Oracle recently unveiled the latest version of its Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK), known as UEK 8, specially crafted for Oracle Linux users. This new release comes packed with various enhancements aimed at improving memory management, file system support, networking speed, and hardware platform optimization. In addition to these improvements, UEK 8 also integrates updates from the broader Linux community, ensuring a comprehensive and up-to-date kernel for users.
UEK 8 has been developed with a focus on handling heavy workloads, making it an ideal choice for large enterprise systems. It is tailor-made to support complex setups that utilize Oracle Database, Oracle Exadata, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) within distributed environments. The integration of UEK 8 aims to provide users with a reliable and high-performance kernel that meets the demanding needs of modern businesses.
Greg Marsden, Senior VP of Linux software development at Oracle, expressed his enthusiasm for the latest release, stating, “This is our eighth release of UEK, and I think it’s the best one yet.” He highlighted the significant enhancements such as memory folios and the foundation laid by the UEK-next project. Marsden emphasized the importance of UEK in driving Linux innovation and delivering the performance and stability essential for business operations, all while upholding the principles of open-source software.
One of the standout features of UEK 8 is the advancements in memory management. The kernel leverages new data structures like folios and Maple Tree to enhance memory efficiency and overall performance. Additionally, users operating Arm-based systems in Oracle Cloud can now benefit from a larger 64K memory page size, improving performance for specific workloads.
File system and storage enhancements in UEK 8 focus on delivering faster and more secure I/O operations. The updated io_uring feature ensures enhanced performance, while XFS, Ext4, and Btrfs now offer better handling of large writes. Notable improvements include XFS’s ability to repair itself online without downtime and improved NFS support for sparse files.
Networking speed receives a boost with UEK 8, introducing BIG TCP for improved data transfer over IPv6 and core networking updates for enhanced performance with multiple connections. The integration of a new memory allocator in the Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) further enhances reliability.
In terms of security, UEK 8 now supports Intel’s SGX2, enhancing data protection by isolating sensitive information in secured memory areas. This feature caters to the security needs of both on-premises and cloud systems, ensuring the safeguarding of critical data.
Users can access UEK 8 through installation with Oracle Linux 9 Update 5. The kernel’s source code is available through a public git source code repository, based on the latest long-term stable Linux kernel version, and compatible with 64-bit Intel, AMD (x86-64), and Arm (aarch64) systems, offering a versatile solution for a wide range of hardware platforms. Oracle continues to prioritize innovation and optimization with the release of UEK 8, consolidating its position as a leading provider of Linux solutions for enterprise users.