The Linux kernel community has witnessed another milestone with the release of Linux 6.15-rc1, the first release candidate for the forthcoming Linux 6.15 stable release.
Announced by Linus Torvalds on April 6, 2025, in Phoronix blog, this marks the conclusion of a vibrant two-week merge window.
Packed with new features, bug fixes, and significant hardware support updates, the release is a testament to the evolving strength of the Linux ecosystem.
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A Busy Merge Window
Torvalds described this merge window as “one of the bigger ones,” largely attributed to pent-up development activity following holiday interruptions in previous cycles.
While not record-breaking, the release sees a notable influx of changes across drivers, architectures, core kernel functionalities, filesystems, and infrastructure.
Driver updates dominate the patch contributions, comprising two-thirds of the changes, which indicates a heavy focus on hardware compatibility improvements.
The release also features updates to the Zstd compression library, new NVIDIA open-source driver work, and expanded support for AMD hardware, signaling exciting performance gains for end-users across diverse device categories.
Key Features in Linux 6.15-rc1
Improved Performance
- IO_uring Zero-Copy Networking: A major highlight of Linux 6.15-rc1 is IO_uring’s network zero-copy receive support, which promises faster and more efficient networking performance. This enhancement is crucial for server-grade workloads and large-scale deployments.
- Faster AES-CTR Crypto: Users of AMD Zen 5 and newer Intel/AMD processors can benefit from improved AES-CTR performance. These changes address encryption needs with greater efficiency, a critical aspect in modern computing.
Updated Compression with Zstd
The in-tree Zstd library has been updated to version 1.5.7, offering better compression performance and other improvements.
Zstd continues to be a pivotal feature for storage and compression-heavy use cases.
Hardware Support Expansion
- NVIDIA NOVA Driver: This early-stage driver lays the foundation for NVIDIA’s open-source GPU kernel support. Leveraging NVIDIA GSP firmware, it targets Turing GPUs and newer, signaling a bright future for open-source graphics development.
- New AMD Versal NET SoC Support: Linux 6.15 integrates support for the AMD Versal NET system-on-chip, enabling its use across networking and edge computing applications.
- Apple Hardware: The release includes new drivers for the Apple Z2 touchscreen/touchbar and Touch Bar display, offering greater compatibility for MacBook users running Linux.
Optimizations and Miscellaneous Updates
Other noteworthy updates include AMD INVLPGB optimizations for faster TLB invalidation, latency profiling enhancements for Perf, and hugetlb_alloc_threads boot options to accelerate kernel boot times.
Additionally, preparations for large atomic writes signal significant enhancements for storage subsystem capabilities.
Linux 6.15-rc1 paves the way for the stable release, which is expected by late May or early June.
With substantial features and performance optimizations, this release is set to further bolster Linux’s reputation as the leading kernel for diverse platforms—from IoT devices to supercomputers.
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