Kernel 2.6.x RPMs and vmlinux and third party modules

[Paul Bender]

With the 2.6.x kernel RPMs, it appears that vmlinux has been moved to 
the kernel-debuginfo RPM. Is there a reason that this was done?

The reason I ask is that some third party kernel modules require vmlinux 
in order to build. During the build process, these modules use modpost, 
which takes vmlinux as its first argument. As a result, these modules 
cannot be built without installing the kernel-debuginfo package or 
rebuilding the kernel.

Not having done any kernel module development, I am assuming that these 
modules need to use modpost (and therefore vmlinux) during the build 
process. If this is not the case, then could someone let me know so that 
I can inform the module developers.

Anyway, since some third party modules require vmlinux to build, it 
would seem more sensible to include vmlinux in an RPM other than the 
kernel-debuginfo RPM. If a kernel-devel RPM existed, then it would make 
sense to include it there. Since no kernel-devel RPM exists, I think 
that vmlinuz should be included in the kernel RPM.

One example of modules that require vmlinux are the MADWIFI drivers 
available at <http://sourceforge.net/projects/madwifi/>.