New Linux kernel adds file-system support

Linux kernel version 2.6.30 has been released, adding support for new file systems, performance improvements, and new hardware drivers.

The Linux kernel is the core used by GNU/Linux operating system distributions from Red Hat, Novell, and others. The new release was made final and was publicized in a newslist post from Linux developer Linus Torvalds last week.

The most prominent new features include support for two new file systems, according to release notes published by Kernelnewbies, a group of Linux developers.

Support was added or updated for the NILFS2 file system, still under development, which is designed to be more resistant to crashes; and for POHMELFS (Parallel Optimized Host Message Exchange Layered File System), a high-performance and network-distributed file system.

The kernel also comes with updated support for other file systems, including EXOFS, a file system for object-based storage devices, and the FS-Cache file system. Tweaks have been made to generally improve file system performance, Kernelnewbies said.

Storage improvements include the addition of support for DST, a technology designed to simplify the creation of high-performance storage networks.

The kernel adds a feature contributed by Intel for speeding up the kernel's boot time by carrying out several steps of the boot process at once. "This feature speeds up the total kernel boot time significantly," Kernelnewbies wrote in their notes on the release.

Other changes include allowing the use of LZMA and Bzip2 compression of kernel images, so that they take up less space; and new or updated drivers that add support for additional hardware and hardware features.

A new architecture for putting hardware into suspend mode has been put into place, according to Torvalds. "We're hopefully now done with the suspend/resume irq re-architecting, and have switched to a new world order," he wrote in the newslist post.

Matthew Broersma of ZDNet UK reported from London.

[sanenazok]

Linux: new file system support all the while it's still 10x harder to download and install software than on any other platform.

Linux would totally take off if it was transparent. All those pretty desktop UI's and still the fact that you're running Linux is painfully apparent when it comes time to install software. I wanted to put Inkscape on my Ubuntu netbook. With Windows or OS X, it's download and double click. Where's the download for Ubuntu. Oh that's right there are only instructions how to compile the software...duh. In the end it wasn't that hard, but don't understand that with all the smart people working on this OS why this basic process isn't streamlined.

[SIGHUP]

That is not so much a Linux issue as it is an Inkscape issue. Many software vendors do a half ass job putting together packages for Linux just so they can say it can be installed on Linux.

[DHLC]

Ah.... When was the last time you used Ubuntu (for example)? I needed a FTP client this weekend, clicked on Add/Remove Software from the program manager... was taken to the Software Repository with both open and closed source software for Linux. Found the FTP client that was rated highest with users and checked the box and clicked Apply Changes and "PRESTO" the software downloaded and installed onto my system... No fuss or hassle at all.

I have moved 100% off MS and use Kubuntu exclusively and have never been happier. Installing and upgrading on an older Dell and my Gateway laptop was a breeze. When I have run into problems the community support has been better than anything I ever experienced with Windows.

[DHLC]

I just checked the Ubuntu Software Repository and Inkscape is there. One simple click away from download/installation. Just like Windows and Os X

Enjoy!

[QMT]

The "two clicks and it's installed" ease of install on Windows tends to be the root cause of me having to clean up a family member's PC when they download some-odd damn thing that looked "pretty" or was "required" to watch that ("not porn, I swear!") online video.

[sanenazok]

My problem was that I didn't know up front that Inkscape was in the "Add/Remove" programs option. Wouldn't it make sense to be able to download it from the website LIKE ALL OTHER PLATFORMS? What if I wanted to use a program that wasn't on the Ubuntu list? Might as well boot into Windows. I want a computer where the vast software library that's apparently available from OSS providers can be installed without a production.

I don't blame the programmers. There should be an easy way to make installer packages like there has in Windows since I dunno 1992. Instead of focusing on new file systems, let's fix this obvious problem.

[Cole_Brodine]

Don't forget, the people updating the kernel aren't the same people updating the UI. The kernel guys keep moving forward to benefit all Linux users. Linux isn't like windows, where all the parts are programmed by the same people. Several groups, companies, and individuals all designed different components to your Linux operating system. Often times, the end company (such as Ubuntu) is just tweaking and packaging all the parts together.

