Linux kernel 4.15 release delayed by ninth rc

The release of the new version of the Linux kernel, numbered 4.15, is delayed due to the ninth release candidate. Linus Torvalds assumes that this is the latter. A ninth version is not common.

On the Linux kernel mailing list, Torvalds writes that he had planned to release the final version of the kernel on Sunday, but several issues still prevented him from doing so with confidence. Among the issues are solutions to network problems and a boot bug. Torvalds goes on to write: “I really don’t expect any further delays after this. We’ve had a ninth rc once before in 2011, it went all the way to a tenth rc, and I really don’t think we’re going to do that this time around, despite all the craziness.” around the mitigations for the cpu bugs.”

He is referring to the mitigations for Meltdown and Spectre. In an earlier post on the mailing list, Torvalds still hoped the eighth release candidate would be the last, despite all the hoopla surrounding Meltdown and Spectre. If Torvalds’ expectations are correct, version 4.15 of the Linux kernel will be out soon. That version includes AMDGPU DC, which means that RX Vega cards receive support.

Torvalds also criticized Intel’s proposed patches for Specter on Sunday. He called this “pure garbage” and questioned Intel’s motives for releasing it, because they do things that are not sensible, or sane. It’s unclear whether his statements are the result of a confusion over Intel designations, as emerged later in the conversation. Torvalds expressed his criticism in a post responding to comments from David Woodhouse, who works for Amazon and previously worked at Intel as a kernel engineer.