Linux 7.2: Major Release with Enhanced Scheduling and Power Management

The Linux 7.2 kernel release marks one of the busiest development cycles ever, surpassing even the 6.7 cycle in activity. This update introduces significant advancements in CPU and GPU scheduling, including cache-aware scheduling, improvements to MGLRU, and sub-schedulers for sched_ext. Notable features include automatic creation of multi-size transparent hugepages, enhanced runtime power management for Raspberry Pi 4/5 GPUs, and critical bug fixes for RetroPie users. Igalia contributed prominently, particularly with the DRM scheduler fair policy, though a last-minute regression forced it to remain opt-in. The release also includes improvements to futex mechanisms, fixes for long-standing issues in drivers like ueagle-atm, and progress toward full HDMI 2.1 support. Power management optimizations for Raspberry Pi GPUs reduce idle power consumption, while updates to sched_ext improve observability and debugging. These changes underscore Linux’s ongoing evolution in performance and reliability across diverse hardware.