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Linux 3.3 Released
diegocg writes "Linux 3.3 has been released. The changes include the merge of kernel code from the Android project. There is also support for a new architecture (TI C6X), much improved balancing and the ability to restripe between different RAID profiles in Btrfs, and several network improvements: a virtual switch implementation (Open vSwitch) designed for virtualization scenarios, a faster and more scalable alternative to the 'bonding' driver, a configurable limit to the transmission queue of the network devices to fight bufferbloat, a network priority control group and per-cgroup TCP buffer limits. There are also many small features and new drivers and fixes. Here's the full changelog."
The Linux kernel guys show that constant steady frequent releases are the way forwards, note to GNOME and KDE guys, you got it wrong.
If I deploy a 3.3 guest on a host running 3.3, does it automatically become 3.3 repeating and go on forever?
Write failed: Broken pipe
Wow, I had no idea there was work in porting Linux to DSP architectures. That's quite an interesting development. I wonder what the use case is, since DSPs are typically used for very specific, real-time work, not for hosting general-purpose operating systems.
Also, it's quite surprising to me since as far as I know it's necessary to use TI's compiler to generate C6X code. I found one initiative to port GCC to it, but afaik it didn't get finished. My understanding is that it is no small job to get Linux to compile on non-supported compilers, so I'm interested in the toolchain they are using. For my own work on a C6711, I've been using the TI compiler under Wine. (Which works fine actually, although I had to generate an initial project in CodeComposer to get some of the board-specific support files.)
I just rebooted to apply 3.2.11 :(
Unicode in Slashdot
Features not marked "experimental" in the kernel config database are out of beta.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
It will be used for the Fedora 17 beta release currently scheduled for April 3rd.
A good file system with restripeable RAID is pretty nifty. Admittedly you won't use the feature often, but it's a nice alternative to backing up and restoring onto a new array.
Fanboism? Don't be a douchebag. This is a post about a new Linux release. The people who comment on this post should naturally be expected to be Linux users, probably fans. Just as a post about a new OS X release would naturally be populated with Apple fans. It's the people who purposefully comment on threads about products they DON'T like that create a problem. Then there are people like you who just enjoy acting like a dick. Give it a rest.
Arch Linux will probably support it in a few days. The packages have been marked outdated and there is already a 3.3rc7-1 ( https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=50893 )release in the wild that will probably be the basis for the updated to 3.3.
It's the people who purposefully comment on threads about products they DON'T like that create a problem.
I wouldn't say it's a problem. They, like to the people who like it, are simply stating their opinions.
Gentoo and/or Arch
ZFS has no support for resizing or restriping it's RAID pools, or shrinking the storage units.
It's a giant missing feature on an otherwise excellent FS.
You're just jealous that it'll take at least a month after Windows 8 comes out before somebody creates a Metro-style UI for X.
Two to match the colors.
I cannot answer this question for any GNU/Linux distribution except for Slackware, which may or may not get Linux Kernel 3.3.xx as part of an official distribution for at least one Slackware release iteration ... But my personal Slackware machine will be getting 3.3 as soon as it finishes building and I reboot the machine. ;-)
It's nice to have a GNU/Linux distribution that doesn't jerk users around with strange application locations, misaligned library versions, or an update schedule tied to commercial support contracts. I've tried the rest, and I returned to the best (imho), since GNU/Linux kernel 0.96. Don't try dropping a new kernel source tar-ball onto RH Enterprise Server, Fedora, or even Ubunto -- it will break your system, and your $$$$ support agreement.
Any improvements to power management? It pains me that my laptop gets 4 hours battery life when in Windows 7 but only 2 hours when in Linux. In both cases it's just idle with nothing special running in the background. Or is this a problem with the distribution?
Loban Amaan Rahman ==> Anagram of ==> Aha! An Abnormal Man!
Seriously, they do some good work. I'm excited to see if this fixes sleep on some of the more obscure devices and gives us better power management.
Back in the Middle Ages (late 1990s through about 2004) I remember us all getting excited for new kernel releases, and then all rushing to download the source and build it. (By 'us' i mean myself and local geek friends, as well as our cohorts on various IRC channels).
Nowadays with auto-configuring, rolling release desktop distributions being the norm, is kernel building now only done in server room environments and for non-PC hardware?
