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hß · Linux & UnixCurated

Long-term maintenance for Linux kernel 3.10

Summary

In August 2013 Greg Kroah-Hartman announced plans to maintain Linux 3.10 for two years as a longterm kernel; the LTSI kernel for device manufacturers was also to be based on it. Alongside it, the longterm branches 3.0, 3.2 and 3.4 continued with different end dates. Ben Hutchings wanted to maintain 3.2 until about 2016 because Debian 7 was based on it.

Ideas

  • Longterm kernels receive bug fixes for years without new features.
  • Distributions and device manufacturers align their planning with these branches.
  • Individual maintainers look after branches that are important for their distribution.

Insights

  • Choosing a longterm kernel is a bet on how long it will be maintained.
  • Shared base kernels reduce the maintenance effort for many manufacturers.

Facts

  • Linux 3.4 was to be maintained until October 2014; maintenance of 3.0 ended in autumn 2013.
  • New releases of all branches had just appeared as 3.0.89, 3.2.50, 3.4.56 and 3.10.5.

References

Critique

  • The report names plans; how reliable such commitments are over years remains open.

Remarks

  • In the end Linux 3.10 was maintained for considerably longer than two years and served as the basis for many Android and embedded devices.

Recommendations

  • For devices and servers, plan for the end of support of the kernel in use.
  • Use the overview on kernel.org to check the end dates of the longterm branches.

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