Linux 2.6.37 Kernel Promises to Unlock OS
Linus Torvalds is starting 2011 off with a bang with the release of the 2.6.37 Linux kernel. The new kernel is the first release since 2.6.36 debuted in October.The goal of the new 2.6.37 kernel is to provide developers with improved Linux performance, security and scalability.
From a performance perspective the 2.6.37 kernel removes the Big Kernel Lock (BKL). The BKL is a legacy part of the Linux kernel that has now been fully supplanted by more modern and efficient locking mechanisms for kernel processes.
Memory management also gets a boost with a new retry page fault when blocking on disk transfer patch, which was authored by Google developer Michel Lespinasse. According to Lespinasse, with the patch, a read access that used to perform at 55 iterations per second will now perform at 15,000 iterations per second, with the patch installed.
