Linux Kernel 5.15 was released as the newest Long Term Support (LTS) kernel release on Oct 31,2021. It provides new enhancements and features including a new NTFS driver and built-in support for Intel’s Alchemist discrete graphics.
In summary, the latest kernel ships with the following improvements and features:
- AMD RDNA2 Graphics card initial support.
- New “NTFS3” driver.
- temperature monitoring support for AMD Zen 3 based APUs.
- Improved Apple M1 IOMMU driver
- New Wifi driver support
- In-kernel SMB file server
This guide will show you how to install Linux kernel 5.15 on Ubuntu 20.04
Step 1: Update your system
As you get started, its crucial to, first of all , update the package lists as follows.
$ sudo apt update
Step 2: Download Linux Kernel Headers
One of the prerequisites in installing a new kernel is the linux kernel headers and kernel images. This is vital so as to enable the smooth installation of the kernel
Therefore, the next step is to download linux kernel headers as follows. You can switch to a different directory in which you will download all the files such as the /tmp/ directory.
$ cd /tmp/
Thereafter, run the wget -c command to download the kernel jeaders Debian package.
$ wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.15-rc7/amd64/linux-headers-5.15.0-051500rc7_5.15.0-051500rc7.202110251930_all.deb
Once that is done, proceed and download the generic headers Debian file as follows:
$ wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.15-rc7/amd64/linux-headers-5.15.0-051500rc7-generic_5.15.0-051500rc7.202110251930_amd64.deb
Next, download Linux Kernel Images.
$ wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.15-rc7/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.15.0-051500rc7-generic_5.15.0-051500rc7.202110251930_amd64.deb
And finally, download linux modules needed to build the Linux kernel with the following command:
$ wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.15-rc7/amd64/linux-modules-5.15.0-051500rc7-generic_5.15.0-051500rc7.202110251930_amd64.deb
Step 3: Install Linux Kernel
With kernel images and headers already downloaded, install kernel 5.15 with the following command:
$ sudo dpkg -i *.deb
After that is done, restart your system for the new kernel to take effect
$ sudo reboot
Confirm that the installation was successful with the command:
$ sudo uname -r
You have successfully upgraded your Linux kernel.