Linux Kernel 5.15 is now available, and it has something special for NTFS users

2 years ago 240

The latest Linux kernel has been released with a mates of features that should person superior entreaty to concern users and admins alike.

Image: PegasuStudio/Shutterstock

The latest Linux kernel has been released and it has plentifulness to connection users and admins alike. But this peculiar merchandise volition beryllium peculiarly pleasing to those who usage Linux arsenic either a file-sharing server oregon a instrumentality that indispensable link to and usage NTFS-partitioned drives. On apical of these header changes, determination are different caller additions and improvements to beryllium found.

Let's dive successful and find retired what they are.

SEE: 5 Linux server distributions you should beryllium using (TechRepublic Premium)

NTFS is cardinal

The astir important diagnostic to travel to the 5.15 kernel is the caller NTFS record strategy driver, named NTFS3. Prior to this release, anyone who utilized NTFS record systems had to beryllium connected the ntfs-3g user-space driver, which was buggy, slow, and lacked respective cardinal features. With NTFS3 (which was boosted by codification from Paragon Software), users volition find:

Much-improved read-write support
NTFS diary replaying
Acl support
Support for normal, compressed, and sparse files
Support for instauration day of NTFS files and folders from a Windows drive.

Granted, astir radical person moved beyond NTFS and to exFAT, but that doesn't mean determination isn't a request for NTFS support. And fixed that Paragon Software has committed to maintaining this caller kernel thrust moving forward, it's wide NTFS enactment volition proceed to play a role.

In-kernel SMB server

The latest Linux Kernel besides includes a caller in-kernel SMB record service. The extremity of ksmbd is not to regenerate Samba, but to supply a lightweight and accelerated kernel module that is compatible with user-space tools and libraries. This caller in-kernel server is susceptible of overmuch faster SMB3 record serving and supports much features (such arsenic RDMA enactment for SMB Direct) that are implemented straight wrong the kernel.

Hardware enactment

As we've travel to expect, with each caller kernel release, there's caller hardware to beryllium supported. Linux kernel 5.15 is nary exception. The database of added oregon improved hardware enactment includes:

Improvements for AMD CPUs and GPUs (temperature monitoring enactment added for AMD Zen 3 APU (Accelerated Processing Unit).
Audio operator for Van Gough APU.
Support for much RDNA2 graphics cards (next-gen AMD graphics cards should enactment retired of the box).
Intel Alder Lake (12th gen Intel CPUs) enactment added (including the summation of the Time Coordinated Computing operator utilized to change the show of Intel CPUs).
Initial enactment for Intel DG2/Alchemist Discrete Graphics and XeHP (next-gen Intel Xeon processors for HPC platforms).
Improved Apple M1 enactment (IOMMU operator merged, arsenic good arsenic USB and PCIe enactment added)
Groundwork enactment added for AMD Cyan Skillfish graphics
Optimization of C3 Cache handling successful AMD CPUs
AMD PTDMA operator merged to enactment high-bandwidth memory-to-memory and I/O transcript operations.
Support for Realtek RTL8118EU WiFi driver
Support for Cirrus Logic Dolphin audio devices
Support for NVIDIA Jetson TX2 NX dev kit.

Miscellaneous additions

A fewer different notable additions that get with the 5.15 kernel see enactment for Amazon's DAMON (Data Access Monitor) which improves show portion reducing memory, support, optimizations for the XFS, EXT4, F2FS, and Btrfs record systems, enactment for high-resolution scrolling with the Apple Magic Mouse, and enactment for powerfulness profiles connected definite Acer laptops.

Should you instal 5.15?

In a word, no. Your champion stake is to hold until the kernel is made disposable via your Linux organisation of choice. Although you tin download and compile the latest kernel, it won't beryllium upgradable done your distribution's bundle manager.

If you usage a rolling release, specified arsenic Arch oregon openSUSE Tumbleweed, you volition person the 5.15 kernel overmuch sooner than if your organisation of prime is simply a static release. We mightiness find kernel 5.15 onshore successful Ubuntu 22.04, which volition beryllium released successful precocious April 2022. So, unless you person an perfectly pressing request for these newest additions, your champion stake is to clasp disconnected until your organisation maintainers see 5.15 successful the authoritative release.

Subscribe to TechRepublic's How To Make Tech Work connected YouTube for each the latest tech proposal for concern pros from Jack Wallen.