SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4

Release Notes

This product will be released in December 2018.

This document provides guidance and an overview to high level general features
and updates for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4. Besides architecture or
product-specific information, it also describes the capabilities and
limitations of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4.

General documentation can be found at: http://www.suse.com/documentation/
sles-12/.

Publication Date: 2018-10-29, Version: 12.4.20181011

1 About the Release Notes
2 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
3 Installation and Upgrade
4 Architecture Independent Information
5 AMD64/Intel 64 (x86_64) Specific Information
6 POWER (ppc64le) Specific Information
7 IBM Z (s390x) Specific Information
8 ARM 64-Bit (AArch64) Specific Information
9 Packages and Functionality Changes
10 Technical Information
11 Legal Notices

1 About the Release Notes

These Release Notes are identical across all architectures, and the most recent
version is always available online at http://www.suse.com/releasenotes/.

Some entries may be listed twice, if they are important and belong to more than
one section.

Release notes usually only list changes that happened between two subsequent
releases. Certain important entries from the release notes documents of
previous product versions are repeated. To make these entries easier to
identify, they contain a note to that effect.

However, repeated entries are provided as a courtesy only. Therefore, if you
are skipping one or more service packs, check the release notes of the skipped
service packs as well. If you are only reading the release notes of the current
release, you could miss important changes.

2 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a highly reliable, scalable, and secure server
operating system, built to power mission-critical workloads in both physical
and virtual environments. It is an affordable, interoperable, and manageable
open source foundation. With it, enterprises can cost-effectively deliver core
business services, enable secure networks, and simplify the management of their
heterogeneous IT infrastructure, maximizing efficiency and value.

The only enterprise Linux recommended by Microsoft and SAP, SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server is optimized to deliver high-performance mission-critical
services, as well as edge of network, and web infrastructure workloads.

2.1 Interoperability and Hardware Support

Designed for interoperability, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server integrates into
classical Unix as well as Windows environments, supports open standard
interfaces for systems management, and has been certified for IPv6
compatibility.

This modular, general purpose operating system runs on four processor
architectures and is available with optional extensions that provide advanced
capabilities for tasks such as real time computing and high availability
clustering.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is optimized to run as a high performing guest on
leading hypervisors and supports an unlimited number of virtual machines per
physical system with a single subscription, making it the perfect guest
operating system for virtual computing.

2.2 Support and Life Cycle

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is backed by award-winning support from SUSE, an
established technology leader with a proven history of delivering
enterprise-quality support services.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 has a 13-year life cycle, with 10 years of
General Support and 3 years of Extended Support. The current version (SP4) will
be fully maintained and supported until 6 months after the release of SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5.

If you need additional time to design, validate and test your upgrade plans,
Long Term Service Pack Support can extend the support you get an additional 12
to 36 months in twelve month increments, providing a total of 3 to 5 years of
support on any given service pack.

For more information, check our Support Policy page https://www.suse.com/
support/policy.html or the Long Term Service Pack Support Page https://
www.suse.com/support/programs/long-term-service-pack-support.html.

2.3 What Is New?

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 introduces many innovative changes compared to
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11. Here are some of the highlights:

  o Robustness on administrative errors and improved management capabilities
    with full system rollback based on Btrfs as the default file system for the
    operating system partition and the Snapper technology of SUSE.

  o An overhaul of the installer introduces a new workflow that allows you to
    register your system and receive all available maintenance updates as part
    of the installation.

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Modules offer a choice of supplemental
    packages, ranging from tools for Web Development and Scripting, through a
    Cloud Management module, all the way to a sneak preview of upcoming
    management tooling called Advanced Systems Management. Modules are part of
    your SUSE Linux Enterprise Server subscription, are technically delivered
    as online repositories, and differ from the base of SUSE Linux Enterprise
    Server only by their life cycle. For more information about modules, see
    Section 2.10.1, "Available Modules".

  o New core technologies like systemd (replacing the time-honored System
    V-based init process) and Wicked (introducing a modern, dynamic network
    configuration infrastructure).

  o The open-source database system MariaDB is fully supported now.

  o Support for open-vm-tools together with VMware for better integration into
    VMware-based hypervisor environments.

  o Linux Containers are integrated into the virtualization management
    infrastructure (libvirt). Docker is provided as a fully supported
    technology. For more details, see https://www.suse.com/promo/sle/docker/.

  o Support for the AArch64 architecture (64-bit ARMv8) and the 64-bit
    Little-Endian variant of the IBM POWER architecture. Additionally, we
    continue to support the Intel 64/AMD64 and IBM Z architectures.

  o GNOME 3.20 gives users a modern desktop environment with a choice of
    several different look and feel options, including a special SUSE Linux
    Enterprise Classic mode for easier migration from earlier SUSE Linux
    Enterprise Desktop environments.

  o For users wishing to use the full range of productivity applications of a
    Desktop with their SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, we are now offering SUSE
    Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension (requires a SUSE Linux Enterprise
    Desktop subscription).

  o Integration with the new SUSE Customer Center, the new central web portal
    from SUSE to manage Subscriptions, Entitlements, and provide access to
    Support.

