F25 Beta release announcement

DRAFT

The Fedora Project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Fedora 25 Beta, the next big step on our journey to the exciting Fedora 25 release in November.

Progress Across All Forms of Fedora

Fedora's journey is not simply about updating one operating system with the latest and greatest packages. It's also about innovation for the many different platforms represented in the Fedora Project: Workstation, Server, Atomic, and the various Spins. Coordinating the efforts across the many working groups is no small task, and serves as a testament to the talent and professionalism found within the Fedora community.

As we move into this Beta phase of the Fedora 25 release cycle, what can users expect?

Fedora-Wide Changes

Some of the changes that will be seen across all aspects of Fedora include:

• Docker updated to version 1.12
• Support for weaker certificate authorities (i.e., 1024-bit) has been removed
• Node.js updated to version 6.x
• New and better version of the popular server-side JavaScript engine
• "Secondary architectures" now known as "alternate architectures"
• Rust: Fedora 25 brings the support for the Rust programming language. Rust is a system programming language which runs blazingly fast, and prevents almost all crashes, segfaults, and data races.
• Pythons: Alongside the "standard" Python versions included in Fedora 25 (3.5 and 2.7), Python programmers can now install Python 3.4, 3.3, and 2.6 from the repositories to help them run test suites on multiple Python versions, as well as on PyPy, PyPy3 and Jython, which were already there.

Fedora Atomic

Fedora Atomic, once known as Cloud, comprises a base image suitable for creating virtual machines, an Atomic host image for creating hosts for container deployment, and a Docker image. This aspect of Fedora represents some of the most exciting changes, as we build more cloud- and container-ready tools into Fedora to create a fantastic developer platform

Fedora Atomic images have new persistent download points:

   https://getfedora.org/atomic_qcow2_latest
   https://getfedora.org/atomic_raw_latest
   https://getfedora.org/atomic_vagrant_libvirt_latest
   https://getfedora.org/atomic_vagrant_virtualbox_latest

"We chose to use Fedora Atomic as the base for our Navops Launch - Kubernetes cluster provisioning solution because our customers trust and already run Red Hat operating systems. We love the immutable aspect of Fedora Atomic which is perfect for containerized environments." Cameron Brunner, Chief Architect, Navops by Univa.

Fedora Atomic has a two-week refresh release cycle with major releases every six months. It has an easy upgrade path to accommodate rapid development for supporting the latest applications. It can also be run as a desktop for those requiring a lightweight and highly re-configurable environment.

While still undergoing active development, once stable Fedora Atomic should allow the typical Fedora user to easily provision cloud services. User contributions and experience reports are particularly welcome in preparing the upcoming version.

Fedora Server

Fedora 25 Server is also going to see some interesting changes in this cycle, particularly in the Cockpit tool:

• SELinux Troubleshooter module: Cockpit now has a SELinux Troubleshooter module similar to Fedora Workstation.
  • If system encounters an SELinux denial, will display information about the issue as well as suggestions for correcting the issue if it was unexpected.
  • Without the module, an administrator has to notice a denial occurred, dig through log files for the denial, and search for workarounds–the SELinux Troubleshooter presents information clearly and to the point all from the convenience of Cockpit.
• Displays host SSH keys in the system dashboard: Easy to see and understand what SSH keys are added to the system for connecting to the machine
• Includes support for network teaming, Docker volume, and storage management as well as the creation of systemd timer units
• Supports multi-step (incl. 2FA) authentication

FreeIPA identity management system is upgraded to 4.4 series:

• Topology management: FreeIPA web UI can now be used to visually manage topology graph for large deployments
• DNS sites: DNS management in FreeIPA now supports location-specific placement of services
• Subordinate Certificate Authorities: FreeIPA Certificate Authority now is able to create subordinate CAs to issue certificates with a specific scope
• Kerberos Authentication Indicators: Kerberos KDC now takes Authentication Indicators into account when issuing service tickets. This allows, for example, to require two-factor authenticated Kerberos credentials prior to obtaining tickets to a VPN service (supported by OpenConnect Server).
• Client certificate authentication in Web UI: FreeIPA Web UI and API end-points now can be configured to log-in with client certificates and smart cards.
• Active Directory integration improvements: a number of features were added for enterprise environments
  • FreeIPA now supports alternative user principal names and suffixes from Active Directory and allows FreeIPA users to have Kerberos aliases
  • Active Directory users can now manage own details through the command line interface (CLI), including public SSH keys and certificates
  • In case of trusting multiple Active Directory forests, FreeIPA is now capable to automatically solve DNS namespace routing conflicts
• FreeIPA framework gained support for external plugins
• Performance of FreeIPA has been optimized for large environments

