RFC: extra kernel module install locations

Ville Skyttä ville.skytta at iki.fi
Sun Sep 12 18:51:04 UTC 2004


There are various practices around about where to install extra kernel
modules, I thought I'd throw in a quick RFC about what people think is
the best practice, and why.  Some alternatives off the cuff:

0) Somewhere directly below /lib/modules/$uname, in a per-package 
   subdir.
1) A suitable location below /lib/modules/$uname/kernel.
2) /lib/modules/$uname/updates, mirroring the dir structure from
   /lib/modules/$uname/kernel as applicable.
3) Same as 2), but s/updates/$something_else_than_updates/.
4) As long as it Just Works(tm), does not matter.
5) Insert your favourite here.

Status of how things seem to be "out there" currently, based on a very
brief look:
- fedora.us: both 0 (for thinkpad) and 1 (for alsa)
- livna.org, Dag, freshrpms (FC1/alsa only checked): 1
- ATrpms: 2
- CCRMA uses something that doesn't fit 100% any of the above,
  but I guess 2 would be the closest.

My .02€ of the above:

0) Yuck, gets messy.
1) IMO shouldn't use "kernel" for stuff that is not included in kernel
   distributed by the kernel vendor.
2) My #1 pick as of now, maybe, depending on 3) below.
3) Is this better or worse than 2)?  Dunno.
   Is "updates" the only dir that Just Works in earlier distro versions?
   Is using "updates" more or less likely to cause conflicts
   than "extra" or something else?  Is it a bad thing to put all these
   extra modules to "updates", when the vast majority of them are not
   updates per se, but "new" modules instead (in the sense that they're
   not included in the vendor's kernel)?
4) I would feel more comfortable with some kind of documented guidelines
   or best practices, for consistency.

Comments?





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