If you are upgrading from a previous SUSE Linux Enterprise Server release, you
should review at least the following sections:

  o Section 2.6, "Support Statement for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server"

  o Section 10, "Technical Information"

2.4 Documentation and Other Information

2.4.1 Available on the Product Media

  o Read the READMEs on the media.

  o Get the detailed change log information about a particular package from the
    RPM (where <FILENAME>.rpm is the name of the RPM):

    rpm --changelog -qp <FILENAME>.rpm

  o Check the ChangeLog file in the top level of the media for a chronological
    log of all changes made to the updated packages.

  o Find more information in the docu directory of the media of SUSE Linux
    Enterprise Server 12 SP4. This directory includes PDF versions of the SUSE
    Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 Installation Quick Start and Deployment
    Guides. Documentation (if installed) is available below the /usr/share/doc/
    directory of an installed system.

2.4.2 Externally Provided Documentation

  o http://www.suse.com/documentation/sles-12/ contains additional or updated
    documentation for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4.

  o Find a collection of White Papers in the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
    Resource Library at https://www.suse.com/products/server/resource-library.

2.5 How to Obtain Source Code

This SUSE product includes materials licensed to SUSE under the GNU General
Public License (GPL). The GPL requires SUSE to provide the source code that
corresponds to the GPL-licensed material. The source code is available for
download at http://www.suse.com/download-linux/source-code.html. Also, for up
to three years after distribution of the SUSE product, upon request, SUSE will
mail a copy of the source code. Requests should be sent by e-mail to
mailto:sle_source_request@suse.com or as otherwise instructed at http://
www.suse.com/download-linux/source-code.html. SUSE may charge a reasonable fee
to recover distribution costs.

2.6 Support Statement for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

To receive support, you need an appropriate subscription with SUSE. For more
information, see http://www.suse.com/products/server/services-and-support/.

The following definitions apply:

L1

    Problem determination, which means technical support designed to provide
    compatibility information, usage support, ongoing maintenance, information
    gathering and basic troubleshooting using available documentation.

L2

    Problem isolation, which means technical support designed to analyze data,
    reproduce customer problems, isolate problem area and provide a resolution
    for problems not resolved by Level 1 or alternatively prepare for Level 3.

L3

    Problem resolution, which means technical support designed to resolve
    problems by engaging engineering to resolve product defects which have been
    identified by Level 2 Support.

For contracted customers and partners, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 and
its Modules are delivered with L3 support for all packages, except the
following:

  o Technology Previews

  o sound, graphics, fonts and artwork

  o packages that require an additional customer contract, see Section 2.8,
    "Software Requiring Specific Contracts"

  o packages provided as part of the Software Development Kit (SDK)

SUSE will only support the usage of original (that is, unchanged and
un-recompiled) packages.

2.7 General Support

To learn about supported kernel, virtualization, and file system features, as
well as supported Java versions, see Section 10, "Technical Information".

2.8 Software Requiring Specific Contracts

The following packages require additional support contracts to be obtained by
the customer in order to receive full support:

  o PostgreSQL Database

2.9 Technology Previews

Technology previews are packages, stacks, or features delivered by SUSE which
are not supported. They may be functionally incomplete, unstable or in other
ways not suitable for production use. They are included for your convenience
and give you a chance to test new technologies within an enterprise
environment.

Whether a technology preview becomes a fully supported technology later depends
on customer and market feedback. Technology previews can be dropped at any time
and SUSE does not commit to providing a supported version of such technologies
in the future.

Give your SUSE representative feedback, including your experience and use case.

2.9.1 Technology Previews for AMD64/Intel 64 64-Bit (x86_64)

2.9.1.1 Support for AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization

As a technology preview, SLE 12 SP4 now supports AMD Secure Encrypted
Virtualization (SEV). SEV integrates main memory encryption capabilities (SME)
with the existing AMD-V virtualization architecture to support encrypted
virtual machines. Encrypting virtual machines helps protect them from physical
threats and other virtual machines or even the hypervisor itself. SEV
represents a new approach to security that is particularly suited to cloud
computing where virtual machines need not fully trust the hypervisor and
administrator of their host system. As with SME, no application software
modifications are required to support SEV.

See also Section 5.1, "Support for AMD Memory Encryption" .

2.10 Modules, Extensions, and Related Products

This section comprises information about modules and extensions for SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server 12 SP4. Modules and extensions add parts or functionality to
the system.

2.10.1 Available Modules

Modules are fully supported parts of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server with a
different life cycle and update timeline. They are a set of packages, have a
clearly defined scope and are delivered via an online channel only. Release
notes for modules are contained in this document.

The following modules are available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4:

+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|       Name        |             Content              |      Life Cycle      |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|Advanced Systems   |CFEngine, Puppet, Salt and the    |Frequent releases     |
|Management Module  |Machinery tool                    |                      |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|Containers Module  |Docker, tools, prepackaged images |Frequent releases     |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|HPC Module         |Tools and libraries related to    |Frequent releases     |
|                   |High Performance Computing (HPC)  |                      |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|Legacy Module*     |ksh                               |No updates, supported |
|                   |                                  |through March 2022    |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|Public Cloud Module|Public cloud initialization code  |Frequent releases     |
|                   |and tools                         |                      |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|Toolchain Module   |GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)     |Yearly delivery       |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+
|Web and Scripting  |PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails        |3 years, ~18 months   |
|Module             |                                  |overlap               |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------+

* Module is not available for the AArch64 architecture.

