Today, Linux Torvalds published the first Linux Kernel 5.12 Release Candidate (RC). The Linux Release Candidate will be a landmark of the forthcoming Linux 5.12 kernel series.
A few weeks ago merge window was opened with the release of the Linux 5.11 kernel series however, the merge window has now been closed and Linus Torvalds published the first Release Candidate (RC) in the forthcoming Linux kernel 5.12 series, providing us with a glimpse of the new features and enhancements.
Recently, Linux Kernel 5.8 reached its EOL, and users were advised to upgrade to Linux 5.9 Series
First Linux Kernel 5.12 Release Candidate (RC)
Though Linux Kernel 5.12 will contain several new and updated drivers to enhance the hardware support, yet it seems to be a small release in comparison to the prior releases and that’s likely because kernel developers performed Spring cleaning.
For instance, Linux 5.12-rc1 eliminates the legacy OPROFILE support because the user tools utilized the “perf” interface for a long time. Additionally, the Release Candidate also removes several legacy SoC platforms, and few unneeded drivers that no more make any sense.
Linux Torvalds said this release had just 10+k commits lined up which is comparatively lower than the 12-13+k commits they had in some of the older releases. He further said that even though the new drivers and codes were added that kind of cleanup is always good to see.
By the end of April 2021, the final release of Linux Kernel 5.12 is anticipated to hit Linux distros.
Till then, if you want to test the first Release Candidate of Linux Kernel 5.12 (Linux 5.12-rc1), you can download the source tarball from kernel.org.
However, we suggest you don’t install this pre-release version on a production machine.
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