm ].

About The Open Source Development Lab (OSDL)

OSDL - home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux - is dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux in the enterprise. Founded in 2000 and supported by a global consortium of IT industry leaders, OSDL is a non-profit organization that provides state-of-the-art computing and test facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the world. OSDL members include Alcatel, Cisco, Computer Associates, Dell, Ericsson, Force Computers, Fujitsu, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Linuxcare, Miracle Linux Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, MontaVista Software, NEC Corporation, Network Appliance, Nokia, Novell, NTT DATA INTELLILINK, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, SUSE LINUX, TimeSys, Toshiba, Transmeta Corporation, Turbolinux, Ulticom, Unilever, VA Software and Wind River Systems. Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org/.

OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of their respective holders.

Linux 2.6.0: What's New

The improvements and new features in the 2.6.0 kernel are too numerous to list completely in this short summary. But we thought this brief list would provide a useful overview.

Servers - Scalability

Faster

• Support for NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access) servers - New processor scheduler optimizes related system resources such as I/O devices, multiple CPU's, and memory. Makes large servers on Linux run much faster.
• Improved simultaneous multithreading (HT-Hyperthreading) support enables the scheduler to recognize and optimize processor loads across both real and virtual processors within a machine. Linux now provides better performance on CPUs such as Intel Pentium 4 - (processors with Hyperthreading support).
• New Scheduler. Linux process scheduler is now capable of better understanding and optimizing system resources. Improves scalability to 16 or more CPU's with less kernel overhead for process switching. This boosts performance of large applications running on Linux.

Bigger

• Support for Intel's PAE (Physical Address Extension) allows most newer 32-bit x-86 systems to access up to 64 GB of RAM in paged mode. Linux can now run applications that access large blocks of memory. For example, bigger databases are now supported on Linux.
• Support for filesystems up to 16 terabytes on 32-bit systems because of 2.6's support for 64-bit addressable block devices. The new kernel supports up to eight times more storage than 2.4.
• Support for more devices. 2.4 was limited to 255 major devices and 255 sub-devices. The new kernel now offers support for 4095 major devices and more than a million subdevices per type. Critical for large server farms where minimum device requirements exceed 5,000 devices, many of which are RAID storage devices.

Better

• Linux's NFS (Network File system) has been improved to be faster, more scalable and more secure.
  • Supports NFSv4 protocol.
  • More secure authentication (with cryptography).
  • NFS server implementation supports up to 64 times as many concurrent users.
• Ext3 support in the new kernel offers more reliable data storage and faster recovery from major failures (such as loss of power).
• Enhanced high-bandwidth networking support, with TCP segmentation, offload support and zero-copy network file system support. The new kernel is able to handle more network traffic while still taking care of other tasks and users.

Desktop/Laptop - Responsiveness

• Pre-emptible Kernel. The new kernel can now be interrupted mid-task. Applications run smoother and users will experience lower latencies (delays) especially when running multimedia applications.
• Linux's I/O (Input/Output) scheduler has been completely re-written to optimize the way the system determines what processes get to read and write to devices. Applications run smoother under heavy disk load.
• Support for Futexes (Fast User-Space Mutexs). Futexes are a way for multiple processes of threads to serialize events so they don't conflict for contested system resources. Better application performance.

Multimedia

• Inclusion of ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture). ALSA is completely thread and SMP-safe. More robust audio support - allows multiple sound cards, hardware mixing.
• Improved Joystick support (e.g. force-feedback and many new drivers).

Wireless support

• Strengthens Linux support for wireless devices by merging subsystems into a central wireless API. Wireless tools will work with all supported devices.
• Native support for Bluetooth (wireless protocol for short range communications and low power consumption).

Laptop Power Savings

• Kernel now includes support for software-suspend-to-disk functionality for laptops.
• Supports newer processor ability to change speed, based on the power profile.

File System Support

• Native mounting of Windows-style filesystems - CIFS (Common Internet file system - an upgraded superset of the SMB protocol). Linux integrates even more easily with Windows networks.

Device Support

• Unified Device Model centralizes system resource control and better support for: Hot Plug; PC Cards, USB and Firewire devices;
• The new kernel is a true full Plug-and-Play OS and can be set as such in system BIOS.
• The driver model has been modularized to enable clean support for systems with multiple sound cards. This enables merging of sound devices, full duplex audio, and hardware mixing.
• Native support for USB 2.0 (480 Mb/sec). Systems based on a Linux 2.6 kernel can now be both a USB host and a USB device. Enables easier connections and synchronization with PDA's, for example.

Security

• Linux now supports the IPsec (IP Security) networking protocols (e.g. IPv6) which allows for cryptographic security at the network protocol level.

Embedded - Mainstream Linux Development

• uCLinux support. Much of the uCLinux code has been included in the new kernel. Unifies the development environments for the first time between embedded and desktop Linux.
• Support for more types of MMU-less processors - Microprocessors without Memory Management Units. For example, these processors are commonly used in PDA's.
• Embedded Profile support. Allows kernels to be easily developed for embedded devices/Consumer Electronics.

Some of the sources used to pull this summary together include, in no particular order: Joe Pranevich - Wonderful World of Linux 2.6; Dave Jones - What to Expect in Linux 2.5; Key Features in the Linux 2.6 Kernel Will Favor Enterprise - Linuxworld.com; Andrew Morton; http://www.lkml.org/ and http://www.kernel.org/; and several other kernel developers.