For more information about the life cycle of packages contained in modules, see
https://scc.suse.com/docs/lifecycle/sle/12/modules.

2.10.2 Available Extensions

Extensions add extra functionality to the system and require their own
registration key, usually at additional cost. Extensions are delivered via an
online channel or physical media. In many cases, extensions have their own
release notes documents that are available from https://www.suse.com/
releasenotes/.

The following extensions are available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4:

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching: https://www.suse.com/products/
    live-patching

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension: https://www.suse.com/
    products/highavailability

  o Geo Clustering for SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension:
    https://www.suse.com/products/highavailability/geo-clustering

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time: https://www.suse.com/products/realtime

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension: https://www.suse.com/products/
    workstation-extension

Additionally, there are the following extensions which are not covered by SUSE
support agreements, available at no additional cost and without an extra
registration key:

  o SUSE Package Hub: https://packagehub.suse.com/

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit

2.10.3 Derived and Related Products

This sections lists derived and related products. In many cases, these products
have their own release notes documents that are available from https://
www.suse.com/releasenotes/.

  o SUSE Enterprise Storage: https://www.suse.com/products/
    suse-enterprise-storage

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop: https://www.suse.com/products/desktop

  o SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications: https://www.suse.com/
    products/sles-for-sap

  o SUSE Manager: https://www.suse.com/products/suse-manager

  o SUSE OpenStack Cloud: https://www.suse.com/products/suse-openstack-cloud

2.11 Security, Standards, and Certification

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 has been submitted to the certification
bodies for:

  o Common Criteria Certification (http://www.commoncriteriaportal.org/)

  o FIPS 140-2 validation, see: http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/
    140-1/140InProcess.pdf

For more information about certification, see https://www.suse.com/security/
certificates.html.

3 Installation and Upgrade

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server can be deployed in several ways:

  o Physical machine

  o Virtual host

  o Virtual machine

  o System containers

  o Application containers

3.1 For More Information

For more information, see Section 4, "Architecture Independent Information" and
the sections relating to your respective hardware architecture.

4 Architecture Independent Information

Information in this section pertains to all architectures supported by SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4.

4.1 Security

4.1.1 Support for YubiKey and Nitrokey using the U2F frameworks.

Some applications require stronger authentication methods, including second
factor authentication using physical tokens.

Support for YubiKey and Nitrokey is now shipped in the form of libraries, PAM
modules and CLI and UI utilities.

4.1.2 Support for TLS 1.3 in OpenSSL 1.1.1

TLS 1.3 is a new version of the Transport Layer Security protocol with some
major differences and improvements over the established TLS 1.2. This new
protocol version is only available in OpenSSL 1.1.1 or later. This new version
is not binary-compatible with the default version of OpenSSL in SLE 12 SP4
(OpenSSL 1.0), and has known differences in the API that require making
adjustments before applications can benefit from the changes.

OpenSSL 1.1.1 with support for TLSv1.3 is shipped as an option. In SLE 12 SP4,
the libraries can be loaded into the same binary image along with OpenSSL 1.0
with symbol versioning enabled. To take advantage of this new protocol option,
applications need to be built with OpenSSL 1.1.1 explicitly.

OpenSSL 1.0 remains the default for system libraries, services and tools.

4.2 Networking

4.2.1 Intel* Omni-Path Architecture (OPA) host software

Intel Omni-Path Architecture (OPA) host software is fully supported in SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4. Intel OPA provides Host Fabric Interface (HFI)
hardware with initialization and setup for high performance data transfers
(high bandwidth, high message rate, low latency) between compute and I/O nodes
in a clustered environment.

For information about installing Intel Omni-Path Architecture documentation,
see the documentation from Intel at https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/
us/en/documents/network-and-i-o/fabric-products/
Intel_OP_Software_SLES_12_4_RN_K34561.pdf (link may not yet be active during
the prerelease phase of SLES 12 SP4).

4.3 Systems Management

4.3.1 The YaST Module for SSH Server Configuration Has Been Removed

The YaST module for configuring an SSH server which was present in SLE 11, is
not a part of SLE 12. It does not have any direct successor.

The module SSH Server only supported configuring a small subset of all SSH
server capabilities. Therefore, the functionality of the module can be replaced
by using a combination of 2 YaST modules: The /etc/sysconfig Editor and the 
Services Manager. This also applies to system configuration via AutoYaST.

5 AMD64/Intel 64 (x86_64) Specific Information

Information in this section pertains to the version of SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 12 SP4 for the AMD64/Intel 64 architectures.

