OpenBSD 7.5 released with kernel improvements, hardware support enhancements, and more

OpenBSD, the BSD-based UNIX-like operating system, has announced the release of its upgraded version 7.5. The update introduces a host of improvements, new features and bug fixes.

In the new version, per-CPU caching has been implemented for the page table page (vp) pool and the PTE descriptor (pted) pool in the ARM64 pmap implementation. This implementation substantially mitigates the side effects of lock contention on the kernel map lock and allows for significant speed enhancements on machines with multiple CPU cores.

OpenBSD 7.5 also introduces various kernel improvements and several Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) enhancements. The update also includes new and updated Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) and graphics drivers.

The vionet device emulation now supports multi-threading in OpenBSD 7.5, which improves latency. Other Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) and Virtual Machine Daemon (VMD) enhancements are also part of this release.

Userland features in the new version have been expanded, and there are improvements to hardware and network hardware support. Wireless network drivers have been enhanced, and various other tweaks and bug fixes have been made.

OpenBSD 7.5 has also made AMD64 ISO CD images bootable in EFI mode. Security has been given a boost in this version with several improvements. Changes have also been made to the network stack and the firewall. The tmux terminal multiplexer has received enhancements and the release comes with LibreSSL version 3.9.0 and OpenSSH versions 9.6 and 9.7.