Linux 2.4.15 is out; Linux 2.5.0 has also begun.

jbondjr writes: "It appears 2.4.15 is released. It's not quite updated on kernel.org's main page, but it is there if you dig through the tree. You can find 2.4.15 on one of your friendly Kernel.org Mirrors (note the 2.4.15 Changelog) From the 2.5 readme: "Linux-2.5.0 is exactly the same as 2.4.15, except for a version number change." So, enjoy the The 2.5 Tree

Comments

So who else is downloading 2.5

[Chuck Chunder]

so they can be cool and trendy and be on the development tree while it's still stable?

Re:So who else is downloading 2.5

[krorvik]

Thought about it, but then I realized that I would have to go *back* to 2.4.16 to keep on the stable side. So I'll just stick with 2.4.15 for now ;)

Turkey!

[iworm]

Build 2.4.15 with some modules. Look where it installs them... (Clue: Think when it was released)

Linus is a little joker, isn't he? ;-))

Re:Turkey!

[chabotc]

Ps, if anyone else, like me, likes his /lib/modules tree without holidays that are not celibrated here in europe; or is a religious vegitarian, simply edit the toplevel Makefile and remove the 'extraversion' (-greased-turkey) from it. Then you will have a 'plain' 2.4.15 ;-)

Preemptible kernel

[ThatComputerGuy]

Don't forget the Preemptible Kernel patch. This will reduce latencies and overall make a desktop machine feel snappier.

From what I hear, however, it's not recommended for servers where bandwidth is more important. But then again, you wouldn't be putting a bleeding edge kernel on there anyway, now would you?

Re:Preemptible kernel

[chabotc]

Also, as we speak, the rml preempt patches for 2.4.15 have not yet been released, and the older ones (2.4.15-pre7) do not apply cleanly to the 2.4.15 tree. If you want to use that patch, wait a few hours/days. (they are very much worth using on a interactive desktop machine).

Linus is SOOOooo unprofessional

[barneyfoo]

Just look at the kernel name, for 2.4.15

You'd think it would be 2.4.15, consistent with all other kernels.

but NoooOOooo...

he has to name it:

2.4.15-greased-turkey

Todo list?

[LinuxGeek8]

I'm sure there isn't a Todo list. And I assume there never will be one.

I was just wondering (read karma-whoring) what the first big change in 2.5.0 will be.
I guess cml2, the new config/make system.

Some other changes that might be expected;
Jfs and Xfs in the main kernel,
Fixing the latency, and maybe make the kernel pre-emptive.
There will be a scsi layer rewrite and maybe a ide layer rewrite (that's correct?),

Re:Todo list?

[Dr.Dubious DDQ]

Don't forget the possibilities of (in no particular order):

• ALSA sound
• MOSIX
• BTTV2/V4L2

Re:Todo list?

[chabotc]

To get a good feel for what the posible new cool things will be in the 2.5 kernel, check out the video / subscripts from the 2.5 kernel summit a while back. They mention

Raw access to block devices (DB work)

SCTP (nice network tricks)

Block layer redesign (scsi, ide, etc)

High performance file systems (xfs, jfs, etc)

Re-worked network driver API

Hot-Plug Devices (pci/pcmcia)

Kernel build system

Intergration of some NSA secure linux idea's (mandatory ACL's, etc)

Async-IO addons (non posix conforment)

ACPI / Power management (needed for hot plug?)
And a lot of other topics. 'Specialy make sure to check out the video's. They provide some nice insights into the wo the file systems (xfs, etc), raw access to block devices (oracle was hot on this i think),rld of kernel hero's ;-)

check out this link to the lwn article for more details, descriptions and links.

Re:patch for XFree86 4.0.3 dri?

[leine]

Linus has a little package in the v2.4 directory. It is called drm-4.0.x.tar.gz. You can use it to get DRM for XFreee86 4.0.x.

ext3

[ma2tias]

Now, for the people who use ext3:
You will not need to download ac/ext3 patches anymore to get your journaling running.

It will happen again?

[bockman]

My impression, as a linux user, is that with 2.4 we (well...they) have moved to a three stage development cycle:

• alpha : the development tree
• beta : developers realise that they have done all the tests they could and call 'stable' the development tree. More users starts using the new kernel (users which would not have used a 'development' release). New bug and problems come out; some of them may not be fixable with small patches, but may require some strong re-enginering.
• final : the developers and beta users are satisfied with the current performances of the stable kernel ( and maybe also tired of working on it ;^>). The stable kernel is given to the maitainers. A new development kernel begins.