5.1 Support for AMD Memory Encryption

To provide protection against physical attacks on a system, AMD SME can provide
full or partial memory encryption depending on the use case, on AMD family 17h
CPU processors. Full memory encryption means all DRAM contents are encrypted
using random keys. This provides strong protection against cold boot, DRAM
interface snooping and similar types of attacks. This technology is especially
prominent for systems equipped with NVDIMMs whose contents remain intact after
powering down the system.

Memory encryption support is present in SLE 15 kernels but not enabled by
default. To enable it on compatible hardware (AMD family 17h CPU, with proper
BIOS/UEFI support), supply the boot option mem_encrypt=on.

5.2 System and Vendor Specific Information

5.2.1 TPM 2.0 Software Stack Has Been Updated

The upstream projects for Intel's TPM 2.0 Software Stack have introduced major
changes to the project structure. Notably, the resource manager daemon has been
replaced by a new implementation that fixes stability and security issues.

The packaging has been adjusted to the upstream changes. The previous resource
manager daemon, resourcemgr, which was previously part of the tpm2-0-tss
package has been dropped. The new package tpm2.0-abrmd provides the new
resource manager implementation (tpm2-abrmd / tabrmd).

6 POWER (ppc64le) Specific Information

Information in this section pertains to the version of SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 12 SP4 for the POWER architecture.

6.1 SDT Markers in Select Applications and Libraries

SDT markers are static tracepoints included in the source code that expose
certain information deemed useful by the application/library developers for
various purposes including debugging and performance monitoring. Tools such as 
perf and systemtap can be used to record data provided at these tracepoints,
and for subsequent processing.

In SLES 12 SP4, certain userspace applications and libraries (for example,
glibc) are built with SDT markers enabled. This enhances the serviceability
tooling.

6.2 Support for POWER9 PMU Events Has Been Added to the perf Tool

When executed on a POWER9 system, the perf tool now supports listing or
specifying POWER9 PMU events by name.

6.3 Support for POWER9 24x7 Counters Has Been Added

SLES 12 SP4 adds support for the new version of the hypervisor API which is
used to access 24x7 performance counters on POWER9 systems.

6.4 OProfile Support for POWER9

The OProfile package has been updated to include support for POWER9 processors.

6.5 Support for POWER9 Has Been Added to LibPFM

The LibPFM package has been updated to include support for POWER9 processors.

6.6 Support for POWER9 Has Been Added to PAPI

PAPI package updated to include support for POWER9 processors.

7 IBM Z (s390x) Specific Information

Information in this section pertains to the version of SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 12 SP4 for the IBM Z architecture. For more information, see https://
www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/linux390/documentation_suse.html.

IBM zEnterprise 196 (z196) and IBM zEnterprise 114 (z114) are in the following
referred to as z196 and z114.

7.1 Hardware

  o The addition of IBM z14 hardware instructions and an expanded set of IBM
    z13 hardware instructions in glibc enables improved performance and
    hardware support.

  o The LLVM compiler supports IBM z14 instructions for improved performance.

  o OpenSSL (1.1), ibmca, and libica support IBM z14 instructions for
    AES-GCM-based encryption of data in flight.

  o KVM guests can now use CPU features, including CPACF functions, that were
    introduced with IBM z14.

  o With z14, the hardware provides an indication of the configuration level of
    SIE, for example LPAR or KVM. IBM z14 sample configurations help to analyze
    and optimize KVM performance.

  o libica supports hardware acceleration for the SHA3 algorithm (CPACF MSA6)
    using CPACF hardware in IBM z14 machines.

  o CPU-MF Hardware Counters are added for IBM z13 and z13s. You can now access
    counters from the MT-diagnostic counter set that is available with IBM z13.
    You can also specify z13 specific counters using their symbolic event names
    and obtain counter descriptions with the lscpumf utility.

  o Support for the True Random Number Generator (TRNG, CPACF MSA7) in IBM z14
    machines via CPACF. This improves the availability of random data in the
    kernel entropy pool.

7.2 Virtualization

  o KVM guests can exploit the new hardware features of the new CPU model IBM
    z14 ZR1.

  o Machine checks caused by failing KVM guests are now targeted at the KVM
    virtual server instead of the KVM hypervisor, thus making the hypervisor
    more resilient.

  o TLB Purge Enhancements are supported under KVM. This improves performance
    for KVM guests, in particular when subject to memory pressure.

  o Store Hypervisor Information (STHYI) from LPAR is available in KVM.
    Non-privileged user-space applications running on KVM can retrieve
    hypervisor capacity data through the LPAR if not provided by the Linux
    kernel.

  o Guarded Storage Facility is supported for improved performance of all Java
    workloads on KVM virtual servers.

  o Standard network boot setups can be used to deploy KVM guests.

  o The script kvm_stat was formerly a part of QEMU. However, it moved into the
    kernel tree upstream. To account for the change in the upstream project, in
    SLES 12 SP4, the script is now available from the new package kvm_stat.

  o LOADPARM and BOOTPROG are fully supported. A boot menu selection is
    available during IPL, for example, to recover from a defective KVM guest
    operating system.

  o Keyless Guests are supported for performance gains through improved memory
    handling for workloads running on Linux.

  o The IBM Call Home feature is enabled for KVM.

