Armbian Leaflet #2

Armbian

Dear Armbian Community,

We’re excited to bring you the latest Armbian updates.

Infrastructure Improvements

In the previous month, we dedicated our efforts to enhancing our CDN. This involved upgrading redirector and the main rsync server to ensure faster and more reliable access to Armbian resources.

This month, we’re shifting our focus towards improving development and maintenance management, both internally and externally. We are also in the process of refining our support policies to better serve the Armbian community.

Wallpaper Competition

We’re thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of our recent wallpaper competition. We received a great response from talented artists in the community who shared their creations with us. Thanks to all the contributors for their time and effort. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to BananaPi for their collaboration and generous award contributions. The winning submissions will soon be added to our wallpaper pack.

New Supported Devices

We continue to expand our support for various hardware platforms. This month, we’ve released new images tailored for the Lenovo X13s, Khadas VIM1S, and Khadas VIM4. These additions ensure that more users can benefit from Armbian’s capabilities on their preferred devices.

Upcoming Point Release

We are approaching an exciting milestone with the next point release. Our goal is to transition to Kernel version 6.6, which is a strong candidate for the next Long-Term Support (LTS) kernel. We’re also extending our build framework to include support for Ubuntu Mantic, providing more choices for users. Additionally, we’ve unlocked desktop environments from using LightDM, and we’ve introduced GDM3 for the Gnome desktop.

It’s worth noting that the older Odroid XU4 has received an upgrade to the latest LTS kernel (v6.1) provided by the vendor, although it’s not yet mainline.

These developments are made possible by the collective effort and dedication of the Armbian community. your continued support

Stay tuned for more exciting updates and enhancements in the world of Armbian.

Thank you for being a part of our journey!

The Armbian team

Armbian

Dear Firefly Community,

It’s been an eventful two weeks since our last point release of 2023. Despite facing some challenges, we’ve been hard at work ensuring the continued excellence of Armbian.

Point Release Recap
Unfortunately, we encountered unexpected issues since our release. A batch of images was accidentally deleted, requiring a complete restart of the generation process. Additionally, our main rsync server experienced IPv6 connectivity issues, resulting in delays in mirror synchronization for several days. However, we’ve successfully generated our first set of images, now available by checking out the builds script to v23.11.

Enhanced Support Policies
To streamline our support framework, we’ve refined our support policies, categorizing hardware into three tiers: Standard Support, Staging Support, and Community Maintained. To align with these changes and minimize confusion, adjustments have been made to our forums. We remain in Best effort, primarily focusing on areas under “Standard Support”

Continuous Integration Rebuilds
Moving forward, both Standard and Staging hardware will undergo full CI rebuilds, ensuring the availability of the latest Debian and Ubuntu derived images with automated testing. Community maintained images will be compiled weekly and exclusively hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/armbian/community.

Platform Enhancements
Facebook connector
In addition to these developments, we’ve resolved the Facebook connector issue on our forums to facilitate access without requiring additional registration.

OFTC IRC
We’ve officially registered the #armbian channel on the OFTC IRC network. This addition has been seamlessly integrated as a communication bridge, ensuring messages relay to Libera and Discord platforms. Based on the usage and engagement in this channel, we’re considering the addition of more channels, such as those dedicated to SoC discussions or off-topic conversations, to further enrich our community interactions.

Community Engagement
We are dedicated to continually improving our forums and greatly value your feedback. Furthermore, we’re actively seeking additional moderators whose role will involve keeping forum conversations polite and discussions in their categories.

Thank you for being part of the Armbian community!

Best regards,
The Armbian Team

Armbian

As we continue to evolve, Armbian is proud to introduce our latest release, packed with enhancements, new hardware support, and important upgrades that will further solidify the stability and performance of your systems.


Key Highlights

• RK3588 Boot Loader Upgrades: Enhanced stability for RK3588 hardware with the latest bootloader upgrades. This ensures a more reliable experience across supported devices.
• 4K60p Video Acceleration: Experience smoother visuals with 4K60p video acceleration, now available on Gnome and KDE desktop builds.
• Kernel Bump to 6.10.y: All kernels have been updated to 6.10.y, bringing improved performance, security patches, and broader hardware support.
• BigTreeTech CB1 Platinum Support: Armbian now fully supports BigTreeTech CB1, offering a robust platform for your 3D printing projects.
• Expanded Desktop Options: We’re thrilled to bring you Gnome, XFCE, Cinnamon, and KDE Neon desktop environments. Choose the desktop that best suits your needs.
• ZFS 2.2.5: The latest ZFS version (2.2.5) is now supported, optimized for kernel 6.10.
• Long-Term Support (LTS): We're committed to keeping older devices like the Odroid C1, NanoPi NEO, BPi M1, ClearFog, Helios64 and TinkerBoard in great shape with ongoing updates and support.
• ThinkPad X13s Enhancements: Several upgrades have been rolled out for the ThinkPad X13s, enhancing its compatibility and performance with Armbian.
• 3D Support on Debian-Based Systems: 3D acceleration is now supported on Debian-based Armbian builds, improving the overall user experience.
• New Board Support: We’ve expanded our hardware support with new boards, including Libre Alta and Solitude, Radxa E25, Rock 5C, RISCV64 BananaPi F3, and more.
• Deprecation and Cleanup: Significant code cleanup and the demotion of deprecated support, ensuring a leaner and more efficient codebase. We are moving towards mainline-only support for many devices.
• Ubuntu Noble: Ubuntu Noble is entering its final testing phase as a build host supported target, bringing us closer to a full release.
  

Detailed change logs


Platinum Support and Community Contributions

Our focus remains on boards with platinum support, where vendors assist us in mitigating costs, ensuring top-tier support and contributing to open-source efforts. If you’re looking for the best-supported boards, we highly recommend selecting from this category.

Armbian remains a community-driven project. We cannot maintain this large and complex ecosystem without your support. Whether it’s rewriting manuals, BASH scripting, or reviewing contributions, there’s a place for everyone. Notably, your valuable contributions could even earn you a chance to win a powerful Intel-based mini PC from Khadas.


Production Use Recommendations

For production environments, we recommend:

• Opting for hardware labeled with platinum or standard support.
• Utilizing stabilized point releases around Armbian Linux 6.10.y.
• Becoming an Armbian support partner to gain access to professional services.
  

Recognizing Our Contributors

We extend our deepest gratitude to the remarkable contributors who have played a pivotal role in this release. Special thanks to: @ColorfulRhino, @igorpecovnik, @rpardini, @alexl83, @amazingfate, @The-going, @efectn, @adeepn, @paolosabatino, @SteeManMI, @JohnTheCoolingFan, @EvilOlaf, @chainsx, @viraniac, @monkaBlyat, @alex3d, @belegdol, @kernelzru, @tq-schmiedel, @ginkage, @Tonymac32, @schwar3kat, @pyavitz, @Kreyren, @hqnicolas, @prahal, @h-s-c, @RadxaYuntian, and many others.


Our dedicated support staff: Igor, Didier, Lanefu, Adam, Werner, Metka, Aaron, and more, deserve special recognition for their continuous efforts and support.


Join the Armbian Community

Armbian thrives on community involvement. Your contributions are crucial to sustaining this vibrant ecosystem. Whether you're an experienced developer or just getting started, there’s always a way to contribute.


Thank you for your continued support.

The Armbian Team