[fab] Non-standard kernels in the Fedora Multiverse

[Matt Domsch]

On Mon, May 08, 2006 at 03:53:20PM -0400, Greg DeKoenigsberg wrote:
> 1. If it's okay for RH to put nonstandard kernels into Fedora, then 
> shouldn't it be okay for the community to put nonstandard kernels into 
> Fedora?  If not, why not?

I'd like to avoid kernel proliferation any more than we already have
it.  The shrinking of i386 and x86_64 back from both UP and SMP to
just a single SMP-aware kernel was goodness (that the -PAE 4G/4G split
kernel got added I just now see...)

Low latency is another kernel feature, just like the plethora of
kernel features that are requested, but for whatever reasons, not
(yet) included upstream.  Fedora has been pretty good about pushing
back on such features, exactly because they become a maintenance
nightmare.

Given that Fedora != mainline, the non-mainline features such as PAE
and Xen so far have been handled in separate kernels.  Continuing to
split out such features into separate kernels isn't scalable though...

I could see adding one "bitbucket" kernel though, with several
prototype features.  The purpose behind the bitbucket would be to give
exposure to features which need more baking before hitting mainline
(but with the stated plan that if they were rejected permanently from
mainline, they get dropped).  Ideally it would be exactly the -mm
kernel, to reduce the maintenance burden.  Someone(s) (not DaveJ)
would have to agree to maintain it though.

We want to encourage kernel "features" to be merged into mainline.  We
don't want to maintain lots of out-of-mainline features.  -mm could
provide that experience.


-Matt