The first Release Candidate of Linux kernel v5.14 I arrive last week with a size within the average. These rc1s can tell us little about what the development path of a kernel version will be like, it is more in the second, when they have already been testing things, when they see what can happen, and Linux 5.14-rc2 I arrive last night with a size much larger than usual.
This week many bugs have been fixed, and that has led to Linux 5.14-rc2 being the second largest Release Candidate in the 5.x series, and we remember that there have already been 13 previous ones. Linus Torvalds says that, although it may not ultimately indicate anything, it could be one of those versions whose development is not calm, and, although he does not mention it, it could require an octave RC.
Linux 5.14-rc2 is the second largest RC in the series
Often times the rc2 ends up being quite small and quiet, either because people take a breather after the merge window, or because people are slow to start reporting bugs. This time it is not so. At least in number of commits, this is the largest rc2 we've had during the 5.x loop. Whether this is significant or not, who knows - it could just be random time effects, or it could indicate that this version is not going to be one of those nice and quiet ones. We'll have to wait and see.
If everything ends well and the water returns to its course, Linux 5.14 will be released as a stable version on August 29, a week later if it requires 8th CR. There have also been cases in which a ninth has been thrown, but it is not the most common. Considering the timelines, this could be the kernel that Ubuntu 21.10 uses.