[CentOS-devel] RFC: kmods SIG Proposal

Sun May 23 14:33:31 UTC 2021
Neal Gompa <ngompa13 at gmail.com>

On Sun, May 23, 2021 at 10:32 AM Peter Georg
<peter.georg at physik.uni-regensburg.de> wrote:
>
> Thanks to everyone for the input so far. I updated the original proposal
> to reflect your input. In case I forgot something, please let me know.
>
> Short summary of changes:
> - Added information about kmod specific user space tools
> - Specify concrete license requirements for third-party kernel modules
> - Added working on a solution for signing kernel modules to the Roadmap
> - Put more emphasis on collaboration with other existing efforts
>
> I am happy to hear all your comments and suggestions!
>
>
> The updated 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.
>
> === 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.
>
> === Third-party external kernel modules ===
> This SIG also aims to provide third-party kernel modules for CentOS
> Stream not (yet) available in upstream kernel.
>
> === User space tools ===
> User space tools required by or specific to kernel modules provided by
> this SIG, which are not suitable to be included in EPEL, shall be
> provided by this SIG as well.
>
> == 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:
>
> * Unrelated 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 a non GPL v2 compatible license
>
> == Collaboration ==
> It is desired to work closely together with other groups working on
> similar tasks within the CentOS Stream community and the broader
> Enterprise Linux community. In particular this includes, but is not
> limited to:
>
> === kernel-plus ===
> Especially for in-kernel modules (the first two groups identified above)
> it is desired to closely work together with the kernel-plus
> developers/maintainers.
>
> === CentOS Stream kernel ===
> A close collaboration with upstream is desired to get any valuable
> kernel module directly into the CentOS Stream kernel.
>
> === ELRepo ===
> There is a large overlap with ELRepo for many of the kernel modules to
> be provided by this SIG for CentOS Stream. Hence we hope to establish a
> good connection with the ELRepo community which shall be beneficial to
> both sides.
>
> == 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
>   * Work with other SIGs and others involved to establish a common
> work-flow to sign kernels and/or kernel modules provided by SIGs.
>
> == 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.
>

This looks great! :)



-- 
真実はいつも一つ!/ Always, there's only one truth!