Fedora Workstation

The Workstation iteration of Fedora 25 Beta is going to show off its stuff, too:

• GNOME 3.22: Fedora 25 includes GNOME 3.22 in its pre-release and in the Final version, coming soon. Helpful new features include multiple file renaming, a redesigned keyboard settings tool, and many other UI improvements across the environment. For full details, refer to the GNOME 3.22 release notes.
• New Fedora media writer: The new Fedora Media Writer is a tool that downloads the latest stable Fedora for you. It then helps you write it to media such as a USB stick, so you can take Fedora for a spin on your system. If you like what you see, you can install to your system from the live environment. The Fedora Media Writer is available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
• Wayland by default
  • Wayland is the replacement for the legacy X11 display system. Wayland has been under development for several years. While like most software it still has some bugs, we believe it's ready to serve as a default that works for many users.
  • Users can still select the old X11 system if necessary to avoid a problem that affects them.
• Improved Flatpak support in the Software tool: The Software tool has the ability to install, update, and remove Flatpak software where a Fedora system is configured to point to a repo that offers it.
• GNOME Shell extensions are no longer checked for compatibility with the current version of the Shell. This was originally required because the GNOME interfaces were changing rapidly during the early days of GNOME 3. Now these interfaces have stabilized, and extensions can generally be expected to work with new releases. Any problems with an extension should be reported to the author through the homepage, as listed on the Extensions site.

Spins

It's not just about GNOME. Other desktop environment Spins are seeing progress.

KDE Desktop

New packages include:

• Minuet: Utility for learning music
• KRDC: Remote desktop client
• KMahjongg: Solitaire mahjongg

Improvements include:

• Kontact suite: Improved feature set
• Kdenlive: Better video edits

To try out KDE instead of the default GNOME desktop environment, see the KDE wiki page. More information is on the KDE announcements page.

Xfce

Changes will include:

• xfce4-terminal:
  • Ported to gtk3 and vte291
  • Lots of bugfixes
  • Support for unlimited scrollback buffer
  • Support for magnet links, zooming
  • Tons of translation updates
• xfce4-power-manager:
  • Bunch of bugfixes and translation updates.
• xfce4-notifyd:
  • Ported to gtk3
  • Better theming capabilities.
• Xfce live image now contains Firefox

Mate-Compiz

Enhancements include:

• MATE-1.16

• Complete switch to GTK+-3 toolkit version

• More details about changes with Mate-1.16

Labs

The Design Suite will see these improvements:

• Named Best of the Basics by MakeUseOf
• Inherit batch renaming for Nautilus file manager: a welcome feature for photographers
• Inclusion of fonts like Molot and Grand Hotel (needed for Fedora Magazine)
• GNOME Photos available as a preview

Alternative Architectures

We are also simultaneously releasing the F25 Beta for Power64 and 64-bit ARM (AArch64). These are available from:

https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora-secondary/releases/test/25_Beta/

Get Fedora 25 Beta

Download the prerelease from our Get Fedora site:

• Get Fedora 25 Beta Workstation
• Get Fedora 25 Beta Server
• Get Fedora 25 Beta Atomic

Or, check out one of our popular variants:

• Get Fedora 25 Beta Spins
• Get Fedora 25 Beta Labs
• Get Fedora 25 Beta ARM

What is the Beta Release?

A Beta release is code-complete and bears a very strong resemblance to the third and final release. The final release of Fedora 25 is expected in November. If you take the time to download and try out the Beta, you can check and make sure the things that are important to *you* are working. Every bug you find and report doesn't just help you, it improves the experience of millions of Fedora users worldwide! Together, we can make Fedora rock-solid. We have a culture of coordinating new features and pushing fixes upstream as much as we can, and your feedback improves not only Fedora, but Linux and Free software as a whole.

• https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/25/Schedule

Issues and Details

Since this is an alpha release, we expect that you may encounter bugs or missing features. To report issues encountered during testing, contact the Fedora QA team via the mailing list or in #fedora-qa on Freenode. As testing progresses, common issues are tracked on the Common F25 Bugs page.

• https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Common_F25_bugs

For tips on reporting a bug effectively, read "how to file a bug report."

• https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_file_a_bug_report

Release Schedule

The full release schedule is available on the Fedora wiki:

• https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/25/Schedule

The current schedule calls for a final release in November. Be aware that these dates are development targets. Some projects release on a set date regardless of feature completeness or bugs; others wait until certain thresholds for functionality or testing are met. Fedora uses a hybrid model, with milestones subject to adjustment. This allows us to make releases with new features and newly integrated and updated upstream software while also retaining high quality.

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