Just a few hours ago, the Linux kernel 4.4 LTS was released , but there was also a significant launch, especially in the enterprise environment, with the arrival of Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) 4. This was announced by Oracle , the company that, in addition to leading the development of VirtualBox and Java, is also behind this release.
For those unfamiliar with this proposal, it represents a significant effort towards security and stability, as Oracle works to improve the performance of the GNU/Linux kernel in certain aspects that are highly valued in enterprise environments.
The Unbreakable Enterprise 4 kernel is available and ready to be used in Oracle Enterprise Linux 6 and Oracle Enterprise Linux 7, the two most recent versions of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux-based platform, and among the new features it brings we can mention the well-known ability to add patches in real time (which comes thanks to the open source Ksplice extension).
In the words of Michele Casey of Oracle, the Oracle Linux team "is pleased to announce the general availability of Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) version 4 for Oracle Linux 6 and Oracle Linux 7. This release, based on kernel line 4.1 , brings exciting features and enhancements developed for cloud infrastructures."
In addition to the aforementioned real-time patches, support is also coming for the LZ4 compression algorithm , for batch network transmissions, for low-latency network polling, for the use of zram and zswap, and for prominent cloud technologies such as Xen , OpenvSwitch, Docker, LXC, and VXLAN.
But this is a kernel whose main objective is to provide greater security , and it achieves this with new features such as random number system calls, the randomness of the kernel address space, and updates to SELinux, SHA256, and SHA512.
However, the list of new features is much longer, and those who want to know them all can read the launch notes, available at this link.