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Re: release notes mentioning dropped support?



Hi all,

Proposed text for the release notes attached.

On 11-06-2021 21:47, Ben Hutchings wrote:
> On Sat, 2021-06-12 at 03:01 +0900, Roger Shimizu wrote:
>> On Fri, Jun 11, 2021 at 1:22 PM Salvatore Bonaccorso <carnil@debian.org> wrote:
>>> On Thu, Jun 10, 2021 at 11:32:23AM +0200, Paul Gevers wrote:
>>>> On 24-05-2021 06:55, Paul Gevers wrote:
>>>>> I happen to own a QNAP (armel) and I spotted in the changelog that it's
>>>>> not going to be supported in bullseye. I was wondering, is that
>>>>> something that should be mentioned in the release notes? Obviously I
>>>>> don't mean because I own it, but I'm betting that support for particular
>>>>> hardware pieces has been dropped in the past too. I don't recall
>>>>> something like that in the buster release notes, but even if we didn't
>>>>> do it in the past, now could be a good moment to start if we think we
>>>>> should add it.
>>
>> for armel, the limitation is by:
>> https://salsa.debian.org/kernel-team/linux/-/blob/master/debian/config/armel/defines#L35
>>
>> And from the list in that file, below devices are not supported now.
>> # QNAP TS-119/TS-219: 2097152 - 64 = 2097088
>> # D-Link DNS-323: 1572864 - 8 - 64 = 1572792 (too small, no longer supported)
>> # HP Media Vault mv2120: 2097152 - 8 - 64 = 2097080
>> # QNAP TS-109/TS-209 & TS-409: 2097152 - 8 - 64 = 2097080
>>
>> I guess support for D-Link DNS-323 was dropped since buster, or earlier.
> 
> Yes, since stretch.
> 
>>
>>>>> Either way, I was wondering what would happen if I try to upgrade such a
>>>>> device. I'm *assuming* that the linux package would detect that the
>>>>> image is too big, but what would that leave me? A fully upgraded system
>>>>> with an old kernel, or is there any detection before any upgrade
>>>>> happens? For owners of such devices, is their only option to stay at
>>>>> buster? E.g. is there any chance in building a smaller custom kernel
>>>>> with less options enabled or is that impossible because nearly
>>>>> everything is build as module?
>>
>> The upgrade of kernel may succeed if /boot still have enough space,
>> but reboot will fail because of the uboot configuration hard coded in
>> those hardware.
> [...]
> 
> My understanding is that these devices load the kernel and initramfs
> from fixed partitions on the on-board flash, not from the filesystem. 
> That's why the limits vary.  flash-kernel is responsible for copying
> the kernel and initramfs to these partitions.  When the kernel is too> 
> Ben.
> 
> large, it will report an error, which should abort the package
> installation.
> 
> To avoid this, users should keep the buster sources enabled and, before
> upgrading, add an APT preferences file containing something like:
> 
> Package: linux-image-marvell
> Pin: release a=buster
> Pin-Priority: 900
> 
> (not tested).  Obviously this will only work as long as buster is
> supported.

As I own one of the unsupported devices, I intend to check if this works
as intended and I'll not push the change until confirmed. If I'm really
brave, I'll even check that flash-kernel errors out in the right way.

Paul
From a58174c17ad3b6cdb19f4e908428f0b0e8bf53c3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Paul Gevers <elbrus@debian.org>
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2021 21:30:33 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] issues.dbk: unsupported armel hardware

---
 en/issues.dbk | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+)

diff --git a/en/issues.dbk b/en/issues.dbk
index 805a15be..01184f9a 100644
--- a/en/issues.dbk
+++ b/en/issues.dbk
@@ -775,5 +775,39 @@ Environment=SYSTEMD_SULOGIN_FORCE=1
       </itemizedlist>
     </section>
 
+    <section id="no-longer-supported-hardware">
+      <title>Hardware that's no longer supported</title>
+      <para>
+	Due to hardware limitations, it's no longer viable for Debian
+	to build the <literal>Linux</literal> kernel supporting a
+	number of armel based devices that were supported in
+	buster. The unsupported devices are:
+      </para>
+      <itemizedlist>
+	<listitem>
+	  <para>
+	    QNAP TS-109/TS-209, TS-119/TS-219 and TS-409
+	  </para>
+	</listitem>
+	<listitem>
+	  <para>
+	    HP Media Vault mv2120
+	  </para>
+	</listitem>
+      </itemizedlist>
+      <para>
+	Users of those platforms that wish to upgrade to bullseye
+	nevertheless should keep the buster APT sources enabled and,
+	before upgrading, add an APT preferences file containing
+	something like:
+	<programlisting>
+Package: linux-image-marvell
+Pin: release a=buster
+Pin-Priority: 900
+	</programlisting>
+	Obviously, the security support for this configuration will
+	end with the End Of Life of buster.
+      </para>
+    </section>
   </section>
 </chapter>
-- 
2.30.2

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