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Systemd's initial version 258 release candidate has become available

New functionality abounds in the latest systemd update, potential source of delight for users.

Systemd 258's initial distribution version is now available
Systemd 258's initial distribution version is now available

Systemd's initial version 258 release candidate has become available

Systemd, the popular system and service manager for Linux, has announced the release of version 258. This update brings a host of new features, improvements, and changes that make it one of the most significant releases since version 251, according to project lead Lennart Poettering.

Key Highlights of Systemd 258

Deprecated Support for cgroups Version 1

One of the most notable changes in systemd 258 is the dropping of support for cgroups version 1. To run systemd 258, your Linux kernel must now be at least version 5.4.

Enhanced Functionality and New Features

Systemd 258 comes packed with a wide range of functional changes and new features. Lennart Poettering, the project lead, has detailed these changes over a series of 32 Mastodon threads, providing a comprehensive overview of the complexities and new usage models introduced.

Some of the key additions include:

  • PAM Authentication Inside Service Units: Systemd 258 now allows PAM authentication inside service units, providing more secure and flexible service management.
  • Improved Systemd VMs: Systemd VMs now show their VSOCK context identifier (CID) on startup, making it easier to connect to instances without going across the network.
  • File-Level fs-verity Checks: Systemd 258 introduces support for file-level fs-verity checks in addition to the existing block-level dm-verity ones.
  • New Service for Account Management: A new service in systemd 258 simplifies the process of handling accounts using drop-in JSON files.
  • DNS Query-Routing Logic: Systemd 258 introduces new DNS query-routing logic.
  • Support for Multiple Home Directories: Systemd 258 now supports multiple separate home directories for a user account.
  • Extended Cryptographic Signing of OS Images: Systemd 258 extends the mechanisms for cryptographic signing of OS images, allowing them to be built on other machines, with initial support for Particle OS and SUSE's Open Build Service.

Other Notable Changes

  • Systemd 258 now requires verbose startup messages in the log from a service with a new switch.
  • Systemd version 258 now supports dynamically adding entries to the startup menu for troubleshooting and similar purposes, primarily for Virtual Machines.
  • Systemd-nspawn now has two new commands: and , which reboot and power off the container, respectively.
  • Systemd-notify can now fork off background processes and wait for them to complete.

Ready for the Future

Systemd 258 emphasizes modern kernel features while phasing out older interfaces such as cgroups v1. This release represents a major evolution of systemd’s architecture and usage, which may be quite different from previous versions for users and administrators.

The discussion by Poettering is lengthy and technical, inviting users to understand systemd 258’s shifts carefully, with some users noting the explanations led to deep dives into the new design concepts.

For more details, you can refer to the README file for version 258, which lists numerous changes. The release candidate 1 (258-rc1) of systemd is now available.

[1] For more information about cgroups, you can refer to this link.

In the realm of emerging technology, Systemd 258 introduces enhanced crypto capabilities with extended cryptographic signing of OS images, supporting Particle OS and SUSE's Open Build Service. Furthermore, this software leverages AI for PAM authentication inside service units, promoting more secure and flexible service management.

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