On Wednesday 18 June 2008, Stephen Powell wrote: > I currently have a Debian GNU/Linux system running in a virtual machine > under z/VM that uses CMS minidisks. But I had to install to cdl disks > and then use the installer as a "rescue floppy" to copy the data to CMS > minidisks. Another problem is that the dasd_mod driver does not > automatically bring CMS minidisks on-line. I had to create a file > called dasd in /etc/modprobe.d to supply options to dasd_mod to bring > these minidisks online at IPL time. (And then I had to run > update-initramfs and zipl.) It worked. But figuring out what to do > and how to do it was not trivial. And of course, there is nothing in > the install manual about this. I would hardly call this a > user-friendly install. > > Further complicating matters was my desire to use the dasd_diag_mod > module to do the I/O, which did not exist in the stock kernel for etch. > I had to download the kernel source package and create a custom kernel > in order to use dasd_diag_mod. (And then I had to update > /etc/modprobe.d/dasd again to tell dasd_mod to use dasd_diag_mod for > all the CMS minidisks, and then I had to run update-initramfs and zipl > again.) Fortunately, it appears that the 2.6.24 stock kernel for lenny > now includes this module. :-) > > It is possible to get it working. But when it comes to CMS minidisks, > Debian for s390 is definitely a hacker's distro only. All the above is complete Greek too me because I don't have any context. And it sounds like you already did the hard part: you managed to get it working. That means you are the expert now. Tell us *in detail* what is missing and what manual steps were required to get it supported. Then *maybe* someone will step up and do the actual integration. But even better: run the installer at medium priority, figure out exactly what needs to happen in which phase, add that in manually and see if it works. Send us the resulting patches. More than 90% of the installer is shell script! Which means it has an extremely low barrier of entry. If you run into a step that is performed by something that is not shell, fine: tell us what should be happening at that point. But even then it should often be possible to create a temporary solution by using some shell code around or next to the C program. Here is some solid basic info that can help you get started with the installer: http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/doc/internals/ > And even if you elect to go with an unsupported distro, the software > packages that they provide are in rpm format only. Which means that we need people packaging this stuff in .deb format. Do you think that for other platforms we actually wait for vendors to package their stuff for us? We don't, really! > It appears that source packages are available. But the source packages > are also in rpm format only. There is 'alien' of course (aptitude show alien), but I don't have any personal experience with it and probably isn't really a solution for stuff that's related to hardware as it won't configure things properly. > Somehow, you've got to persuade IBM to support Debian. And if they > think it will increase their sales enough to make it worth their while, > they will. No. That is definitely not how it works! The _community_ has to make it worth for IBM to take an interest. Debian does not go begging. It goes completely against the principles behind the Debian project; Debian does not have some marketing or PR or whatever "department" that does this. Other vendors have taken an interest because there was a demand from their market, not because Debian came begging at their doorstep! I'm sorry, but I skipped the rest of the mail. It's just a repeat of the same flawed starting point. You're still trying to tell us that we or IBM need to do the work here. That's wrong. The community needs to do the work. That's how free software works, and that's how projects get started. There really is no chicken and egg problem here. You want something done: get doing it! Alternatively: offer a bounty (at industry pay scale, not at bargain rates). Cheers, FJP P.S. Apologies if I'm being too direct here.
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