Proxmox VE Kernel 7.0.0-rc3 (7.0.0-2~jaminmc1) – Unofficial PROXMOX based kernel.

Custom Proxmox VE kernel build based on Linux 7.0.0-rc3

Early-access UNOFFICIAL test build for Proxmox VE users who want the latest upstream improvements ahead of official support.
Rebased on Ubuntu development sources with Proxmox configuration and local-build optimizations.

Build Information

• Upstream: Linux 7.0.0-rc3
• Ubuntu rebase: Ubuntu-7.0.0-7.7 (7.0.0-rc3 track)
• Config: Proxmox VE defaults (high VM density, ZFS/Ceph friendly) + improved local compilation settings
• Includes updated pve-firmware_3.20-1-jaminmc_all.deb for better hardware/firmware compatibility

Top 10 Changes in Linux 7.0.0 Since Kernel 6.17 That Benefit Proxmox

This kernel brings all the upstream improvements from 6.18 + 6.19 plus the brand-new 7.0 features. It delivers measurable gains in KVM performance, memory efficiency, networking, security, and next-gen hardware support — directly benefiting VM/LXC density, live migration, ZFS/Ceph storage, and future server hardware.

1. KVM AMD ERAPS Support
   Guests on Zen 5+ now receive full Enhanced Return Address Predictor Security virtualization. Better guest-side security mitigations with near-zero hypervisor overhead — great for dense KVM workloads.
   Phoronix

2. KVM Preparations for Intel APX
   Infrastructure for Intel Advanced Performance Extensions (32 general-purpose registers instead of 16). Future Nova Lake / Diamond Rapids VMs will see significantly better compute performance.
   Phoronix

3. IBPB-On-Entry Hardening for AMD SEV-SNP
   Automatic indirect branch prediction barrier on every VM entry for SEV-SNP confidential guests. Stronger protection against speculative attacks on Zen 5 EPYC — ideal for multi-tenant or sensitive environments.
   Phoronix

4. Sub-NUMA Clustering (SNC) Topology Fixes
   Correct NUMA reporting on recent Intel platforms. Improved vCPU scheduling, memory locality, and live-migration performance on multi-socket hosts.
   Phoronix

5. Critical SLAB Allocator Regression Fixed
   Reverted/fixed a severe memory-allocation slowdown (up to 64 % IOPS regression in some cases). Big win for high-density Proxmox hosts, ZFS, and heavy VM/LXC usage.
   Phoronix

6. epoll Scoped User Access Optimization
   ~1.5 % networking throughput boost on AMD Zen 2 and newer. Faster VM networking, iSCSI, and Ceph cluster traffic with lower CPU overhead.
   Phoronix

7. Scheduler Scalability & Fairness Improvements
   Better preemption, RSEQ time-slice extensions, and vCPU fairness. Noticeable responsiveness gains and higher safe overcommit ratios on 64+ core servers.
   Phoronix

8. Next-Gen CPU Enablement
   Full support for AMD Zen 6, Intel Nova Lake / Diamond Rapids, plus improved CXL, NTB, DSA 3.0 accelerators, and new perf events. Future-proofs your 2026+ hardware.
   Phoronix

9. Filesystem & I/O Enhancements
   Faster concurrent direct I/O writes in EXT4 + broader VFS optimizations. Improved VM disk performance, especially with ZFS passthrough and high-IOPS workloads.
   Phoronix

10. Memory Management Optimizations
    Up to 75 % faster page-cache reclaim and better writeback/overcommit handling. Higher VM/LXC density with more efficient RAM usage (especially useful with ZRAM).
    Phoronix

Important Warnings

• Release Candidate 3 — this is still pre-stable. Use only on test or non-production nodes.
• Full backup of VMs, containers, and ZFS pools is strongly recommended before installing.
• Monitor live migration, Ceph, and ZFS performance. Have your previous kernel (6.17/6.19) ready as fallback.

Installation

Download all the files into one directory (e.g. ~/kernel-7.0):

Then run:

cd ~/kernel-7.0  # or the folder you downloaded them into
sudo apt install ./*.deb

This installs the new kernel, headers, tools, and the updated pve-firmware in one command (apt handles dependencies and ordering automatically).

# Reboot and you should see the new kernel in the Boot List
reboot

After reboot verify with:

uname -r
pveversion