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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5
Release Notes
=============
Release Notes
-------------
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Abstract
Red Hat Enterprise Linux minor releases are an aggregation of individual
enhancement, security and bug fix errata. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5.5 Release Notes documents the major changes made to the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5 operating system and its accompanying applications for
this minor release. Detailed notes on all changes in this minor release
are available in the Technical Notes. Highlights of the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5.5 release include hardware enablement for the Intel
Boxboro-EX platform, AMD Magny-Cours processor and IBM Power 7 processor.
Virtualization is improved, with support for multiple 10 GigE SR-IOV
cards, and automatic usage of hugepages for virtual guest memory when
enabled on the system. Interoperability improvements include updates to
OpenOffice for Microsoft Office 2007 filters, Samba for Windows 7
compatibility and boot support for virtual machines using Microsoft based
PXE services.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Installation
----------------
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 introduces many bugfixes and enhancements to
the system installer (anaconda). The interactive installer has been
enhanced, adding the abilty to specify additional Network File System
(NFS) mount options when installing from an NFS source (BZ#493052).
Additionally, install sources (e.g. kickstart files) located on password
protected File Transport Protocol (FTP) servers can now be retrieved
during installation (BZ#505424).
Kickstart
Kickstart provides a way for users to automate a Red Hat Enterprise Linux
installation. Using kickstart, a system administrator can create a single
file containing the answers to all the questions that would normally be
asked during a typical installation. Kickstart debugging and error
reporting has been improved. The installer now retains kickstart
scriptlets during debugging, logs standard output (stdout) and standard
error (stderr) streams, and logs error messages to anaconda.log (BZ#510636).
Package groups can now be excluded in a kickstart installation in the
same manner that individual packages are excluded (BZ#558516).
Additionally, the bootloader command now supports the --hvargs parameter,
allowing Xen hypervisor arguments to be specified during a kickstart
installation (BZ#501438). Previously, the kickstart installation method
offered two options to select all packages @Everything and * (wildcard).
As of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, both of these options have been
deprecated. Attempting to use a select all packages option will fail,
unless the kickstart file also includes package negation for conflicting
packages. Therefore, to install all packages but conflicting packages,
the kickstart file must contain:
%packages
@Everything
-@Conflicts
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 includes the new package sets samba3x,
freeradius2, postgres84. These package sets are only available via
kickstart during system installation or through yum for existing systems.
Hardware Support
The following device drivers are now supported during installation:
* the pmcraid driver for PMC Sierra MaxRAID Controller Adapters (BZ#532777)
* the ibmvfs driver for Power6 Virtual FC devices (BZ#512237).
* the bfa driver for Brocade Fibre Channel to PCIe Host Bus Adapters (BZ#475707)
* the be2iscsi driver for ServerEngines BladeEngine 2 Open iSCSI
devices (BZ#529442).
Note
----
For detailed information on installation, the Installation Guide
documents how to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.
2. Virtualization
------------------
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 delivers many updates to virtualization.
Detailed notes on all the changes to virtualization components are
available in the Technical Notes.
Note
----
Management of KVM based virtual guests using Cluster Suite is now fully
supported.
SPICE
-----
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 includes components providing functionality
for the Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environments (SPICE)
remote display protocol. These components, are for use in conjunction
with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization products and are not guaranteed to
have a stable ABI. The components will be updated to synchronize with
functional requirements of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization products.
Migration to future releases may require manual operations on a
per-system basis.
PCI passthrough improvements
PCI passthrough allows PCI devices to appear and behave as if they were
physically attached to the guest operating system. KVM and Xen
hypervisors both support attaching PCI devices on the host system to
virtualized guests. The AMD input/output memory management unit (IOMMU)
kernel driver, which assists in PCI passthrough, has been updated. This
update fixes an issue where system management requests were handled
incorrectly. (BZ#531469) Support for PCI passthrough using Intel VT-d
extensions on the KVM hypervisor has been improved. Devices (either
physical or virtual) can now be shutdown and unassigned from a guest
during runtime, allowing the device to be reassigned to another guest.
This reassignment can also be carried out live (BZ#516811). Additionally,
1:1 mapping performance has been improved (BZ#518103).
