[fab] Kernel Module packages in Core and Extras

[Thorsten Leemhuis]

Hi all!

I was one of the driving forces behind "kernel modules in Extras" so I
think I should give my 2 cent to this thread.

Josh Boyer schrieb:
> 
> There have been a couple discussions about kmod packages that have
> popped up on fedora-extras and fedora-devel.  While they started as
> specific discussions about particular modules or how modules are
> packaged, in both threads there have been questions as to whether or not
> these kinds of packages should even be in Extras and Core.
> 
> To provide a bit more background, read:
> https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2006-August/msg00120.html
> and
> https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2006-August/msg00125.html

The following two bugzilla entries also are relevant (pointing to the
comment where the political discussion starts):
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=177583#c41
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=189400#c9

> Given that two of the kernel maintainers for Fedora have these opinions,
> the question becomes whether they should be allowed in Extras (and Core
> eventually) at all.

Just to give some more background: before we started the whole "kernel
modules in Extras" discussion we got a buy in from Core developers
(jeremy handled that iirc) that we want to allow kmods in Extras. And
after we developed the current kmod standard it was acked by davej and
cfeist iirc (and those Core developers that are in FESCo anyway).

> I'd like the board to review this soon. 

+1

> Given that there is an ongoing
> discussion about how to package such things, it would be good to get a
> decision on their feasibility as packages to begin with.

Here are my 2 cent on the whole thing: Having all modules in the
upstream kernel is a good thing (I think everybody knows this and the
reasons for it so I won't lay them down here again). We should work
towards this and help module authors to understand why that's a good
thing. In and ideal world we would even help them getting their stuff
merged upstream.

But the ideal world is far away and a lot of kmodule authors are quite
slow getting their stuff merged into the linus-kernel. That's a pity,
but that's life. We have to deal with it somehow IMHO. Other
distributions (Suse, Ubuntu) include a lot of modules to save their
users the mess of compiling them on their own.

So these are some of our options afaics (those solutions that I would
prefer most are on the top of the list):

- Nearly Ideal-World-Solution: Talk to Ubuntu and Suse. Create a kernel
module committee. Only external modules that are permitted by the
committee get allowed in Fedora, Suse, and Ubuntu. That should only be
the case for a small number of modules. That would increase the pressure
on the module authors a lot to get their drivers merged in linus-kernel.

- allow kmodule-packages in Extras for a certain time period only. I'd
say only three (maybe only two) fedora releases. In other words: A
module gets added to devel and FC5 now; get integrated into FC6 when it
becomes ready. Gets also integrated into FC7, but is removed directly
after FC7 from the devel tree so it won't show up in FC8 or later.
Removing would be a pity, but politics are sometimes hard. (Note: the
"only allow modules for a certain time" idea came up during the kmod
discussion, too. It was rejected, but I still think we should have one)

== here I start with the solution I wquld like to avoid (but still:
those solutions that I would prefer most are on the top of the list) ==

- Create a special "kmodule allow committee" that has to allow modules
for Extras; modules that have no plans to get upstream get rejected.

- Proceed with the current layout -- FESCo has to allow modules and
modules that have no plans to get upstram get rejected.

- Have no kmodule-packages in Extras. That will create some trouble for
our users and some of them will move over to other distributions because
those have the modules and thus support more hardware out of the box. It
would be a big drawback IMHO. It would be an additional fight on the
list of fights we're fighting already (ntfs, mp3, java, closed-source
drivers) where other distributions use a less-open-source approach, but
are a lot easier to use.

- Disallow kmodule-packages in Extras and only integrate some very
important modules in the Core kernel package (like the Broadcom-WLAN
drivers we merged in FC% or ipw2100 and ipw2200 in FC4)

- Integrate all modules in the Core kernel package

- Allow all kmodule-packages in Extras.

As I said: just my 2 cent.

CU
thl