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Re: Proposed removal of kernel AX.25 support



Hi,

On 27/07/2019 15:30, David Ranch wrote:
>> This was just an example. We have had issues on x86 and x86_64 where
>> packets would be emitted twice for no good reason, clogging up channels
>> with duplicates.
> 
> Hmmm.. I'm not sure if I've seen this issue.  Is this reproducible?

I have reproduced this issue myself. The bug is #783160.

> Yes..  since I started with Linux packet around 2009, I've seen both
> segfaults and even kernel panics.  It seems that every time, the issue
> was around sequencing or misconfiguration.

To be clear, segfaults and kernel panics should *never* occur as a
result of software that is released in Debian stable. This is just
totally unacceptable and it's really quite embarrassing that we have
been shipping these packages in this state.

> I've been contemplating what it would take to modify the libax25 program
> to translate calls into AGW calls that some userland tool like Direwolf
> could support.  I think a lot of it could be done but I'm not 100% sure
> that everything could be carried over.  I still believe that there are
> definite benefits in having the AX25 stack in the kernel so I'd like to
> see that get fixed. 

That would be a really interesting approach. I had not thought of this
but I like it!

> Yes.. I've reached out to several people and some people stated
> interested but I haven't had any real traction.  Most recently, I've
> made a proposal to the ARDC / AMPR44 group to see if we can get a grant
> to get this work done by established professional kernel developers. 
> Their grant process is still developing but I remain hopeful this could
> fast track the effort.

Ok, the work is really needed but I do wonder if these groups are even
running recent software anyway.

Thanks,
Iain.

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