From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from smtp.gentoo.org (smtp.gentoo.org [134.68.220.30]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id j3J3t6w2022098 for ; Tue, 19 Apr 2005 03:55:06 GMT Received: from [72.9.236.50] (helo=sls-ce5p321.hostitnow.com) by smtp.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1DNjoz-0006xN-PD for gentoo-releng@lists.gentoo.org; Tue, 19 Apr 2005 03:54:45 +0000 Received: from c-67-181-38-200.hsd1.ca.comcast.net ([67.181.38.200] helo=[192.168.0.106]) by sls-ce5p321.hostitnow.com with esmtpa (Exim 4.50) id 1DNjp8-0001GQ-Gq for gentoo-releng@gentoo.org; Mon, 18 Apr 2005 23:54:54 -0400 Message-ID: <426479D2.1010206@securesystem.info> Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 12:24:02 +0900 From: Chris White User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0 (X11/20050222) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-releng@gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-releng@lists.gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 To: gentoo-releng@lists.gentoo.org Subject: [gentoo-releng] Automating the process of building kernel pci drivers X-Enigmail-Version: 0.90.2.0 X-Enigmail-Supports: pgp-inline, pgp-mime Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - sls-ce5p321.hostitnow.com X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - gentoo.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [47 12] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - securesystem.info X-Source: X-Source-Args: X-Source-Dir: X-Archives-Salt: a4b3b665-d864-4ff0-be1f-b1aa5f081d49 X-Archives-Hash: 62e1774d35f768e0c70c0fcc57be0b29 Hello all, Here's a proposal I had after talking over with some kernel devs and plasmaroo (since he works on genkernel): [ Introduction ] One of the most painstaking process in installing any linux distribution is the kernel. Some create tools to automate the process, others make kernels that have support for *, and end up somewhat bloated. In seeing this as a major issue for people trying to switch over to linux, I decided to take a look at what could be done. [ Framework ] When one does `make modules_install` for the kernel, a special file is created called modules.pcimap. This file associates pci modules with pci id's. That said, if one compiles all modules, a complete map would be created (there is a command to do this.. can't remember off the top of my head). This file could be used by a program to reference back and forth with lspci and have only the modules built for only the currently installed pci devices. This would clear up a fair amount of effort in figuring out what module is needed for what device, a somewhat frequently asked question. [ Gentoo Usage ] By utilizing the file with a userspace program (let's say genkernel), the current livecd's could be improved as far as hardware detection in the kernel. A one time pass on the kernel would create the map, and it would be shipped with the livecd. This would also help the existing installer automation potential. [ Issues ] This does come with a few questions though: 1) What if the device has no module? 2) Do we generate it for a specific kernel version for the livecd, or try multiple ones? 3) Do arches have any issues? 4) Is it possible for two modules to hold over the same device and possibly conflict with each other? 5) Could certain modules cause other modules to fail? Does a short rules list need to be created to prevent problematic combinations? 6) How should we approach the userspace program? Should we simply extend genkernel or go with something more specialized? [ Conclusion ] So, that is the basic proposal I wish to set forth. I'd like to also make note that I noticed earlier there is a modules.usbmap as well, which could possibly go hand in hand with lusb to achieve the same effect. That's it, thanks ahead of time for comments/suggestions/etc. I hope this will progress things further and make kernel building a lot less of a pain. Chris White http://www.securesystem.info "The meaning of life is to attach an idea to the word life" -- gentoo-releng@gentoo.org mailing list