cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/28215475
Merged on Friday for the nearly-over Linux 6.15 merge window were the RISC-V CPU architecture updates for this next kernel release.
RISC-V with Linux 6.15 brings build improvements thanks to a re-architecting of the Kconfig build system options around RISC-V for selecting sub-architecture features.
For the Linux 6.15 kernel with RISC-V there is also support for building relocatable non-MMU kernels, support for huge PFNMAPS to improve TLB utilization, support for runtime constants, new RISC-V instructions supported, and a variety of fixes.
I’m still skeptical. The licensing model is certainly friendlier and I think that’s why more people are willing to give this a chance and put dev time into it. But the cost is still high and performance is trash.
I’m most interested in seeing what that team that splintered off intel to go all in on RISC-V come up with.
Performance is not the ISA. It is just the culmination of historical investment. It will get there.
Remember, it is not about licensing costs, it is about minimizing risk and maximizing flexibility (control).
Open always wins.