[CentOS-devel] RFC: kmods SIG Proposal

Wed May 19 15:56:30 UTC 2021
Peter Georg <peter.georg at physik.uni-regensburg.de>

Dear all,

I'd like to propose a SIG for CentOS Stream. Please see the proposal below.

Note: In case anyone has a better suggestion for a name, please let me 
know. I'm really terrible at naming things. And sorry in advance for any 
spelling or grammar mistakes (I'm not a native english speaker).

For everyone following the previously posted "RFC: Stream Kernel SIG 
Proposal": The goal of the "kmods" SIG proposed here has previously been 
proposed to be added to a potential "Stream Kernel SIG" as a fifth goal. 
However it seems to make sense to split the various different goals into 
seperate SIGs.

Disclaimer: I used the Hyperscale SIG description 
(https://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup/Hyperscale) as a template. 
I hope that's OK.


Best,

Peter


Proposal:
= kmods SIG =

== Goals ==
The kmods SIG will focus on providing kernel modules currently not 
available in CentOS Stream.

== Status ==
Proposed: RFC and looking for a sponsoring Governing Board member

== What's in scope ==
This SIG is a good place for any kernel module that is beneficial to 
CentOS Stream, but cannot be directly contributed to any of the involved 
upstream projects. These kernel modules may be divided in three categories:

=== Restore support for deprecated devices ===
The CentOS Stream kernel includes several kernel modules for which the 
list of supported devices has been limited by Red Hat. This SIG aims to 
provide versions of these kernel modules with restored support for as 
many deprecated and removed devices as possible.

A close collaboration with the kernel-plus developers is desired for 
these kernel modules.

=== In-kernel modules not enabled for CentOS Stream ===
Many in-kernel modules are simply disabled for the CentOS Stream kernel. 
This may either be due to  drivers being deprecated and removed compared 
to older CentOS major releases or never being enabled in the first 
place. This SIG aims to provide these in-kernel drivers as external 
kernel modules to enable CentOS Stream running on a broader range of 
available hardware and provide other beneficial functionality.

A close collaboration with the kernel-plus developers is desired for 
these kernel modules. In addition it is desired to work with upstream to 
get any valuable kernel modules directly into the CentOS Stream kernel.

=== Third-party external kernel modules ===
This SIG also aims to provide third-party kernel modules for CentOS 
Stream not (yet) available in upstream kernel.

== What's not in scope ==
Anything that can be contributed directly to any of the involved 
upstream projects is not in scope. This includes, but is not limited to:

* New user space packages: These should be submitted to Fedora/EPEL
* Support for new architectures currently not supported by CentOS Stream
* Third-party kernel modules with non compatible license

== Roadmap ==
  * Provide packages for in-kernel modules with restored support for 
deprecated devices
  * Provide packages for in-kernel modules that have been supported in 
older CentOS major releases
  * Provide packages for further beneficial kernel modules requested by 
the community

== Resources ==
TBD

== Communication ==
The SIG uses the 
[[https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-devel|centos-devel]] 
mailing list for coordination and communication.

TBD: Add note about regular meetings once established.

== Membership ==
The current set of members is:

##begin-members
  * ...
##end-members

The SIG is co-chaired by ... and ....

Everybody is welcome to join and contribute to the SIG. Membership can 
be requested by asking on the 
[[https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-devel|centos-devel]] 
mailing list. Any current member can raise objections and request a 
simple majority vote on membership applications. SIG members are 
expected to actively contribute or otherwise remain engaged with the 
project. Stale members may be removed by a simple majority vote after 
six months of inactivity.

The SIG is co-chaired by two equal chairpersons elected by SIG members 
for one year. Each chairperson is elected individually using a plurality 
vote.