Unsurprisingly, Linus Torvalds has finally announced the general availability of the final version of Linux Kernel 4.11, a major update that brings numerous improvements and new features.
Linux Kernel 4.11 has been in development for the last two months, since the beginning of March, when the first Release Candidate arrived for public testing. After a total of eight RC versions, we can now download and compile the final version of Linux 4.11 on our favorite GNU / Linux distributions to enjoy its new features.
Main improvements and news of Linux Kernel 4.11
Among the main novelties of Linux Kernel 4.11 are the function of swapping scalable on SSD drives, as well as the possibility of doing journaling on RAID 4/5/6 volumes. In addition, also in relation to storage units, the new version adds support for OPAL standard oriented to automatic disk encryption.
The new kernel 4.11 also releases support for the specification of Shared Memory Communications via RDMA (SMC-R) (SMC-R), an IBM invention that enables virtual machines to share memory and thus speed up communications between computers, while balancing load without affecting the operating system.
On the other hand, gamers and business users will be glad to know that new kernel improves support for Intel's Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0, a technology that allows the processor to determine which core is the fastest and then increase its clock frequency in response to the most demanding and critical activities performed on computers.
Among other changes, we can highlight the support for Intel Gemini Lake processors, which are based on Atom chipsets, a family of low-cost processors that were developed using Intel's 14-nanometer technology.
Finally, AMD Radeon GPUs will also see their power consumption improved thanks to the new 4.11 kernel when using the AMDGPU graphics driver.
You can download Linux kernel 4.11 tarball file right now from the previous link. When you open the page, you will see that version 4.11 is labeled as “mainline"Which means it will hit the stable repositories when the first maintenance release comes out in the next few weeks.