Note
----
For detailed information on virtualization, the Virtualization Guide is
the definitive guide for virtualization on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
HugePages Support
New rules are available in libvirt to enable hugetlbfs (HugePages). When
a system is configured with Hugepages, libvirt automatically allocates
memory from hugetlbfs to back the virtual guest memory. When combined
with extended page tables and nested page tables in hardware, significant
performance improvements can be achieved by the guest. (BZ#518099)
3. Kernel
----------
3.1. Kernel Platform Enablement
This release introduces support for Intel's new platforms, code-named
Boxboro-EX and Boxboro-MC, AMD's new processor family, code-named
Magny-Cours and IBM's Power7 processor.
3.2. Kernel Generic Features
Detecting kernel tasks stuck in the uninterruptible sleep state
In some circumstances, tasks in the kernel may permanently enter the
uninterruptible sleep state (D-State), making the system impossible to
shut down. With this update, the Detect Hung Task kernel thread has been
added, providing the ability to detect tasks permanently stuck in the
D-State. This new feature is controlled by the CONFIG_DETECT_HUNG_TASK
kernel flag. When set to "y" tasks stuck in the D-State are detected;
when set to n it is off. The default value for the
CONFIG_DETECT_HUNG_TASK flag is y. Additionally, the
CONFIG_BOOTPARAM_HUNG_TASK_PANIC flag has been added. When set to y, a
kernel panic is triggered when a task stuck in the D-State is detected.
The default value for the CONFIG_BOOTPARAM_HUNG_TASK_PANIC flag is n.
BZ#506059
Signed s390 Kernel Modules
Starting at Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, all s390 kernel modules are now
signed. BZ#483665BZ#456181, BZ#448130, BZ#427709
4. Device Drivers
------------------
the hpilo driver for HP iLO/iLO2 management processors has been updated.
The Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) has been updated â
providing enhanced support for High Definition Audio (HDA). (BZ#525390).
the i2c device driver for the iic-bus interface has been updated with
support for the SB900 SMBus controller. (BZ#516623) the mlx4 driver for
Mellanox ConnectX HCA InfiniBand devices has been updated to version
1.4.1 (BZ#514147 BZ#500346)
4.1. Network Device Drivers
Wireless Rebase
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 contains a major updates to wireless drivers
and subsystems in the kernel. The iwlwifi drivers for Intel wireless
network adapters have been updated. Devices in this hardware line support
802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n wireless protocols. This update
provides new support for iwl6000 and iwl1000 devices, and enhanced
support for iwl5000, iwl4965 and iwl3945 devices. The rt2x00 drivers for
wireless devices has been updated. This update refreshes the drivers for
the Ralink rt2400pci, rt2500pci, rt2500usb, rt61pciand rt73usb chipsets,
and the drivers for the rtl8180 and rtl8187 Realtek chipsets. The ath9k
driver for Atheros 802.11n wireless LAN adapters has been enabled. To
support the features of these drivers, the mac80211 and cfg80211 kernel
subsystems have been updated.
Solarflare driver
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, the Solarflare driver (sfc) has been
added (BZ#448856)
Neterion's X3100 Series 10GbE PCIe driver
The vxge driver for Neterion's X3100 Series 10GbE PCIe devices has
been updated (BZ#453683).
ServerEngines BladeEngine2 10Gbps driver
the be2net driver for ServerEngines BladeEngine2 10Gbps network
devices has been updated (BZ#549460)
Cisco 10G Ethernet Driver
the enic driver for Cisco 10G Ethernet devices has been updated to
version 1.1.0.100. (BZ#519086 BZ#550148)
QLogic 10 Gigabit PCI-E Ethernet Driver
the qlge driver for QLogic 10 Gigabit PCI-E ethernet devices has
been updated to version 1.00.00.23. (BZ#519453)
QLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver
The qla2xx driver for QLogic Fibre Channel HBA devices has been
updated. (BZ#542834 BZ#543057)
Broadcom Tigon3 ethernet devices
the tg3 driver for Broadcom Tigon3 ethernet devices has been
updated. (BZ#515312)
Intel Gigabit Ethernet Network Devices
the igb driver for Intel Gigabit Ethernet Network devices has been
updated. (BZ#513710)
Intel 10 Gigabit PCI Express Network Devices
the ixgbe driver for Intel 10 Gigabit PCI Express Network devices
has been updated. (BZ#513707, BZ#514306, BZ#516699)
Intel PRO/1000 Network Devices
The e1000 driver for Intel PRO/1000 network devices has been
updated (BZ#515524)
NetXen Multi port (1/10) Gigabit Network Devices
The netxen driver for NetXen Multi port (1/10) Gigabit Network
devices has been updated. (BZ#542746)
Broadcom Everest network devices
The bnx2x driver for Broadcom Everest network devices has been
updated to version 1.52.1-5.(BZ#515716, BZ#522600)
Broadcom NetXtreme II network devices
The bnx2 driver for Broadcom NetXtreme II network devices has been
updated to version 2.0.2(BZ#517377)
Broadcom NetXtreme II iSCSI
The bnx2i driver for Broadcom NetXtreme II iSCSI has been updated.
