Linux Kernel 6.11 released: Major AMD enhancements, AES-GCM boosts, and RISC-V updates

Linus Torvalds has announced the release of Linux kernel 6.11, featuring notable improvements and new functionalities, especially for AMD hardware. The update includes baseline support for AMD's upcoming RDNA4 graphics architecture to ensure future GPU compatibility. The AMD P-State driver now allows control over turbo and boost frequency ranges and introduces AMD Fast Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC) for recent Ryzen (Zen 4) mobile processors, enhancing performance by 2-6% without added power consumption.

Significant advancements in encryption and decryption performance for AES-GCM on both AMD and Intel CPUs have been achieved, with improvements up to 160%. The kernel also supports encrypted guests via AMD’s SEV-SNP, enhancing security in virtualized environments. Intel users benefit from support for Lunar Lake performance monitoring units, TPMI driver updates for better diagnostics, and Sub-NUMA clustering for improved server performance. Additionally, AI NPU improvements for Intel Meteor Lake chipsets include updates to the in-kernel iVPU accelerator driver.

ARM64 architecture enhancements include CPU hotplug support on ACPI systems and the ability to install compressed kernel images. RISC-V updates feature memory hot-plugging, STACKLEAK security, NUMA support, console output on ACPI-based systems, and new ISA extensions. Additionally, Linux will now have its own version of Windows's Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), which will display a QR code for easier error message management. Users can read the full list of changes in Linux 6.11 in the official changelog.