Being a relative newcomer to openSUSE I am just a little puzzled that there seem to be very few kernel updates at least so far. I have a minor bug on my Intel laptop which on investigation should be fixed by a 4.4 kernel but Leap is still at 4.1. On my previous distro(s) I was used to having quite frequent updates to the kernel. I am just wondering what the philosophy is in Leap for kernel updates?
Stuart
The same as in previous openSUSE releases.
You won’t get Kernel 4.4, Leap 42.1 will stay at 4.1 for its lifetime.
Fixes might get backported but you should file a bug report for your specific problem to get a fix.
If you want frequent kernel updates to the latest version, use Tumbleweed or add the Kernel:stable repo.
I suggest you don’t hold your breath waiting for a 4.4 kernel. It isn’t going to happen any time soon. Since Leap emphasises stability, the kernel updates are likely to be security bug fixes only. Maybe in November we will see something, though perhaps that will be 42.2.
Your options:
(1) Switch to Tumbleweed, which tends to have the newest kernel;
(2) Add the stable-kernels repo. See Kernel of the day (KOTD). Then you can manually install a newer kernel.
Thanks both for the information. It was curiosity more than anything which led me to ask.
I may try that kernel:stable repo on my laptop which is a kind of test bed machine as that is where I do have that minor bug. I am more than happy with Leap for my main PC so probably will not risk that first, although I do have enough spare hdd capacity to install Tumbleweed as well on that.
Stuart