Re: Kernel image and OOT auto builder environment (Was: Using out of tree modules in d-i)?
On May 26, 2013, at 3:31 AM, Ben Hutchings wrote:
> Absolutely not acceptable. Out-of-tree modules must not hold up fixes
> to the kernel. It was bad enough when their build failures were
> blocking each other in linux-modules-extra-2.6.
So how much delay would be acceptable? One day? Twelve hours? Six?
One?
Do note that a build fail for a OOT should only happen at
a major version bump.
That is, if an OOT build for 'linux-image-3.2.0-4-amd64', version
3.2.41-2 (current wheezy kernel), it should build quite well on
whatever would be the next stable dist version (3.2.41-3 or maybe
even '3.2.42-1'?).
But if not even a second delay would be acceptable, then just
fail the OOT, notify it's maintainer but still upload the kernel.
My point being, that with a auto build system for kernels and
OOT's, at least we get a fighting chance of keeping the OOTs
up to date. Without it, either the kernel maintainer(s) need
to build the OOT's as well (and either manually try to fix any
problems or hand it over to the OOT maintainer), or the OOT
maintainer needs to monitor for any kernel update and then
do their build and upload..
Both of these introduces a lot of delays and manual work. I really
don't think that ALL OOTs will fail in such a case, ZoL I'm quite
sure wouldn't....
If you jump from 3.9 (which I have on my production machines) to
whatever comes next, say 4.0, then yes most likely it will fail.
_IF_ the Debian GNU/Linux kernel maintainer creates a 4.0 kernel
packages almost instantaneous when Linus releases it. But if the
kernel maintainer have a little delay here, say 'a few days', it
is most likely fixed in ZoL and a new source package is uploaded,
so when the kernel maintainer DO make a 4.0 kernel, ZoL (and
hopefully all OOTs) is ready for this..
And a jump like this (or 3.8 in wheezy to 4.0 in Jessie for example)
would _NEVER_ happen within a release we support, only in 'sid', and
'a few hours' (maybe even a day?) would be acceptable there... ?
Of course a fail will introduce manual labor, but that can never be
avoided. But with a auto-kernel-build-system (tm), there won't ALWAYS
be need for manual labor.....
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