XFS - Online Filesystem Checking

Since Linux 4.17, I have been working on an online filesystem checking feature for XFS. As I mentioned in the previous update, the online fsck tool (named xfs_scrub) walks all internal filesystem metadata records. Each record is checked for obvious corruptions before being cross-referenced with all other metadata in the filesystem. If problems are found, they are reported to the system administrator through both xfs_scrub and the health reporting system. As of Linux 5.3 and xfsprogs 5.3, online checking is feature complete and has entered the stabilization and performance optimization stage. For the moment it remains tagged experimental, though it should be stable. We seek early adopters to try out this new functionality and give us feedback.

Linux 5.5 RC7

• Linux 5.5-rc7

  Well, things picked up at the end of the week, with half of my merges
  happening in the last two days.
  
  Whether that is the usual "send the weeks work to Linus on Friday", or
  a sign that things are just picking up in general after the holidays,
  I don't know.  If the former, I'll probably just release the final 5.5
  next week. But if it looks like there's pent-up fixes pending next
  week, I'll make another rc.
  
  Nothing in here looks particularly odd. Drivers is about half of the
  patch (networking, sound, gpio, gpu, scsi, usb, you name it), with the
  rest being the usual mix - arch, networking, filesystems, core
  kernel..  The diffstat looks mostly fairly nice and flat, with a
  couple of exceptions that look harmless (a few device tree file
  updates, some pure code movemment, and a couple of driver fixes that
  ended up changing calling conventions to get done and as a result got
  to be more lines than the bug otherwise would have merited).
  
  Please do test, there should be nothing scary going on.
  
                Linus
  

• Kernel prepatch 5.5-rc7

  The 5.5-rc7 kernel prepatch is out. Linus is still unsure whether the final 5.5 release will come out next week or not: "if it looks like there's pent-up fixes pending next week, I'll make another rc".

• Linux 5.5-rc7 Kernel Released

  The seventh weekly release candidate to Linux 5.5 is now available for testing. Linus noted with Linux 5.5-rc7 there was a large uptick in patch volume at week's end. "Well, things picked up at the end of the week, with half of my merges happening in the last two days." Due to the recent holidays in large part, it's possible an eighth release candidate may be needed for Linux 5.5 before then releasing the kernel as stable on 2 February. However, in today's 5.5-rc7 announcement, Torvalds noted he may just end up releasing 5.5 stable next week. In any case, the release of Linux 5.5 is right on the horizon and this should be the kernel powering Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and other upcoming distribution releases.

GNU Make 4.3 Released!

The next stable version of GNU make, version 4.3, has been released and is available for download from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/make/ Please see the NEWS file that comes with the GNU make distribution for details on user-visible changes. Also: GNU Make 4.3 Released With Performance Improvements, Newer GNU libc + Musl Support

Kernel: Zhaoxin, Arch Linux's Zen and WireGuard in Linux 5.6

• Zhaoxin 7-Series x86 CPUs Mitigated For Spectre V2 + SWAPGS

  When it comes to the Zhaoxin x86-compatible processors coming out of VIA's joint venture in Shanghai, their forthcoming 7-series (KX-7000) has hardware mitigations in place for some CPU vulnerabilities. We haven't heard much about these Chinese x86 CPUs with regards to speculative execution vulnerabilities but it appears the pre-7-Series is vulnerable to Spectre Variant Two and at least SWAPGS. But with their 7-series, hardware mitigations appear to be in place.

• Benchmarks Of Arch Linux's Zen Kernel Flavor

  Following the recent Linux kernel tests of Liquorix and other scheduler discussions (and more), some requests from premium supporters rolled in for seeing the performance of Arch Linux's Zen kernel package against the generic kernel. Here are those benchmark results. These are some benchmarks I recently did on the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X while running EndeavourOS. Tests were done with its default Linux 5.4.8-arch1 kernel compared to the same kernel revision but using Arch's Zen kernel flavor. That is Arch's spin of the Zen-kernel patches (not to be confused with AMD Zen).

• Intel's ConnMan Is Ready With WireGuard Support

  In addition to NetworkManager having good WireGuard support in advance of this secure VPN tunnel tech landing with the Linux 5.6 kernel, Intel's ConnMan software is also ready with supporting WireGuard. Intel's ConnMan hasn't seen a new tagged release in nearly one year but over the past two months in the Git development code WireGuard support has materialized. ConnMan, as a reminder, is the Intel-led effort for providing an Internet connection manager on Linux designed for embedded/mobile use-cases that dates back to their Moblin days.