Linux 7.2

Igalia details its significant contributions to the freshly released Linux 7.2 kernel, a cycle described as one of the busiest ever. The report highlights critical technical advancements like GPU power management for Raspberry Pi, improvements to scheduling, and crucial progress toward open-source HDMI 2.1 support. Hacker News appreciates the deep technical dive and the clarity provided on complex kernel developments, particularly concerning previously contentious HDMI licensing.

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Aug 20, 5:00 PM

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Aug 20, 8:00 PM

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The Lowdown

The Linux 7.2 kernel has been released, marking a particularly busy development cycle for the project. Igalia, a prominent contributor, has published a summary of their key achievements and bug fixes included in this version, emphasizing their ongoing commitment to core Linux development.

DRM Scheduler Fair Policy: Igalia aimed to enable a new fair policy for the DRM scheduler, promising significant GPU sharing improvements. However, a last-minute regression meant it shipped as opt-in, with hopes for full enablement in a future release.
sched_ext Enhancements: Improvements were made to the observability of sched_ext, a facility for custom schedulers, by prioritizing error dumps and exposing CPU IDs to aid debugging on high-core systems.
Raspberry Pi GPU Power Management: Runtime Power Management was introduced for Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 GPUs, allowing the GPU clock to be disabled when idle, significantly reducing power consumption. Additionally, long-standing bugs causing crashes on Raspberry Pi 3 GPUs, particularly affecting RetroPie users, were resolved.
Futex and Bugfixing: Contributions included fixing a 14-year-old bug in futex() affecting robust lists and addressing a race condition in the ueagle-atm driver and inline-assembly memcmp() issues in x86 boot.
HDMI 2.1 Support: Igalia contributed initial support for HDMI 2.1 Fixed Rate Link (FRL) communication within the amdgpu driver, moving towards full HDMI 2.1 capability.

Igalia's report showcases their broad and impactful involvement across critical kernel subsystems, from GPU drivers and power management to core scheduling and synchronization primitives, directly benefiting a wide range of Linux users and devices.

The Gossip

HDMI's Hurdle Has Fallen

The discussion revolves around the newfound ability to include HDMI 2.1 support in open-source drivers, particularly for AMD. Users recall previous issues where the HDMI Forum blocked such implementations due to licensing concerns and proprietary specifications. Commenters suggest that a leak of internal documentation weakened the HDMI Forum's legal position, and lobbying by entities like Valve (for Steam Deck/Machine) may have convinced them to relent, allowing open-source drivers to implement HDMI 2.1 features without legal repercussions. There's also some curiosity about the practical advantages of HDMI 2.1 over DisplayPort for desktop users.

Igalia's Insightful Impact

Commenters discuss the purpose and audience for Igalia's detailed release summary. It's largely seen as a 'marketing' or 'portfolio' piece for Igalia, a consulting firm that contributes significantly to open-source projects. By showcasing their work, they demonstrate competence to potential clients looking for Linux and open-source development services. Beyond self-promotion, the post is valued by the community as a well-formatted and more accessible changelog than the raw commit lists provided by the kernel maintainers, offering an executive summary of key features for those interested in specific contributions.