Update/upgrade to Linux Kernel 6.6.8 Stable on Ubuntu, Zorin and Linux Mint

Linux kernel is the essential part of any Linux operating system. It is responsible for resource allocation, low-level hardware interfaces, security, simple communications, basic file system management, and more. Written from scratch by Linus Torvalds (with help from various developers), Linux is a clone of the UNIX operating system. It is geared towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliances.

The heart of a Linux distribution

The Linux kernel is the heart of a Linux distribution. If you are a long time Linux user, you may have stumbled across upgrades to the default Linux kernel packages, which lead to better support for certain hardware components or peripherals.

 

After the merge window ended in September I did write a Linux 6.6 feature overview. The short summary for those needing a reminder about what makes Linux 6.6 great, the six best changes/features that come to mind include:

- The EEVDF scheduler was mainlined as an improvement over the prior CFS scheduler code.

- Intel Shadow Stack finally made it to mainline as a CPU security feature of recent Intel and AMD processors to help avoid ROP attacks.

- AMD FreeSync Panel Replay as a forthcoming alternative to Panel Self Refresh (PSR) for laptop displays.

- The Nouveau user-space API additions needed by the newly-merged NVIDIA "NVK" Vulkan driver premiering in Mesa 23.3.

- Intel has continued upstreaming more driver code for enabling Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake processors.

- There has been some Linux 6.6 server performance improvements especially on high core count AMD EPYC servers as well as Intel Xeon Max / Sapphire Rapids performance.

See the Linux 6.6 feature list for a lengthier look at all the great changes for this kernel. Linux 6.6 will also likely be this year's Long-Term Support (LTS) kernel release given it will be the last stable kernel series of 2023. 

How to : Update/upgrade to Linux Kernel 6.6.8 Stable on Ubuntu, Zorin and Linux Mint ?

To install on Linux Ubuntu 20.04 'Noble Numbat', Zorin 17 and Linux Mint 21.2 "Victoria", press Ctrl + Alt + T on keyboard to open terminal, and run command:

Change to Downloads Folder :

$ cd Downloads/

 Download kernel packages using wget, open terminal, and run command:

$ wget -c 
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v6.6.8/amd64/linux-headers-6.6.8-060608-generic_6.6.8-060608.202312201634_amd64.deb
 \\ 
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v6.6.8/amd64/linux-headers-6.6.8-060608_6.6.8-060608.202312201634_all.deb
 \\ 
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v6.6.8/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-6.6.8-060608-generic_6.6.8-060608.202312201634_amd64.deb
 \\ 
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/mainline/v6.6.8/amd64/linux-modules-6.6.8-060608-generic_6.6.8-060608.202312201634_amd64.deb
 

or Download from Ubuntu official site :

Change permission file to get access from users :

$ sudo chmod +x *.deb

Install package (.deb) to update and upgrade kernel :

$ sudo dpkg --install *.deb

finished, reboot your system, open terminal, and run command:

$ sudo systemctl reboot -i