On Mon, Sep 22, 2003 at 09:30:28PM +1000, Herbert Xu wrote: > Matt Zimmerman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > So, I'm curious why you chose to make it a part of the Debian kernel source, > > rather than a separate patch (kernel-patch-ipsec or such). > > Well the reason for it to be in the default kernel-source is simple: > > The patch should be used on all default Debian kernel images unless > the arch maintainer chooses to override it.
But what are the criteria for what should be used on all default Debian kernel images? You seem to address this below... > > I suppose the more fundamental question is, what is your vision for the > > Debian kernel source? What do you feel belongs there, and what does not? > > Perhaps vision is too strong a word. > > I have some simple checks when it comes to patch inclusion: > > * Is it actively maintained by someone? > > If it's not maintained then there is very little chance for me to > include it as I have no time in fixing random breakages. > > * If it's a feature, can it be disabled/enabled at runtime? > > Sinec we're making generic kernels, this is a must. The presence > of the patch should not prevent me from doing something that I would > otherwise be able to do. > > If the patch only produces a module then it obviously passes this test. > > * If it's a bug fix, how bad are its side-effects? > > I'm not going to accept any bug fix that makes the kernel better for > 10% of the users but worse for the other 90%. > > * What size impact does it have to the binary kernel image? > > This is very important for the debian-boot team. > > Again it would be best if it was completely modularised. OK, these are very minimal criteria, and I think that probably many of the kernel-patch packages in Debian would fit them. Where would you draw the line? I currently patch my kernels with device-mapper, a few evms-related patches and skas3. It would be very convenient if device-mapper and the evms patches could be included in the the stock kernel; then users could use EVMS or LVM2 in stock kernel images. This is especially useful in the installer kernels. -- - mdz
