After three months of development, systemd 260, the latest release of the system manager, is now available. This update includes several key changes, such as the deprecation of service scripts in System V format, the introduction of the “mstack” mechanism for building multi-layer mount hierarchies, the systemd-report utility, support for systemd-networkd integration with ModemManager, and the support for custom portable services, among others.
Some of the changes in the new release include:
- Discontinuation of support for service scripts in System V format and several related components like rc-local.service, systemd-sysv-install, systemd-rc-local-generator, and systemd-sysv-generator.
- Implementation of the “mstack” mechanism, which allows for the creation of composite directory hierarchies formed through sequential mounting and overlaying disk images and parts of the filesystem. This includes new commands and options to facilitate the management of mount layers.
- Introduction of the “metrics” and “report” frameworks for displaying statistics via Varlink in the /run/systemd/report/ directory, with the systemd-report utility providing a summary report in JSON format.
- Enhancements to systemd-networkd, such as integration with ModemManager and the addition of a “[MobileNetwork]” section with various settings for connecting via modem to cellular operators.
- Support for launching custom services using systemd-portabled by unprivileged users, with new flags added to the portablectl utility for selecting the type of service.
/Reports, release notes, official announcements.