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Another month, another Arch Linux ISO snapshot is being released, this time for February 2022, bringing the latest and greatest Linux 5.16 kernel and other updated components.
Arch Linux 2022.02.01 is now available for download and it comes pre-installed with Linux 5.16 as default kernel for new installations and system rescue/recovery tasks. The ISO image includes Linux kernel 5.16.4, but it looks like Linux kernel 5.16.5 was also released today and you should expect it to land in the stable archives by the end of the week.
Linux kernel 5.16 brings numerous new features and improved hardware support. Some of its highlights include the FUTEX2 system call for a faster gaming experience, a new fanotify event type for file system health reporting, updated Zstd (Zstandard) compression, support for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4), a new Realtek 802.11ax driver, USB4 DP tunnelling support for AMD GPUs, and support for Intel 13th-gen “Raptor Lake” processors.
In addition to the new kernel, the Arch Linux 2022.02.01 snapshot incorporates all the updated packages and security patches that have been released through the distribution’s software repositories during the month of January 2022.
Most importantly, it comes with archinstall 2.3.1, the tool that makes installing Arch Linux easier for newcomers. This release changes the default Btrfs subvolume layout to something that should work with snapper/timeshift, changes the default timeout in systemd-boot from 5 to 15 seconds, adds a PipeWire application profile, improves UUID comparison, properly sets the amdgpu driver when using the xorg profile, and fixes many bugs.
Without any further ado, you can download the Arch Linux 2022.02.01 ISO right now from the official website or by clicking the direct download link below. As usual, this release is here only for new deployments of this lightweight, flexible and rolling-release GNU/Linux distribution.
Existing Arch Linux users should keep their installations up to date at all times by running the sudo pacman -Syu command in a terminal emulator as often as possible if they want to receive the latest and greatest software releases and the most recent security fixes.
Last updated 2 years ago
