The following is a summary of the features, changes, and improvements that are introduced in UEK 8, relative to UEK R7:

• Linux 6.12 stable kernel base

  The 6.12 mainline kernel release that's used as the base kernel for UEK 8 includes many upstream kernel features and improvements over previous UEK releases and over RHCK on Oracle Linux 9.

• Kernel module packaging is updated

  Kernel modules are distributed in more atomic packages to reduce the attack surface on the kernel, to improve kernel module maintenance, and to also improve visibility of module deprecation. See Changes to UEK Content Distribution and Packaging for a complete view of kernel packaging in UEK 8.

• 64k Base Page Size on Arm

  In this release, a version of the kernel with a 64k base page size is available for Ampere Arm-based Compute shapes in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure only. The 64k base page size improves how Arm platforms process workloads with large, contiguous memory datasets. See (aarch64) 64k Base Page Size on Arm for more information.

• Other platform updates

  Several generic platform updates are included. See Generic Platform Updates. Some other Intel-specific platform updates are available, including security features such as Intel Software Guard Extensions and new hardware support for Intel Quick Assist Technology (QAT). See Intel Platform Updates.

• Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS) replaced by Earliest Eligible Virtual Deadline First (EEVDF)

  CFS is replaced by the EEVDF scheduler to improve scheduling behavior and to reduce configuration complexity. See EEVDF Scheduler Replaces CFS.

• Improved Memory Management

  Many memory management improvements appear in UEK 8, including several memory mapping optimizations, improvements to performance through the introductions of folio structures, and some enhancements to Huge Page handling. See Memory Management.

• File systems updates

  Support for the Btrfs and OCFS2 file systems is enabled in UEK 8. Significant enhancements are available for the Btrfs, XFS, and NFS file systems in this release. For more information about new file systems features that are introduced in UEK 8, see File Systems

• ASMLib v3 and io_uring

  Several io_uring enhancements are included in this release of UEK, which also supports ASMLib v3. ASMLib v3 uses io_uring for the Automatic Storage Management feature of the Oracle Database. See io_uring Enhancements and ASMLib v3.

• Networking updates

  Several general networking enhancements are included in UEK 8. See General Networking Enhancements.

• Security related updates

  Some other security related updates are included in this release of UEK, including some updates to the Random Number Generator help improve performance and security. See Random Number Generator Enhancements. The kernel TLS offload facility is enabled in UEK 8. See KTLS.

• Berkeley Packet Filter

  Several enhancements are available in the Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) used for tracing, including a dedicated memory allocator, a new user ring buffer, and the use of resilient BPF Type Format (BTF) modules to use BTF for out-of-tree modules. See Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) Enhancements.

• DTrace v2.0

  Dtrace v2.0 continues to be available in UEK 8 and leverages kernel tracing facilities such as eBPF. Detailed information about DTrace releases and other notable changes are available at Oracle Linux: DTrace Release Notes.

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