Linux 7.2 was released on August 16. Two practical additions concern where CPU threads run and how two computers can exchange raw data over a USB4 or Thunderbolt cable.
Keep cooperating threads near shared data
The cache-aware code is present in the Linux 7.2 scheduler. The development explanation describes grouping threads from the same process within a last-level-cache domain during load balancing, using process membership as a proxy for shared data. Placement must still account for load and capacity.
Imagine two threads repeatedly exchanging a shared data structure. Keeping both near one shared cache can avoid some cross-domain traffic. But forcing an oversized working set into that cache can create contention. This is a placement improvement to evaluate on the actual workload, not a claim that earlier kernels ignored caches or that every application becomes faster.
USB4STREAM exposes a different transfer interface
The kernel guide documents the thunderbolt-stream driver, ConfigFS configuration on both hosts and /dev/tbstreamX devices usable with read/write operations. Loading the module alone is not the whole setup. Domain paths in the examples must match the connected machines.
The stream can coexist with thunderbolt-net. It does not automatically convert network applications into stream applications or add file-transfer features such as names, restart checkpoints and end-to-end verification. For a backup, you still need a format, a receiving destination and a way to confirm completeness.
Our fictional throughput example makes the bottleneck concrete: a 40 Gbit/s link has a raw arithmetic rate of 5 GB/s, before protocol overhead. If the source only supplies 2 GB/s, a 100 GB transfer cannot finish in less than 50 seconds, even if the link and destination are faster. Real results also depend on storage, memory copies, cable negotiation and other traffic. We have not measured this transfer on hardware.
Read the final release, not only the merge-window list
Torvalds's final announcement explicitly mentions late DRM scheduling reversions. Its shortlog includes reverting the switch to the fair policy by default and marking that policy experimental. A feature list written earlier can therefore misdescribe the shipped default.
For installation, use a maintained kernel package supported by your distribution, retain a working boot entry and test the relevant storage, graphics or cable workload. A newer version number alone does not establish that a particular device or application benefits.
Verify v7.2 code and release announcement; explain cache locality and configured USB4STREAM, correct late DRM fair-policy revert and remove unverified universal performance claims.