[monkeyfun14]

@DHLC

Not all the software is in there...

[QMT]

Well, sanenazok, the stuff in Ubuntu's 'add/remove' menu is known (or strongly believed) to be safe and actually work. Everything else is really best left to 'enthusiasts'.

It's awkward, yes, but it does 'idiot proof' a box far more reliably than Vista's UAC, XP/NT's "runas" or 9x's nothing whatsoever pretending to be a safety measure.

[pentest]

You are woefully ignorant.

I am sorry if pushing a button or two taxes you.

[pentest]

"My problem was that I didn't know up front that Inkscape was in the "Add/Remove" programs option. Wouldn't it make sense to be able to download it from the website LIKE ALL OTHER PLATFORMS?"

You mean:

1. Search the internet
2. Download
3. install
4. Have a seperate updater run in the background that saps system resources.

Yes much better.

[Fire Balls]

And Linux still accounts for less then on percent of personal computers and less then 13% for the server market.. hmm guess how much I care.. not at all. lol As for the numbers look them up yourself even if I'm off by 5% (and I'm not) it's so low I couldn't care less. I see Apple and Linux people arguing all the time over how their OS is better and so on. Come on the numbers don't lie it's not just about security, interface, stability (all are important) it's about usability and software libraries, widespread cheap support, the lack of need for training of the end user and compatibility that gives Windows the edge. Say whatever you like to try and refute it but the numbers don't lie. I can't even see how people can argue with that. I don't even see why you would say mine is better.. maybe it is but mine is bigger get used to it. As we crush your beautiful toy car with a MAC truck. Have fun.

[freemarket--2008]

"hmm guess how much I care.. not at all."

Enough to write this bloated diatribe apparently...

[pentest]

13% of the server market? On what planet. Apache running on Linux is the dominant player.

[paulej]

Utterly surprised by these numbers myself, I found articles that indicated that Unix/Linux had about 45% of the market. These days, I would assume Linux has the lion's share of that. In any case 13% seems way, way low. As @pentest suggested, Linux is one of the most widely used OSes for web hosting. It makes for a great cloud-based OS, as Amazon has demonstrated. And, it seems to be gaining ground in the mobile and handheld areas, already well-positioned in the embedded device space. So, where in the world did that lowly 13% come from? I cannot believe it, either.

[luke_marsh]

Linux has move on well in three interesting areas it would seem.
The ability for greater degrees of collaborative efforts across Network file systems.
The one I'm sure most people like the ability to Boot up hardware simultaneously rather than in sequence(love that).
And Moving forward with Metatisation of File systems with an emphasis on meta Objects above real hardware.

Where Linux has yet moved but Is never the less showing much room for manoeuvre in is Low level exotensiation for machine running, emulation and optimisation (A feature that could replace the current out of date boot partition loader style for running multiple OS machines on real hardware)

And the other area in further development of easy to use universal Installation software (a feature where improvements have been made but that new users to linux especially would like more of but not something that much at issue with the kernel of linux) .

The Exostensability of Linux seems to be moving in leaps and bounds and overall I'm sure these further efforts should get some good user and developer attention.

[seymourcray]

Ubuntu 9.04 is really nifty... looks like Windows and Mac have some catching up to do, actually.

[slumbergod]

It is unfair the way people always gripe about the difficulty of installing software in Linux. Once upon a time that was indeed the case. These days the repositories are execellent. Yes, sometimes the versions on offer are not the latest, and sometimes the applications are not as mature or developed as their Windows counterparts, but there is one huge plus I have found since switching to linux:

using official repos is a lot safer than trusting a developer's website for getting application!

A few months back a Windows friend asked me to recommend an application. I didn't trust any of the sites I found...the risk of malware was just too great.

[sanenazok]

There's something backwards to having someone else pick out what programs I am allowed to install. It's almost AOL'esque. It's my computer, I can screw it up if I want to. What kind of software were you looking for? p0rn downloader? Pretty much everything on download.com is safe...do any of the repositories have that kind of variety?