Linux Kernel 4.4.44 LTS Brings Some x86 Improvements, Various Updated Drivers

If you’re reading our regular reports on the Linux kernel, you should be aware of the fact that the Linux 4.4 kernel branch is a long-term support (LTS) one that should get security patches for one more year, until February 2018. This branch is currently available in several popular GNU/Linux distributions, including Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Alpine Linux, and Arch Linux, and Linux 4.4.44 LTS is now the most advanced release. Today’s Linux 4.4.44 LTS kernel update comes only five days after the previous point release, namely Linux kernel 4.4.43 LTS, and, according to the appended shortlog, it’s a small patch addressing various x86 fixes related to the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) implementations, as well as a PowerPC (PPC) issue. There are other small improvements for the Btrfs, NFS, and OCFS2 filesystems, too.