AI-enriched Linux 7.2 delivers cache-aware scheduling - here's everything new
The latest stable kernel also brings filesystem and I/O improvements, and substantial new support across AMD, Intel, Apple, Nvidia, USB4, and laptop hardware.
Linus Torvalds released Linux kernel 7.2, highlighting several improvements. Torvalds stated that the size of this release was larger than anticipated, but it was necessary due to numerous fixes, many discovered through AI. The most significant new feature is Cache Aware Scheduling, which aggregates tasks sharing data to the same LLC cache domain, reducing cache bouncing and improving data access efficiency.
This feature is particularly beneficial for workloads like multithreaded servers, AI and ML compute jobs, and some games. Other enhancements include new and improved drivers, such as initial AMDGPU support for HDMI 2.1 Fixed Rate Link (FRL), which allows uncompressed 4K at 120Hz and 8K video playback. The release also introduces Btrfs large folios as default, resulting in 15% improvements in sequential writes.
ExFAT performance on devices like SD cards and USB sticks has been improved by up to 87% with the new kernel's iomap feature. Additionally, Wi-Fi Aware and early Wi-Fi 8/UHR groundwork has been added, enabling direct device-to-device Wi-Fi connections without traditional network infrastructure. However, a significant rollback was made due to a performance regression with the new GPU scheduler on certain AMD graphics configurations, reverting to FIFO scheduling instead.
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