Stable kernel maintenance for distributions
Ben Hutchings
Linux stable releases
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Linus releases a 'stable' 3.x every 2-3 months after
a series of release candidates
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Greg K-H maintains a 'stable branch' for each Linus release, with
releases numbered 3.x.y
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Stable branch includes cherry-picked or backported changes to
fix serious bugs and add support for new devices
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Stable update releases roughly every 1-2 weeks, at least until
3.x+1 is available
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A 'long-term' stable branch may be maintained by Greg or another
developer beyond this period
The stable update process (1)
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All changes go to mailing
list stable@vger.kernel.org
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A commit with a Cc: pseudo-header for this address will
be picked up by stable maintainers once Linus pulls the commit
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If it doesn't apply to a stable branch, the author is usually
notified and may provide a backported version
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Any commit in Linus's tree, or a fix for a stable-only
regression, can be nominated by mail to this list, if it
meets the criteria
Credits
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Linux 'Tux' logo © Larry Ewing, Simon Budig.