What’s What in Linux 2.6.16

So what is the latest in the new kernel and should we even care? The answers are plenty and yes. One of the biggy improvements would probably have to be the support for the HFSX file system.

If you wanted to sum up what’s new in this latest release of Linux, you could say that it’s a Linux for high-end enterprise users.

However, this kernel is also the first one to support Toshiba, Sony, and IBM’s CELL processor, which is best known as the chip that will power Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation 3 game console.

Of course, CELL (Cell Broadband Engine Architecture), a 64-bit PowerPC-derived, multicore chip, is meant for more than just games.

It’s designed from the silicon up to be scalable for use in everything from game consoles to workstations and servers. So, even the CELL support actually fits into the 2.6.16’s themes of high-end hardware support.

More easily recognized as an enterprise play is this kernel’s support for the second version of Oracle’s OCFS2 (Oracle Cluster File System for Linux).

With this cluster support, users can get speedy disk support over SANs (Storage Area Networks), or, thanks to its TCP-based messaging system, across Fast or Gigabit Ethernets and cluster nodes or NAS (network-attached storage). Source: eWeek

[tags]powerpc,kernel,cell broadband engine architecture,storage area networks,hfsx file system[/tags]