Linux Kernel 7.2: AI Catches Bugs, Boosts Speed

The release of Linux kernel 7.2 introduces a wave of improvements, notably incorporating numerous fixes identified by AI tools. Linus Torvalds acknowledged the significant role AI has played in discovering vulnerabilities, emphasizing productive use of these tools. A major new feature is Cache Aware Scheduling, designed to aggregate tasks that share data into the same cache domain.

This optimization reduces cache misses and speeds up processing by preventing redundant data fetching across CPU cores. The goal is to enhance data access efficiency. Workloads benefiting most include multithreaded servers, AI/ML compute jobs, and certain games, especially on hardware with complex CPU-cache layouts.

Further enhancements include improved drivers, with initial AMDGPU support for HDMI 2.1 FRL enabling higher resolutions and refresh rates. Btrfs large folios are now default, increasing sequential write speeds by up to 15%. ExFAT performance sees a significant boost, with read/write speeds potentially increasing by 87% due to kernel iomap integration.

Networking capabilities are also expanded with Wi-Fi Aware support for device-to-device connections. Additionally, Intel's USB4STREAM protocol is integrated, facilitating raw host-to-host data streaming. A performance regression in a GPU scheduler on some AMD configurations led to a rollback, reverting to FIFO scheduling for stability.