7.3 Network

7.3.1 Shared Memory Communications - Direct (SMC-Direct)

SMC-direct can be used via a new socket family and the existing tooling via TCP
handshake. A preload library can be used to enable applications to use the new
socket family transparently.

7.3.2 Exploitation of Shared Memory Communications (SMC-R) is now Supported

The technology preview flag is removed for SMC-R, that enables RDMA-capable
network interface cards (RNICs) to offer RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE).

Its usage is enabled by a collection of tools (smc-tools).

7.3.3 Support for SET VNIC_CHARS in qeth

qeth now supports SET VNIC_CHARS. You can configure MAC address flooding,
learning, forwarding, and takeover behavior for HiperSockets devices.

7.4 Security

7.4.1 dm-crypt with Protected Keys - Change Master Key Tool

Manage LUKS2 encryption keys for protected key cryptography if the master key
of the associated Crypto Express adapter is changed.

7.4.2 Support Architectural Limit of Crypto Adapters in zcrypt Device Driver

The crypto device driver now supports the theoretical maximum of 255 adapters.

7.4.3 Protected Key dm-crypt Key Management Tool

Protected key crypto for dm-crypt disks in plain format can be used without a
dependency on cryptsetup support for LUKS(2) with protected keys. A key
management tool as part of the s390-tools enables to manage a key repository
allowing to associate secure keys with disk partitions or logical volumes.

7.4.4 libica: Use TRNG to Seed DRBG (Crypto)

Improved generation of high (pseudo) quality random numbers via libica DRBG
especially to generate safe random keys by use of the PRNO-TRNG instruction.

7.4.5 Elliptic Curve Support for Crypto

The strategic elliptic curve asymmetric cryptography that provides strong
security with shorter keys is now supported by Crypto Express function offloads
with opencryptoki, libica, icatoken and openssl-ibmca.

7.4.6 Support for the CEX6S Crypto Card

The CEX6S crypto card is fully supported.

7.4.7 In-Kernel Cryptography: GCM Enhancements

Kernel services like IPSec now exploit IBM z14 cryptography hardware for the
AES-GCM cipher.

7.4.8 Enhanced OpenSSL Support for PKCS#11 Engine

With the version update to 1.0.2, the PKCS#11 can also be linked as a module.

7.5 Reliability, Availability, Serviceability (RAS)

7.5.1 Support for DASD Block Layer Discard

SLES 12 SP4 includes support for the Linux discard function that releases
unused space on z/VM VDISKs.

7.6 Performance

7.6.1 Performance Counters for IBM z14 (CPUMF)

The performance counters of the IBM z14 are supported and can be handled and
displayed with the perf tool for optimized performance tuning.

7.6.2 Guest Kernel Support to Avoid Unnecessary TLB Purges

The Linux kernel now tags pages that are not used as part of a page table, so
that the hypervisor can avoid unnecessary purging of guest TLB (translation
lookaside buffer) entries.

7.6.3 Kernel Interface for the Guarded Storage Facility Added to Improve Java
Performance

Optimized Java processes improve performance for many Java applications.

7.6.4 Single Increment Assignment of Memory

A new option for the "Attach Storage Element" SCLP command to speed up memory
hotplug is available.

7.7 Miscellaneous

7.7.1 Deprecated DMSVSMA Functionality Has Been Removed from snIPL

The DMSVSMA RPC protocol was only used to remote access machines running z/VM
versions that are now out of maintenance. snIPL's support for this protocol was
deprecated beginning with SLES 12 SP1.

snIPL's support for remote access to z/VM hosts via the DMSVSMA RPC protocol
has now been removed.

We recommend using SMAPI to remotely access z/VM hosts instead which is
provided by supported z/VM 5.4, and z/VM 6.x versions. For information about
setting up your z/VM system for API access, see z/VM Systems Management
Application Programming, SC24-6234.

8 ARM 64-Bit (AArch64) Specific Information

Information in this section pertains to the version of SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 12 SP4 for the AArch64 architecture.

8.1 Boot and Driver Enablement for Raspberry Pi

Bootloaders and a supported microSD card image of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
for ARM 12 SP4 for the Raspberry Pi are available. The template of the SUSE
Linux image is available as profile "RaspberryPi" in the package
kiwi-templates-SLES12-JeOS to derive custom appliances.

Expansion Boards

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B/B+ offers a 40-pin General Purpose I/O connector,
with multiple software-configurable functions such as UART, I?C and SPI. This
pin mux configuration along with any external devices attached to the pins is
defined in the Device Tree which is passed by the bootloader to the kernel.

SUSE does not currently provide support for any particular HATs or other
expansion boards attached to the 40-pin GPIO connector. However, insofar as
drivers for pin functions and for attached chipsets are included in SUSE Linux
Enterprise, they can be used. SUSE does not provide support for making changes
to the Device Tree, but successful changes will not affect the support status
of the operating system itself. Be aware that errors in the Device Tree can
stop the system from booting successfully or can even damage the hardware.

