The LTSI project released Linux kernel LTSI-4.14.75

Oct 11, 2018 13:50 GMT  ·  By

The Linux Foundation's LTSI (Long-Term Support Initiative) group has confirmed on Twitter today that the next LTS Linux kernel version to be supported for the next 2-3 years will be Linux 4.14.

The Long Term Support Initiative (LTSI) project aims to provide hardware vendors using the Linux kernel in their products with support for at least 2-3 years, which is the typical lifetime of a consumer device, in an attempt to remove the fragmentation of the various Linux kernel versions used by device vendors and GNU/Linux distributions.

It also makes it easier for device vendors to upstream their improvements into the main Linux kernel branches more easily. Coming a year after the Linux 4.9 kernel series, which was released as an LTSI kernel on September 21, 2017, the Linux 4.14.75 LTS kernel is now the latest and most advanced LTSI kernel for hardware vendors.

"Thank you, everyone, for sent patches and testing. Also, great support for Geert as sub-maintainer! I would also thank for Greg [Kroah-Hartman] [...] for finally syncing with latest LTS [Linux kernel] 4.14.75 released just today," said Tsugikazu Shibata. "I hope this release will be used for your products and/or services as long term."

More Linux-powered devices will run a recent Linux kernel

Offering a newer Linux kernel branch to device vendors is terrific news for all consumers, not only the Open Source community. The Linux kernel is currently used in all Android-powered devices, as well as Google's Chrome OS devices, so it's important for them to run the most recent, long-term supported kernel available on the market for better security and greater performance.

In June 2017, renowned Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman announced that the Linux 4.14 kernel series would be an LTS (Long Term Support) branch, supported with maintenance and security updates for at least two years. Linux kernel 4.14 was officially released on November 12, 2017, and it's currently the most advanced long-term supported kernel branch.

Hardware vendors interested in updating the kernel packages in the software solutions they use for their Linux-powered devices are encouraged to download the latest stable LTSI kernel from the official website. The current version released as of October 10, 2018, is Linux kernel 4.14.75-ltsi, corresponding to the latest upstream release, Linux kernel 4.14.75 LTS.