Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 8 Released
Oracle’s Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel 8 package is now based on the Linux 6.12 nucleus, an upgrade from UEK7 which was based on the 5.4 core. The release of UEK8 comes alongside the proposed RHEL 10 beta 10.11 version, offering new capabilities, optimizations, and bug fixes. The kernel is also compatible with a majority of applications running on RHEL and optimized for industrial software and Oracle equipment. Installations and SRC packages with the UEK8 core are set up for Oracle Linux 9.5, with no restrictions on using the kernel with other similar versions like RHEL, CentOS, ALMA, ALMA Linux, and Rocky Linux.
One of the key changes in UEK8 is the separation of components into separate packages, with nucleus modules now available in distinct collections. These packages include Kernel-UEK-Modules-Core (basic minimum), Kernel-UEK-Modules (for servers), Kernel-UEK-Modules-Desktop, Kernel-UEK-Modules-Extra-Netfilter, Kernel-UEK-Modules-USB, and Kernel-UEK-Modules-Wireless. Additionally, related utilities from the Kernel-UEK-Core package have been moved to a separate Kernel-UEK-Tools package. In a move towards inclusive terminology, configuration files previously named ‘Blacklist’ for prohibited modules are now labeled as ‘Denylist’.
- For ARM AMPERE systems used in Oracle Cloud, a specialized Kernel-UEK64K assembly has been developed. This version increases the base memory page size from 4 kb to 64 kb.
- UEK8 also introduces support for the EDMM (ENCLAVE DYNAMIC Memory Management) mechanism, enabling the management of access to individual memory pages within an enclave and the deletion of enclave memory pages.