Linux kernel 4.0 won't remain default for long

May 27, 2015 16:24 GMT  ·  By

The development cycle for Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) seems to be going smoothly and Canonical is already tracking a new Linux kernel, 4.1, which will eventually get released by Linus Torvalds.

Ubuntu developers usually implement the latest version of the Linux kernel that is available before the kernel freeze. It is difficult to anticipate what Linux kernel will eventually land in the next version of Ubuntu and it's usually up to Linus Torvalds. As you can imagine, the cycles for the Linux kernel and Ubuntu are not synced.

"We are still tracking the 4.0.x stable series on wily master-next. We're currently rebased to 4.0.4 and still sorting DKMS testing. We will shoot for an official upload to Wily in the next few weeks. Tracking of the 4.1 series is taking place in our unstable git repo on kernel.ubuntu.com," said Canonical's Joseph Salisbury.

The Linux kernel is a vital component of Ubuntu and users are generally interested on what they will get in the next edition. It's also important because once Ubuntu is launched, unless it's an LTS release, the kernel will only get patched and not upgraded.

Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) is expected to land on October 22, and it will be supported for the next nine months.