This doesn't matter much, I'm just curious.
do() || do_not();
It seems pretty clear stuff is not just being shoved in willy-nilly for android. There have been many debates about including this piece or that piece, and if the implementation should be identical to the android version. Many parts are not in yet, and some may not go in at all. The android suspending solution may not ever go in, mainline may eventually get a system that serves the same purpose in a different way, android may eventually support that. LWN and the LKML posts they link to give a pretty good overview short of reading all the code commits.
Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
There isn't an easy answer to your question. In general, bufferbloat is when you get latency or jitter issues because some network device upstream of you has a large buffer, which it fills before it starts dropping your packets. The dropped packets is how software relying on TCP is notified of network congestion so it knows to throttle back. Other protocols may be affected differently (you might notice VoIP delay or bad lag on your xbox).
To combat this, the idea is to limit your traffic in buffers you control which are (typically) smaller than your ISP and modem's buffers so the ISP ones stay empty and highly interactive. In general, this means limiting your data rates to lower than your bandwidth and prioritizing packets by interactivity requirements. The linux kernel additions in 3.3 allow you to set your buffer size smaller for the entire interface with the goal being to reduce the delay induced by the linux router/bridge. It also adds the ability to prioritize traffic and limit buffers by cgroup (which is like a process categorization or pool which has certain resource limits), but this isn't particularly helpful in your forwarding situation.
For my own QoS setup, I usually use a script similar to this HTB one. It requires some tuning and getting your queue priorities right requires some understanding of the traffic going through your network. A lot of high level netfilter tools (smoothwall, dd-wrt, etc) have easier to use tools QoS tools which may better suit your purposes. Having not used one, I'm not in a position to recommend them.
The lwn post is here: https://lwn.net/Articles/472984/
There is a lot of things they're leaving out for the time being.
the android merge means i can play angry birds without having to use wine...
the various fixes means my decaying old netbook will still remain usable, and even appear snappy next to one half it's age.
I am a bit confused with regards to the new team network driver which is going to eventually replace the current bonding net driver. The kernel newbies page says that it is user-space and uses libteam to do its work, but it also says that this new implementation will be more efficient.
How is this so? As network throughput keeps increasing, it is important to process each packet as quickly as possible. That's why network drivers and the packet filter are in the kernel. Wouldn't moving the new team/bonding work to user-space mean a lot more data for the kernel to copy back and forth between kernel and user spaces? And wouldn't this hurt efficiency? I'm sure the computer can keep up in most cases, but it seems this will require more CPU time to handle the work.
Just curious...
Elrond, Duke of URL
"This is the most fun I've had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"-Sam&Max
5.5 kernel...
This is either a typo or python is way more powerful than I thought.
So... which part of this release actually provides a compelling reason to use Linux over any other OS?
You've been itching for something to run on that TI C6X system you built?
The fanboisim here makes me gag. Apple has nothing on you guys.
Hey Cowboy did you know that the Linux Kernel currently runs most smart tvs, bd players, and other home entertainment devices. I would be willing to bet that the number of Samsung, Sony, LG and other tvs and devices running on the Linux kernel is much greater than the number of Macs, and PC currently in use combined!
The reason for this is that any manufacturer can use OpenSource software like the Linux kernel and modify it to their own needs without sending money to Redmond for every device they sell. This is why Microsoft and Apple have failed in the embedded market with perhaps the exception of some car companies like Ford Motors. Ballmer can rant, rave and do all the paid shill crap he wants. Fact is as the kernel becomes more open to modification from companies like Google with Android optimisations and slick coding Microsoft will become irrelevant in many markets.
The post was about the most important core software released in history so go pound on your PC, and post how linux sucks somewhere where someone cares. The Linux kernel is one hell of allot more that just the base of an OS as you perceive it.
That's rubbish. I have a triple monitor setup and KDE will happily let me make a panel 100% of any one screen, or 100% of all three (if you wanted to do that for some insane reason) at any orientation.
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)
Well, it just seems highly unlikely that it wouldn't work for anyone else. I mean, it's a pretty basic feature and if I can do it with my pretty unusual and normally troublesome setup (triple monitors are not that well supported, although KDE does a good job), then I'd expect it to work with most people's. My point is, if it doesn't work for you, then it's a bug, so submit a bug report.
