The Linux kernel update 5.1 comes with live patching, multiple performance and security improvements
After spending less than two months in development, the Linux 5.1 kernel update is now finally available. Although this is not a major upgrade, the 5.1 kernel comes with a few noticeable improvements, including support for the Model A+ Raspberry Pi 3 and Intel Fastboot, the ability to use persistent storage as system memory, and more.
According to the official announcement that came from Linus Torvalds less than two days ago, "5.1 looks very normal with just over 13k commits (plus another 1k+ if you count merges). Which is pretty much our normal size these days."
In addition to the changes mentioned earlier, there have been improvements made to the live patching capabilities (available since April 2015), and the introduction of the SafeSetID LSM module provides a new option for administrators to provide security and policy controls.
Another highlight of the new kernel is the high-performance interface io_uring — a piece of code that delivers a super-fast interface for asynchronous I/O. The list of improved and new drivers includes firmware for many pieces of new hardware, including AMD Vega GPUs, Intel 22260 WiFi, and more.
Those who are not adventurous enough to get the sources and compile the new kernel themselves should wait for the first point release which should be available later this month.