The bootloader and firmware in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 now support
Device Tree Overlays. The new recommended way of configuring GPIO pins is to
create a file extraconfig.txt on the FAT volume (/boot/efi/extraconfig.txt in
the SUSE image) with a line dtoverlay=filename-without-.dtbo per Overlay. For
more information about the syntax, see the documentation by the Raspberry Pi
Foundation.

As a side effect, no separate /boot partition is needed anymore. This allows
booting Btrfs snapshots in the SUSE image.

If not already shipped in the /boot/efi/overlays/ directory
(raspberrypi-firmware-dt package), .dtbo files can be obtained from the
manufacturer of the HAT or compiled from self-authored sources.

For More Information

For more information, see the SUSE Best Practices documentation for the
Raspberry Pi at . (https://www.suse.com/documentation/suse-best-practices/#els)

9 Packages and Functionality Changes

This section comprises changes to packages, such as additions, updates,
removals and changes to the package layout of software. It also contains
information about modules available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. For
information about changes to package management tools, such as Zypper or RPM,
see Section 4.3, "Systems Management".

9.1 Updated Packages

9.1.1 KIWI Has Been Updated to 9.15.3

There was a widening gap between the KIWI version shipped in previous SLE 12
service packs and the upstream version of KIWI.

In SLE 12 SP4, KIWI has been updated to version 9.15.3, the same version that
was also shipped in SLE 15 GA. Version 9 of KIWI is a complete rewrite of the
software that, while keeping general compatibility, also includes many new
features. This update also fixes several bugs related to building JeOS. Given
the newer codestream, this update also simplifies support of the tool.

For a comparison between KIWI 7 and KIWI 9, see https://opensource.suse.com/
kiwi/overview/legacy_kiwi.html.

9.2 Removed and Deprecated Functionality

9.2.1 Packages and Features to Be Removed in the Future

9.2.1.1 libcgroup1 Deprecated Starting with SLE 12 SP4

Most functionality of libcgroup1 is also provided by systemd. In fact, the
cgroup handling of libcgroup1 can conflict with that of systemd.

Starting with SLE 12 SP4, libcgroup1 is considered deprecated. Consider
migrating to the equivalent functionality in systemd.

For more information, see https://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc/?id=7018741.

10 Technical Information

This section contains information about system limits, a number of technical
changes and enhancements for the experienced user.

When talking about CPUs, we use the following terminology:

CPU Socket

    The visible physical entity, as it is typically mounted to a motherboard or
    an equivalent.

CPU Core

    The (usually not visible) physical entity as reported by the CPU vendor.

    On IBM Z, this is equivalent to an IFL.

Logical CPU

    This is what the Linux Kernel recognizes as a "CPU".

    We avoid the word "thread" (which is sometimes used), as the word "thread"
    would also become ambiguous subsequently.

Virtual CPU

    A logical CPU as seen from within a Virtual Machine.

10.1 Kernel Limits

This table summarizes the various limits which exist in our recent kernels and
utilities (if related) for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4.

+--------------------------+----------------+----------+-----------+----------+
| SLES 12 SP4 (Linux 4.4)  | AMD64/Intel 64 |  IBM Z   |   POWER   | AArch64  |
|                          |    (x86_64)    | (s390x)  | (ppc64le) | (ARMv8)  |
+--------------------------+----------------+----------+-----------+----------+
|CPU bits                  |64              |64        |64         |64        |
+--------------------------+----------------+----------+-----------+----------+
|Maximum number of logical |8192            |256       |2048       |128       |
|CPUs                      |                |          |           |          |
+--------------------------+----------------+----------+-----------+----------+
|Maximum amount of RAM     |> 1 PiB/64 TiB  |10 TiB/256|1 PiB/64   |256 TiB/  |
|(theoretical/certified)   |                |GiB       |TiB        |n.a.      |
+--------------------------+----------------+----------+-----------+----------+
|Maximum amount of user    |128 TiB/128 TiB |n.a.      |512 TiB ^1/|256 TiB/  |
|space/kernel space        |                |          |2 EiB      |128 TiB   |
+--------------------------+----------------+----------+-----------+----------+
|Maximum amount of swap    |Up to 29 * 64 GB (x86_64) or 30 * 64 GB (other    |
|space                     |architectures)                                    |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|Maximum number of         |1048576                                           |
|processes                 |                                                  |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|Maximum number of threads |Upper limit depends on memory and other parameters|
|per process               |(tested with more than 120,000)^2                 |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|Maximum size per block    |Up to 8 EiB                                       |
|device                    |                                                  |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
|FD_SETSIZE                |1024                                              |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+

^1 By default, the userspace memory limit on the POWER architecture is 128 TiB.
However, you can explicitly request mmaps up to 512 TiB.

^2 The total number of all processes and all threads on a system may not be
higher than the "maximum number of processes".

10.2 KVM Limits

+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
|   SLES 12 SP4   |                                                           |
| Virtual Machine |                          Limits                           |
|      (VM)       |                                                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
|Maximum VMs per  |Unlimited (total number of virtual CPUs in all guests being|
|host             |no greater than 8 times the number of CPU cores in the     |
|                 |host)                                                      |
+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
|Maximum Virtual  |288                                                        |
|CPUs per VM      |                                                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
|Maximum Memory   |4 TiB                                                      |
|per VM           |                                                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+

Virtual Host Server (VHS) limits are identical to those of SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server.

