The Linux 4.18 kernel has been released: Support for the Steam Controller and much more
The Linux 4.18 kernel has been released, which presents itself as a version without major jolts, but which mainly introduces support for new hardware and new features, starting with the Steam Controller.
Linux 4.18 was finally released, after a week of postponement for some regressions discovered at the last minute. The latest version of the kernel brings improvements in support for various graphics and CPU cards, security enhancements, changes in system files and support for various hardware, including the Steam Controller.
Linux 4.18 is the first kernel to integrate native support to the Steam Controller, for which a driver has been created through reverse engineering of the driver in user space produced by Valve. The new driver integrated into the kernel supports both the wired and the non-wired mode and also lets you know the status of the battery charge.
On the CPU side, there are mitigations against Specter V4 both for ARMv8 and for AMD CPUs, as well as protection against Specter V1 and V2 for 32 bit ARM architectures. Support was also added for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and temperature readings from AMD Stoney Ridge and Bristol Ridge processors. The work of integrating the RISC-V architecture support also proceeds.
As for the GPUs, support for the AMD Radeon Vega 20 GPU has been introduced, which has not yet made its official debut on the market, as well as initial support for the Vega M GPU present in the Intel Kaby Lake G processors.
The AMDGPU kernel driver now supports Vega card power profiles and clock and voltage control. Intel has also introduced support for the Icelake ” Gen 11 ” GPUs, which have yet to be announced and that the Cannonlake platform should go on to succeed. There is also initial support for the NVIDIA GV100 ” Volta ” GPU.
As for file systems, the possibility of using encryption using Speck, a controversial cipher created by the NSA and whose validity has been questioned several times and whose inclusion in the kernel has been the subject of bitter debates with many requests, has been introduced of removal.
Particularly interesting is the introduction of the possibility to repair XFS file systems while they are in use: although this functionality is not yet available, it is a prelude to the possibility of carrying out checks and repairs on file systems without the need to restart the machines.
Better support for USB 3.2 and USB Type-C standards has also been introduced, as well as the implementation of Thunderbolt on some Dell computer models. Support is also introduced to the Creative sound cards with the CA0132 chip (among which, for example, the Sound Blaster Z cards, notoriously not compatible with the Penguin).
You can read the release announcement by Linus Torvalds with further details.