(BZ#516233)
RealTek 8169 ethernet driver
the r8169 driver for RealTek 8169 ethernet devices has been
updated. (BZ#514589)
4.2. Storage Device Drivers
QLogic Fibre Channel Host Bus
the qla2xxx driver for QLogic Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters has been
updated to version 8.03.01.02.05.05-k (BZ#519447)
HighPoint RocketRAID 3xxx/4xxx
The hptiop driver for HighPoint RocketRAID 3xxx/4xxx controllers has been
updated, adding support for RR44xx adapters. (BZ#519076)
Emulex Fibre Channel Host Bus
The lpfc driver for Emulex Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters has been
updated to version 8.2.0.52. (BZ#515272) BZ#549763
LSI SAS-2 family of adapters
The mpt2sas driver that supports the SAS-2 family of adapters from LSI
has been updated to version 02.101.00.00. This update fixes many issues,
most notably:
* Sanity checks have been added when volumes are added and removed,
ignoring events for foreign volumes.
* driver is now legacy I/O port free
* An issue that may have resulted in a kernel oops at hibernation or
resume has been fixed.
(BZ#516702)
LSI Fusion MPT
The mptque base driver for devices using LSI Fusion MPT firmware has been
updated to version 3.4.13rh. This update fixes many issues, most notably:
* The serial attached SCSI (SAS) topology scan has been restructured,
adding expander, link status and host bus adapter (HBA) events.
* Intermittent issues caused by SAS cable removal and reinsertion have
been fixed.
* An issue where SATA devices received different SAS addresses has
been fixed.
* The device firmware now reports the queue full event to the driver
and the driver handles the queue full event using the SCSI mid-layer.
(BZ#516710)
LSI MegaRAID SAS controllers
The megaraid_sas driver for LSI MegaRAID SAS controllers has been updated
to version 4.17-RH1. This update fixes many issues, most notably:
* An issue during firmware boot and initialization has been fixed.
* An issue that resulted in devices hanging during hibernation has
been fixed.
* The driver now auto updates the device when added or deleted.
* MegaRAID SAS driver is now legacy I/O port free
BZ#518243
5. Filesystem/Storage Management
---------------------------------
Improved CFQ I/O scheduler performance
Some applications (e.g. dump and nfsd) try to improve disk I/O
performance by distributing I/O requests to multiple processes or
threads. However, when using the Completely Fair Queuing (CFQ) I/O
scheduler, this application design negatively affected I/O performance.
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, the kernel can now detect and merge
cooperating queues. Additionally, the kernel can also detect if the
queues stop cooperating, and split them apart again.
New GFS2 mount option
This update introduces GFS2 support for the errors= mount command line
option, which may assist in troubleshooting. The default option,
errors=withdraw results in the filesystem attempting to withdraw from the
cluster if an I/O error or metadata error is encountered. The
alternative, errors=panic results in a panic in the same situation. (BZ#518106)
CIFS Update
The Common Internet File System (CIFS) has been updated in the kernel. (BZ#500838)
6. Tools
---------
6.1. GNU Project debugger (GDB)
The GNU Project debugger (normally referred to as GDB) debugs programs
written in C, C++, and other languages by executing them in a controlled
fashion, and then printing out their data. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5.5, GDB has been updated to version 7.0.1. For a detailed listing of
changes refer to the GDB section of the Technical Notes.
Enhanced C++ support
Support for the C++ programming language in GDB has been improved.
Notable improvements include:
* Many improvements to expression parsing.
* Better handling of type names.
* The need for extraneous quoting has nearly been eliminated
* "next" and other stepping commands work properly even when the
inferior throws an exception.
* GDB has a new "catch syscall" command. This can be used to stop the
inferior whenever it makes a system call.
Wide and multi-byte character support
GDB now has support for wide and multi-byte characters on the target.
Independent thread debugging
Thread execution now permits debugging threads individually and
independently of each other; enabled by new settings "set target-async"
and "set non-stop".
6.2. SystemTap
SystemTap is a tracing and probing tool that allows users to study and
monitor the activities of the operating system (particularly, the kernel)
in fine detail. It provides information similar to the output of tools
like netstat, ps, top, and iostat; however, SystemTap is designed to
provide more filtering and analysis options for collected information.
