FreeBSD 7.0 Released
The BSD variant, FreeBSD, has just updated to version 7.0. According to announcements on the project’s website, performance and exploitation of multiple processor architectures have been greatly improved.
The developers point to internal benchmarks, which demonstrate an improvement of 350 percent in comparison to FreeBSD 6.0 at average load, and of around 1500% at high load levels. FreeBSD is also said to provide 15% better performance than the current Linux kernels (2.6.22 and 2.6.24). The distribution now uses a 1:1 Libthr threading model to process parallel requests by default. An improved ULE scheduler is also included, although it is not the default scheduler; this position is still held by the 4BSD scheduler.
With respect to filesystems FreeBSD now offers read-only support for XFS and experimental support for Sun’s scalable ZFS filesystem. Gjournal gives administrators the ability to add journaling to filesystems. The developers have also fixed some bugs relating to the Union FS virtual filesystem. On top of this, FreeBSD includes an experimental reference implementation of SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol), a connection-oriented transport protocol that serves as an alternative to TCP (specification in RFC 4960). In contrast to TCP, SCTP is held to be immune to Syn flooding and DoS attacks.
FreeBSD includes the KDE 3.5.8 and Gnome 2.20.2 desktops. It relies on X.org 7.3., includes GCC 4.2.1, and has improved support for developer boards with ARM architecture. You can download FreeBSD via an FTP server or the Bitorrent network. Links to both variants are available on the announce page.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Rhino Linux Announces Latest "Quick Update"
If you prefer your Linux distribution to be of the rolling type, Rhino Linux delivers a beautiful and reliable experience.
-
Plasma Desktop Will Soon Ask for Donations
The next iteration of Plasma has reached the soft feature freeze for the 6.2 version and includes a feature that could be divisive.
-
Linux Market Share Hits New High
For the first time, the Linux market share has reached a new high for desktops, and the trend looks like it will continue.
-
LibreOffice 24.8 Delivers New Features
LibreOffice is often considered the de facto standard office suite for the Linux operating system.
-
Deepin 23 Offers Wayland Support and New AI Tool
Deepin has been considered one of the most beautiful desktop operating systems for a long time and the arrival of version 23 has bolstered that reputation.
-
CachyOS Adds Support for System76's COSMIC Desktop
The August 2024 release of CachyOS includes support for the COSMIC desktop as well as some important bits for video.
-
Linux Foundation Adopts OMI to Foster Ethical LLMs
The Open Model Initiative hopes to create community LLMs that rival proprietary models but avoid restrictive licensing that limits usage.
-
Ubuntu 24.10 to Include the Latest Linux Kernel
Ubuntu users have grown accustomed to their favorite distribution shipping with a kernel that's not quite as up-to-date as other distros but that changes with 24.10.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1.4 Release Includes Improvements and Bug Fixes
The latest release from the KDE team improves the KWin window and composite managers and plenty of fixes.
-
Manjaro Team Tests Immutable Version of its Arch-Based Distribution
If you're a fan of immutable operating systems, you'll be thrilled to know that the Manjaro team is working on an immutable spin that is now available for testing.