10.3 Xen Limits

Since SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, we removed the 32-bit hypervisor as
a virtualization host. 32-bit virtual guests are not affected and are fully
supported with the provided 64-bit hypervisor.

+-------------------------------------+-----------------------------+
|  SLES 12 SP4 Virtual Machine (VM)   |           Limits            |
+-------------------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Maximum number of virtual CPUs per VM|64                           |
+-------------------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Maximum amount of memory per VM      |16 GiB x86_32, 511 GiB x86_64|
+-------------------------------------+-----------------------------+
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|SLES 12 SP4 Virtual Host Server (VHS) |         Limits          |
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|Maximum number of physical CPUs       |256                      |
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|Maximum number of virtual CPUs        |256                      |
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|Maximum amount of physical memory     |5 TiB                    |
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|Maximum amount of Dom0 physical memory|500 GiB                  |
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|Maximum number of block devices       |12,000 SCSI logical units|
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------+

  o PV:  Paravirtualization

  o FV:  Full virtualization

For more information about acronyms, see the virtualization documentation
provided at https://www.suse.com/documentation/sles-12/.

10.4 File Systems

10.4.1 Comparison of Supported File Systems

SUSE Linux Enterprise was the first enterprise Linux distribution to support
journaling file systems and logical volume managers back in 2000. Later, we
introduced XFS to Linux, which today is seen as the primary work horse for
large-scale file systems, systems with heavy load and multiple parallel reading
and writing operations. With SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, we went the next step of
innovation and started using the copy-on-write file system Btrfs as the default
for the operating system, to support system snapshots and rollback.

+ supported
- unsupported

+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|        Feature        |   Btrfs    |  XFS  |  Ext4   |OCFS 2 ^1|ReiserFS ^2 |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Support in products    |SLE         |SLE    |SLE      |SLE HA   |SLE         |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Data/metadata          |N/A ^3      |- / +  |+ / +    |- / +    |- / +       |
|journaling             |            |       |         |         |            |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Journal internal/      |N/A ^3      |+ / +  |+ / +    |+ / -    |+ / +       |
|external               |            |       |         |         |            |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Journal checksumming   |N/A ^3      |+      |+        |+        |-           |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Subvolumes             |+           |-      |-        |-        |-           |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Offline extend/shrink  |+ / +       |- / -  |+ / +    |+ / - ^4 |+ / -       |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Online extend/shrink   |+ / +       |+ / -  |+ / -    |- / -    |+ / -       |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Inode allocation map   |B-tree      |B+-tree|table    |B-tree   |u. B*-tree  |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Sparse files           |+           |+      |+        |+        |+           |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Tail packing           |-           |-      |-        |-        |+           |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Small files stored     |+ (in       |-      |+ (in    |+ (in    |+ (in       |
|inline                 |metadata)   |       |inode)   |inode)   |metadata)   |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Defragmentation        |+           |+      |+        |-        |-           |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Extended file          |+ / +       |+ / +  |+ / +    |+ / +    |+ / +       |
|attributes/ACLs        |            |       |         |         |            |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|User/group quotas      |- / -       |+ / +  |+ / +    |+ / +    |+ / +       |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Project quotas         |-           |+      |+        |-        |-           |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Subvolume quotas       |+           |N/A    |N/A      |N/A      |N/A         |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Data dump/restore      |-           |+      |-        |-        |-           |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Block size default     |4 KiB ^5                                             |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Maximum file system    |16 EiB      |8 EiB  |1 EiB    |4 PiB    |16 TiB      |
|size                   |            |       |         |         |            |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+
|Maximum file size      |16 EiB      |8 EiB  |1 EiB    |4 PiB    |1 EiB       |
+-----------------------+------------+-------+---------+---------+------------+

^1 OCFS 2 is fully supported as part of the SUSE Linux Enterprise High
Availability Extension.

^2 ReiserFS is supported for existing file systems. The creation of new
ReiserFS file systems is discouraged.

^3 Btrfs is a copy-on-write file system. Instead of journaling changes before
writing them in-place, it writes them to a new location and then links the new
location in. Until the last write, the changes are not "committed". Because of
the nature of the file system, quotas are implemented based on subvolumes
(qgroups).

^4 To extend an OCFS 2 file system, the cluster must be online but the file
system itself must be unmounted.

^5 The block size default varies with different host architectures. 64 KiB is
used on POWER, 4 KiB on other systems. The actual size used can be checked with
the command getconf PAGE_SIZE.

Additional Notes

Maximum file size above can be larger than the file system's actual size
because of the use of sparse blocks. All standard file systems on SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server have LFS, which gives a maximum file size of 2^63 bytes in
theory.

The numbers in the above table assume that the file systems are using a 4 KiB
block size which is the most common standard. When using different block sizes,
the results are different.