New Kernel Tracepoints
Tracepoints are placed in important sections of the kernel, allowing
system administrators to analyze the performance of, and debug portions
of code. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, a wide range of tracepoints
have been added to the kernel (BZ#475710), including tracepoints for
networking (BZ#475457), coredump (BZ#517115) and signal (BZ#517121).
Note
----
A list of tracepoints available in the kernel can be obtained with:
stap -L 'kernel.trace("*")'|sort
Unprivileged mode
Previously, only users with root privileges were able to use SystemTap.
This update introduces SystemTap's unprivileged mode, allowing non-root
users to still use SystemTap. Detailed information on unprivileged man
stap-client manpage.
Important
---------
Unprivileged mode is considered a Technology Preview in the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5.5. The stap-server facility on which it relies is
undergoing work for security improvements and should be deployed with
care on a trustworthy network.
C++ Probing
The C++ program probing improvements also allows better probing of
user-space programs.
6.3. Valgrind
Valgrind is used to monitor memory read, write, and allocation
operations. The valgrind tool is frequently used by developers to
diagnose and debug memory management problems. Valgrind has been updated
to version 3.5.0, providing enhanced support for a wide range of system
architectures. This update introduces many improvements to performance,
scalability and usability of the Valgrind. Notably, the usability and
scalability of the Helgrind tool â which is used to detect race
contiditions â has been improved. The leak checking capabilities of the
Memcheck tool are also improved. Additionally, support for DWARF
debugging information has been enhanced.
7. Desktop Updates
-------------------
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org is an Open Source, multi-platform office productivity
suite. It includes key desktop applications, such as a word processor,
spreadsheet, and presentation manager. OpenOffice.org has been updated,
providing many bugfixes and enhancements, including support for Microsoft
Office 2007 OOXML formats.
Metacity
Metacity, the default window manager for the GNOME desktop has been
updated, providing enhancements, additional GConf keys to control the the
behavior of metacity and bug fixes.
8. New Packages
----------------
FreeRADIUS
FreeRADIUS is a high-performance, highly configurable, free Remote
Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) server. It is designed to
allow centralized authentication and authorization for a network.
FreeRADIUS 2.0 is available as a new package (freeradius2) in Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5.5. FreeRADIUS 1 is still available in Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5 in the original freeradius package. Version 2.0 of
FreeRADIUS introduces many new features including the programming
language unlang, virtual server support., additional directories for
improved RFC coverage and full IPv6 support for both attributes & network
packets.
Important
---------
The freeradius and freeradius2 packages share common files, and cannot be
installed together on the same system.
PostgreSQL 8.4
PostgreSQL 8.4 (postgresql84) is now included as a fully supported option
in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. New features in PostgreSQL 8.4 include:
parallel database restore, per-column permissions and new monitoring
tools.
Important
---------
A data dump and restore using pg_dump is required for migration from the
existing PostgreSQL 8.1 (supplied by the postgres package). Due to this
requirement, postgres and postgresql84 contain package level conflicts
and only a single version can be installed on a system.
Samba
Samba is a suite of programs used by machines to share files, printers,
and other information. The Samba3x package set was originally introduced
in the x86_64 Supplementary for the 5.4 release. In Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 5.5, Samba3x has been updated and is now supported on all
architectures. Samba3x includes support for Microsoft® Windows⢠7
interoperability.
Important
---------
Clustered Samba support is still a Technology Preview and only available
on the x86_64 architecture. Samba3x is based on the upstream Samba 3.3
release and includes the following changes in the configuration file
options:
Parameter
Description
Default
cups connection timeout
New
30
idmap config DOM:range
Removed
Â
idmap domains
Removed
Â
init logon delayed hosts
New
""
init logon delay
New
100
ldap ssl
Changed Default
start tls
share modes
Deprecated
Â
winbind reconnect delay
New
30
The samba source component has been refactored to generate a libsmbclient
package. The libsmbclient is included into both samba and samba3x
packages to provide client interfaces to other components in the
environment.
Important
---------
All previous samba3x Technology Preview packages must be removed before
installing the supported version of Samba3x.
gPXE
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 introduces the new gPXE package, an open
source Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) implementation. gPXE provides
the ability to boot installation images via a network connection.
A. Revision History
--------------------
Revision History
Revision 0
Tue Nov 24 2009
Ryan Lerch
Initial creation of book by publican