openSUSE Rolls Out 42.2 Leap
New release targets Linux professionals.
The openSUSE community has released the latest version of their desktop operating system, openSUSE 42.2 Leap. The latest release is a minor upgrade to the 42.x branch that comes with many new features.
Douglas DeMaio, of the openSUSE release team, wrote, “openSUSE Leap 42.2 is powered by the Linux 4.4 Long-Term-Support (LTS) kernel and is a secure, stable, and reliable server operating system for deploying IT services in physical, virtual, or cloud environments.’
openSUSE Leap 42.2 is based on SLE SP2, which was released a few weeks ago. According to DeMaio, Leap 42.2 gets some of its source code from SLE 12 Service Pack 2. “New technologies such as NVDIMM, OmniPATH, and the Data Plane Development Kit with Open vSwitch are backported for the release. XEN no longer requires its own kernel and is supported by the default kernel. Along with the shared SLE codebase, openSUSE Leap 42.2 gets packages, maintenance, and bug fixes from the openSUSE community and SUSE engineers. The 42 series of Leap achieves at a minimum 36 months of maintenance and security updates starting from 42.1.”
openSUSE 42.2 comes with KDE’s Plasma 5.8, the LTS version of Plasma that was created specifically for openSUSE. It also comes with Gnome 3.20.2, a bit older version of Gnome. OpenSUSE Leap is not positioned as a cutting edge distribution and is the most stable openSUSE experience, which means the developers are a bit conservative when it comes to packages. Packages go into Leap once they are fully tested. If you are looking for the latest packages, try the Tumbleweed rolling release edition.
In 2015, openSUSE moved the openSUSE base to SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE) SP1, which brought the two distributions closer to each other. The openSUSE community also announced a rolling release distribution called Tumbleweed, in honor of Linux kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman. Tumbleweed is now the upstream for openSUSE Leap and, in part, for SUSE Linux Enterprise. Every package that goes into openSUSE Leap or SUSE Linux Enterprise has to go through Tumbleweed, although enterprise customers can also work directly with SUSE Linux Enterprise teams to get those features in SLE directly.
openSUSE Leap 42.2 is available now for free download.
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.