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)
the android merge means i can play angry birds without having to use wine...
Note that playing sober raises it to another level of difficulty.
Every end has half a stick.
Bullshit. Not only does a merge of Android kernel features not mean you can play angry birds under some regular Linux distro (you'll need, oh, Dalvik and Android's windowing system which is not X11), you can already play Angry Birds in Chrome, no Wine required. The kernel is entirely irrelevant. If you don't know what you're talking about, just shut up.
Ahh, that was a cleansing sneeze.
You gotta wonder what the hell Linus is thinking on this.
Well, while he's a hard nail on code quality he's always been a pragmatic man. When it's an interface used on hundreds of millions of Android devices it's something worth supporting if he can do it as long as it doesn't interact badly with the mainline code. And that's exactly why something like wakelocks are still out while others are in. I don't think Linus believes in the one perfect system, if he has to support different IPCs then fine but maybe the implementation can share code and work towards supporting several approaches.
Remember it's not in anybody's interest to diverge just to diverge, it's just that sometimes it's better to do your own thing and show that it works rather than trying to get permission to change an old recipe. A lot of branches have lived in parallel to mainline and eventually gotten merged in as the real needs and differences - not just the NIH and semantics - have emerged. Getting over these hurdles and keeping the kernel from fracturing into smaller branches that each go their separate ways has always one of the true strengths of the project.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I'm guessing you don't know about SELinux? As in "written by the actual NSA"? Oh shit, it's been in the kernel for almost ten years! Go troll somewhere else.
for i in `facebook friends "=bday" 2>/dev/null | cut -d " " -f 3-`; do facebook wallpost $i "Happy birthday!"; done
Then neither you are not working with web developers who change their mind daily about basic system design nor you are working in an environment where uptime is not a concern nor you have very expensive load balance boxen that protects you from mundane facts of life. Either way, you are a very lucky person... OTOH we, of lesser levels of humanity, are grateful for one more tool that would make our lives easier.
There's valid criticism and then there's just being an asshole, they're very different.
"Some books contain the machinery required to create and sustain universes."-Tycho
According to my university lessons, the kernel and the drivers are the operating system, and everything else is shell and applications.
MS Windows should thus be considered a distribution (combining OS, shell and applications and an install mechanism).
And what constitutes an "asshole" is subjective. I don't see anything wrong with stating your opinion and doing nothing besides that, even if someone thinks it's harsh.
So... which part of this release actually provides a compelling reason to use Linux over any other OS? You've been itching for something to run on that TI C6X system you built?
The fanboisim here makes me gag. Apple has nothing on you guys.
My post had nothing to do with fanboisim. I currently use Win, Mac, and 5 different flavors of Linux not counting my tv, car stereo, smart phone, and at least 3 other devices that run modified Linux code.
I have been using Linux off and on for years. But it has only been recently that I have really been modifying it and making it do what I want and how I want. Currently I have my MBP that I use that I need to have Windows installed on due to either software differences in Win and Mac versions (ie. Quickbooks) or because I need access to some windows items while on my Mac.
I use a Windows machine for some games only because the gaming industry seems to feel that there is only 1 OS that is worth the time. Even Mac is lacking on a lot of the games I play. And I am not a big fan of running some games in a X over for Linux.
When I use Linux it is for everything else from my firewall to Development. But I am dependent on my Phone and Tablet which run Android. Now with android kernel merge I may have a greater use for using linux than before.
And as I stated, I just hope I dont have to start at the basics. I am no guru by far but I really dont want to have to thrash what I have learned in the last year or so and start again. Will have to wait and see what the distros look like.
M O O N... That spells Slashdot.
Your problems with Slackware appear to stem from your use of the wrong mock-religion meme in your signature. Eris, in particular, is known to cause trouble. Try changing your signature to The Subgenius must have Slack and the package management should improve.
What's with all this being nice and apologising for perhaps sounding a tad rude? Don't you know where you are?
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
You just need to click on the cashew (or right click, panel settings - if there is no cashew, unlock the panel first) then drag the stoppers to change the size. As to dragging a widget, you can do that from the same view by dragging, and you can add an application launcher widget and point it to your custom binary or script. All of this stuff has been in there from the first KDE 4.x builds I used, even the really buggy first ones.
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)