Linux 7.1 Released: New NTFS Driver, 140,000 Lines of Legacy Code Removed for Major Speed Boost
Linux 7.1 Released: Brand New NTFS Driver, 140,000 Lines of Legacy Code Removed for Major Speed Boost
On June 14, Linus Torvalds remotely released Linux 7.1 while traveling.
His own assessment: "Nothing particularly scary." But flipping through the changelog—there's actually quite a lot this time.
NTFS Driver, Four Years in the Making
The biggest highlight
💡 What You Will Learn
Linux 7.1 Released: Brand New NTFS Driver, 140,000 Lines of Legacy Code Removed for Major Speed Boost On June 14, Linus Torvalds remotely released Linux 7.1 while traveling. His own assessment:
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Linux 7.1 Released: New NTFS Driver, 140,000 Lines of Legacy Code Removed for Major Speed Boost
On June 14th, Linus Torvalds remotely released Linux 7.1 while traveling.
His own take: "Nothing particularly scary." But dig into the changelog—there's a lot going on this time.
01. NTFS Driver, Four Years in the Making
The biggest update is a brand-new NTFS driver.
Previously, Linux relied on ntfs-3g (a FUSE-based solution) for NTFS—functional but slow. When used for Samba shares, speeds hit only about 1/3 of gigabit Ethernet, forcing many to reformat their NAS drives to Ext4.
The new driver is a completely different beast:
- Native kernel-space implementation, using modern iomap and folio architecture
- Full write support + delayed allocation, delivering massive performance gains
- ntfsprogs-plus new toolset, comparable to Windows' chkdsk
- 4 years in development
That said, Linux has a rocky history with NTFS—the earlier ntfs3 driver was largely abandoned after merging and even corrupted partitions. Whether this new driver can handle heavy writes remains to be seen; the community is watching closely.
02. Cutting 140,000 Lines of Code: Goodbye 486, Goodbye Russian CPU
Linux 7.1 removes over 140,000 lines of legacy code in one go.
The main deletions include:
- Intel 80486 support—completely removed. A 37-year-old CPU that virtually no distro could run on anymore
- Russian Baikal CPU support—the company went bankrupt after sanctions, maintainers vanished, code deleted
- Old PCMCIA controllers, ISDN drivers
Removing code in the Linux ecosystem is harder than adding features. The kernel has always adhered to "don't break userspace," so deleting this much means these pieces of hardware are truly dead.
The removal of Baikal CPU support also reflects geopolitics in the open-source world—when your chipmaker gets sanctioned and goes bankrupt, even the Linux kernel forgets you.
03. Two Network Changes Ops Must Know
The UDP Lite protocol has been completely removed. Check if you're using it before upgrading (you probably aren't).
IPv6 can no longer be loaded as a module. Previously, you could compile it as a .ko (=m), but now it must be built into the kernel (=y) or disabled entirely. If you compile your own kernel, run grep CONFIG_IPV6 /boot/config-$(uname -r) before upgrading—if you see =m, you'll need to change it.
Additionally, several security hardening measures: Landlock adds UNIX domain socket control, and /proc/PID/mem permissions are tightened to block local privilege escalation paths. Containers and debugging tools may behave unexpectedly—ops teams should run their workflows first.
04. Upgrade Guide: Quick Reference
| Distro Type | What to Do | How Long |
|---|---|---|
| Arch / Tumbleweed | sudo pacman -Syu |
Same day to 3 days |
| Fedora | Wait for package manager push | 1–2 weeks |
| Ubuntu / Debian / RHEL | Wait, don't compile yourself | Weeks to backport |
| Want to try it now | Install mainline PPA on Ubuntu, one-click install | Immediately |
⚠️ Back up your data before upgrading; old kernels can be rolled back in grub.
05. Personal Take: Cutting 140K Lines Is Harder Than Adding 140K
What impresses me most about Linux 7.1 isn't the NTFS driver—it's those 140,000 lines of deleted code.
The kernel community has always been reluctant to remove things. This cleanup of 486, Baikal, and old PCMCIA support is a rare, deliberate slimming down.
As for the new NTFS driver, I'm cautiously optimistic. Linux has already failed twice with NTFS (ntfs-3g was slow, ntfs3 was abandoned). This time, with Canonical and SUSE developers involved, reliability seems higher. But my advice: wait until your distro packages and tests it before upgrading—don't download and compile the source yourself.
06. What Do You Think?
Can the new NTFS driver finally end the read/write nightmare for Windows partitions on Linux? Do you support removing 486 and Baikal CPU support, or is it too aggressive? What distro are you on, and when do you plan to upgrade to 7.1?
Written by our editorial team; tools listed here are tested or verified against public sources. Links point to official sites or GitHub repos for reference only — no paid placements.
