1. Prominent features in Linux 3.4

1.1. Feature

All the driver and architecture-specific changes can be found in the [http://kernelnewbies.org/Linux_3.4_DriverArch Linux_3.4_DriverArch page]

Add kernel param to force disable module load [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Add driver probe deferral mechanism [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
PM
- Introduce "late suspend" and "early resume" of [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Introduce generic callbacks for new device PM [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Add min/max_freq limit requested by users. [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
prctl: add PR_{SET,GET}_CHILD_SUBREAPER to allow simple [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
procfs: mark thread stack correctly in proc/<pid>/maps [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
tty: rework pty count limiting [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

vfs: use 'unsigned long' accesses for dcache name comparison [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

Make swapin readahead skip over holes: when the swapped out data has holes, swap in things back in at rates of several MB/second, instead of a few hundred kB/second [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
radix-tree: introduce bit-optimized iterator [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
SLAB Out-of-memory diagnostics [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
kgdb: add the ability to control the reboot [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

Ext4
- Address scalability issue by removing extent cache statistics [http://git.kernel.org/linus/;a=commit;h=9cd70b347e9761ea2d2ac3d758c529a48a8193e6 (commit)]
- Remove the journal=update mount option [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Remove the resize mount option [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Fuse
- O_DIRECT support for files [http://git.kernel.org/linus/;a=commit;h=4273b793ec68753cc3fcf5be7cbfd88c2be2058d (commit)],
- allow nanosecond granularity [http://git.kernel.org/linus/;a=commit;h=0a2da9b2ef2ef76c09397597f260245b020e6522 (commit)]
NFS
- Make clientaddr= optional [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- add mount options 'v4.0' and 'v4.1' [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Initial qnx6fs addition [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Hfsplus: add an ioctl to bless files [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
CIFS: Introduce credit-based flow control [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
GFS2
- FITRIM ioctl support [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- glock statistics gathering [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

New "plug" queuing discipline: allows userspace to plug/unplug a network output queue, using the netlink interface [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Add missing getsockopt for SO_NOFCS. [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Implement IP_UNICAST_IF/IPV6_UNICAST_IF socket options [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)], implement IPV6_UNICAST_IF socket option. [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
unix sockets: Support peeking offset for datagram and seqpacket [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)], support peeking offset for stream sockets [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
tcp: md5: rcu conversion [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
tcp: allow splice() to build full TSO packets [http://git.kernel.org/linus/;a=commit;h=2f53384424251c06038ae612e56231b96ab610ee (commit)]

sock: Introduce the SO_PEEK_OFF sock option [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

af_unix: MSG_TRUNC support for dgram sockets [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Netfilter
- Add timeout extension [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)], add cttimeout infrastructure for fine timeout [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)],
- ctnetlink: add NAT support for expectations [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- ipset: Exceptions support added to hash:*net* [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Merge ipt_LOG and ip6_LOG into xt_LOG [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Bluetooth
- Add support for HCI monitor channel [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Implement Read Supported Commands commands for [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Add support for Set SSP command [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Implement Set LE command [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

New LSM: Yama [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
virtio-pci: S3 support [http://git.kernel.org/linus/;a=commit;h=04c2322bee841121cfdd7f284e1d4274e9e60e33 (commit)]
rpmsg: add virtio-based remote processor messaging bus [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
KVM
- x86: increase recommended max vcpus to 160 [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Allow host IRQ sharing for assigned PCI 2.3 devices [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Infrastructure for software and hardware based TSC rate [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- PPC: Paravirtualize SPRG4-7, ESR, PIR, MASn [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)], e500: MMU API [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- s390: "Userspace controlled virtual machines" add parameter for KVM_CREATE_VM [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
hyperv
- storvsc: Move the storage driver out of the staging area [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Add support for vlan trunking from guests [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Support the newly introduced KVP messages in the driver [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Fully support the new KVP verbs in the user level [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- Support enumeration from all the pools [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Xen
- acpi-processor: C and P-state driver that uploads said [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- netfront: add netconsole support. [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

caam: add sha224 and sha384 variants to existing [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
camellia: add assembler implementation for x86_64 [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
Driver for Tegra AES hardware [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
crc32: add slice-by-8 algorithm to existing code [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

AppArmor
- add "file" details to securityfs [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- add initial "features" directory to securityfs [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]

Make cfq_target_latency tunable through sysfs. [http://git.kernel.org/linus/;a=commit;h=5bf14c0727a07ded1bd9fa6d77923d7e6dc32833 (commit)]
Device Manager (DM):
- raid10 - support resizing some RAID10 arrays. [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- thin: support discards [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]
- thin: support read only external snapshot origins [http://git.kernel.org/linus/ (commit)]