This is not a bad model. Maybe the kernel is getting too big for the two-stage model. And maybe too many people are using Linux for critical business, starving the 'development' releases of the testers it needs to get production quality.

Re:Release

[MartinG]

Is this Freshmeat or Slashdot ?

It's slashdot. You can tell it is because it says "Slashdot - News for nerds" at the top.

You can easily recognise freshmeat when you see it as well - it has a logo at the top with "FM" written in it.

I'm surprised you have difficulty telling them apart. They really are quite different.

Stable or not?

[doorbot.com]

Since the kernel is now on the 2.4 series kernel, is it officially considered a "stable" kernel yet? With the recent discussions of the VM system and pre-emptable kernels, I wonder if the latest version is stable enough for my server. I'm still running 2.2.19 and it's working fine, but I'm looking forward to upgrading some time in the next couple weeks (maybe).

One big thing I'm looking for a fix for (hopefully with the 2.4.x series) is for the SNMP/netstat info to use more than 32 bit integers to store the number of bytes transferred. Mine keeps resetting after 4 GB transferred and over 6 months that would've added up, but right now it resets itself back to zero after it hits the 4 billion byte limit.

Also, the SMP is supposed to be better, but will that really make a difference on a server which does mild web serving, other miscellaneous duties, and who's primary purpose is serving Unreal Tournament games? As of now, it doesn't look like UT takes advantage of both processors, it just uses one...

Re:Stable or not?

[Ami Ganguli]

Stable is totally relative. The 2.2.x tree has had a lot longer to mature. It'll probably be a year before 2.4.x is as solid. This is true with most operating systems. If you have a mission critical server that's been working flawlessly on 2.2.x, then you have no reason to upgrade to 2.4.x. Since the old series is still maintained with security fixes, you can stay with the old kernel for a long time.

On the other hand, if you're installing a new machine you might benefit from some of the 2.4.x features. As long as the machine isn't really critical, you might as well go for it. If you're starting a project that won't be deployed for another six months or so, then 2.4.x is definately the way to go. Likewise on a desktop machine.

In your particular case, you need to evaluate how stable your Unreal Tournament server needs to be. Will you go out of business if it crashes? If not then I'd go ahead and upgrade. Chances are it'll be rock solid, and if not you can always go back.

hard packed versions

[ma2tias]

The readme file in 2.5.0 says:

Linux-2.5.0 is exactly the same as 2.4.15,
except for a version number change.
Subsequent releases diverge, with Marcelo Tosatti
maintaining the stable 2.4.x kernels, while the 2.5.x kernels are for development work.

and looking at the filesizes we find what we expect that

linux-2.5.0.tar. takes up 129 699 840 bytes
linux-2.4.15.tar takes up 129 699 840 bytes

are the same. But if we look at the packed versions

linux-2.5.0.tar.bz2 23 748 963
linux-2.4.15.tar.bz2 23 747 061

A difference of 1902 bytes

linux-2.5.0.tar.gz 29 404 635
linux-2.4.15.tar.gz 29 404 736

A difference of -101 bytes

How come?

Informative

[beable]

There is a new technique called "Don't Click On The Link Of Stories You Don't Want To Read". Apparently it allows people to decide whether they want to read the story just by looking at the headline, and if it says "New Linux Kernel Out", it allows the user to not click the link, thus avoiding the story they didn't want to read. I can't see how this new-fangled "Don't Click The Link" technology could possibly work, but some people say they are very happy with it.

So... has anybody found any bugs on 2.4.15 yet?

Re:Release

[Colin Bayer]

My guess is that the Slashdot editors do this to answer the eternal philosophical question:

"How many people who can't read 'use the mirrors' can fit over a 100MB pipe?"

:)

direct links to kernel mirrors

[ddent]

Please avoid slashdoting the main server. Here is list of direct links to mirrors, by country.

Version 2.4.15, full tarball:
al
dz
as
ad
ao
ai
aq
ag
ar
am
aw
ac
au
at
az
av
bs
bh
bd
bb
by
be
bz
bj
bm
bt
bo
ba
bw
bv
br
io
bn
bg
bf
bi
kh
cm
ca
ic

Almost totally off-topic but...

[biglig2]

...reading this I went over to catch up on AC's diary. More human interest than the change log. Got to November 5th and read:

"Windows installation day one. Getting rid of the old windows was easy - they fell apart quite happily, and certainly wont be re-installable anywhere else. "

Blimey, I thought, until I remembered his house is getting done up...