In this document: 1024 Bytes = 1 KiB; 1024 KiB = 1 MiB; 1024 MiB = 1 GiB;
1024 GiB = 1 TiB; 1024 TiB = 1 PiB; 1024 PiB = 1 EiB. See also http://
physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html.

NFSv4 with IPv6 is only supported for the client side. An NFSv4 server with
IPv6 is not supported.

The version of Samba shipped with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 delivers
integration with Windows Active Directory domains. In addition, we provide the
clustered version of Samba as part of SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability
Extension 12 SP4.

Some file system features are available in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4
but are not supported by SUSE. By default, the file system drivers in SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 will refuse mounting file systems that use
unsupported features (in particular, in read-write mode). To enable unsupported
features, set the module parameter allow_unsupported=1 in /etc/modprobe.d or
write the value 1 to /sys/module/MODULE_NAME/parameters/allow_unsupported.
However, note that setting this option will render your kernel and thus your
system unsupported.

10.4.2 Supported Btrfs Features

The following table lists supported and unsupported Btrfs features across
multiple SLES versions.

+ supported
- unsupported

+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|        Feature        | SLES 11  | SLES 12 | SLES 12  | SLES 12  | SLES 12  |
|                       |   SP4    |   GA    |   SP1    |   SP2    |   SP3    |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Copy on Write          |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Snapshots/Subvolumes   |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Metadata Integrity     |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Data Integrity         |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Online Metadata        |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
|Scrubbing              |          |         |          |          |          |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Automatic              |-         |-        |-         |-         |-         |
|Defragmentation        |          |         |          |          |          |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Manual Defragmentation |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|In-band Deduplication  |-         |-        |-         |-         |-         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Out-of-band            |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
|Deduplication          |          |         |          |          |          |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Quota Groups           |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Metadata Duplication   |+         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Multiple Devices       |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|RAID 0                 |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|RAID 1                 |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|RAID 10                |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|RAID 5                 |-         |-        |-         |-         |-         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|RAID 6                 |-         |-        |-         |-         |-         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Hot Add/Remove         |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Device Replace         |-         |-        |-         |-         |-         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Seeding Devices        |-         |-        |-         |-         |-         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Compression            |-         |-        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Big Metadata Blocks    |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Skinny Metadata        |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Send Without File Data |-         |+        |+         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Send/Receive           |-         |-        |-         |+         |+         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Inode Cache            |-         |-        |-         |-         |-         |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
|Fallocate with Hole    |-         |-        |-         |+         |+         |
|Punch                  |          |         |          |          |          |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+

10.5 Supported Java Versions

The following table lists Java implementations available in SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server 12 SP4:

+-------------------------+-------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|   Name (Package Name)   |Version| Part of SUSE Linux Enterprise |  Support  |
|                         |       |            Server             |           |
+-------------------------+-------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|OpenJDK (                |1.8.0  |SLES                           |SUSE, L3   |
|java-1_8_0-openjdk)      |       |                               |           |
+-------------------------+-------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|OpenJDK (                |1.7.0  |SLES                           |SUSE, L3   |
|java-1_7_0-openjdk)      |       |                               |           |
+-------------------------+-------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|IBM Java (java-1_8_0-ibm)|1.8.0  |SLES                           |External   |
|                         |       |                               |only       |
+-------------------------+-------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|IBM Java (java-1_7_1-ibm)|1.7.1  |SLES                           |External   |
|                         |       |                               |only       |
+-------------------------+-------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|IBM Java (java-1_6_0-ibm)|1.6.0  |Legacy Module                  |External   |
|                         |       |                               |only       |
+-------------------------+-------+-------------------------------+-----------+

11 Legal Notices

SUSE makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use
of this documentation, and specifically disclaims any express or implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further,
SUSE reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes to its
content, at any time, without the obligation to notify any person or entity of
such revisions or changes.

Further, SUSE makes no representations or warranties with respect to any
software, and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, SUSE reserves
the right to make changes to any and all parts of SUSE software, at any time,
without any obligation to notify any person or entity of such changes.

Any products or technical information provided under this Agreement may be
subject to U.S. export controls and the trade laws of other countries. You
agree to comply with all export control regulations and to obtain any required
licenses or classifications to export, re-export, or import deliverables. You
agree not to export or re-export to entities on the current U.S. export
exclusion lists or to any embargoed or terrorist countries as specified in U.S.
export laws. You agree to not use deliverables for prohibited nuclear, missile,
or chemical/biological weaponry end uses. Refer to http://www.suse.com/company/
legal/ for more information on exporting SUSE software. SUSE assumes no
responsibility for your failure to obtain any necessary export approvals.

Copyright (C) 2010- 2018 SUSE LLC. This release notes document is licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License (CC-BY-ND-3.0
US, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/).

SUSE has intellectual property rights relating to technology embodied in the
product that is described in this document. In particular, and without
limitation, these intellectual property rights may include one or more of the
U.S. patents listed at http://www.suse.com/company/legal/ and one or more
additional patents or pending patent applications in the U.S. and other
countries.

For SUSE trademarks, see SUSE Trademark and Service Mark list (http://
www.suse.com/company/legal/). All third-party trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.

(C) 2018 SUSE

