Linux 2.6.38 speeds group scheduling, VFS
Linus Torvalds released Linux kernel 2.6.38, featuring both an overhaul of the Virtual File System and an "automatic process grouping" patch touted as greatly improving performance. Other Linux 2.6.38 changes include support for AMD Fusion processors, new GPUs and Wi-Fi chips, plus Btrfs and page-memory enhancements.
Many kernel releases come and go with relatively few features that would make the average end-user sit up and take notice. Linux 2.6.38 might be different, however, thanks to the addition of a sched: autogroup patch announced by Linux creator Linus Torvalds (pictured) back in November. Now referred to generally as the "automatic process grouping" patch, the enhancement is said to change "substantially how the process scheduler assigns shares of CPU time to each process," according to the KernelNewbies.org write-up that we use as our primary source here.
