Re: [PATCH v6 1/2] Provide in-kernel headers to make extending kernel easier

[Joel Fernandes <joel@joelfernandes.org>]

On Tue, Apr 09, 2019 at 04:00:34PM +0100, Qais Yousef wrote:
> On 04/08/19 17:28, Joel Fernandes (Google) wrote:
> > Introduce in-kernel headers which are made available as an archive
> > through proc (/proc/kheaders.tar.xz file). This archive makes it
> > possible to run eBPF and other tracing programs tracing programs that
> > need to extend the kernel for tracing purposes without any dependency on
> > the file system having headers.
> > 
> > On Android and embedded systems, it is common to switch kernels but not
> > have kernel headers available on the file system. Further once a
> > different kernel is booted, any headers stored on the file system will
> > no longer be useful. By storing the headers as a compressed archive
> > within the kernel, we can avoid these issues that have been a hindrance
> > for a long time.
> > 
> > The best way to use this feature is by building it in. Several users
> > have a need for this, when they switch debug kernels, they donot want to
> > update the filesystem or worry about it where to store the headers on
> > it. However, the feature is also buildable as a module in case the user
> > desires it not being part of the kernel image. This makes it possible to
> > load and unload the headers from memory on demand. A tracing program, or
> > a kernel module builder can load the module, do its operations, and then
> > unload the module to save kernel memory. The total memory needed is 3.8MB.
> > 
> > By having the archive available at a fixed location independent of
> > filesystem dependencies and conventions, all debugging tools can
> > directly refer to the fixed location for the archive, without concerning
> > with where the headers on a typical filesystem which significantly
> > simplifies tooling that needs kernel headers.
> > 
> > The code to read the headers is based on /proc/config.gz code and uses
> > the same technique to embed the headers.
> > 
> > IKHD_ST and IKHD_ED markers as is to facilitate future patches that
> > would extract the headers from a kernel or module image.
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Joel Fernandes (Google) <joel@joelfernandes.org>
> 
> I applied both patches on 5.1-rc2 and managed to compile and run several
> eBPF programs using the untarred headers from /proc/kheaders.tar.xz on my juno.
> 
> Tested-by: Qais Yousef <qais.yousef@arm.com>

Thank you Qais!  Masahiro, if Ok with you now could you give your tag?

thanks,

 - Joel


> > ---
> > 
> >     v5 -> v6: (Masahiro Yamada suggestions mostly)
> >     - Dropped support for module building.
> >     - Rebuild archive if script changes.
> >     - Move archive file list to script.
> >     - Move build script to kernel directory.
> > 
> >     v4 -> v5:
> >     (v4 was Tested-by the following folks)
> >         Tested-by: qais.yousef@arm.com
> >         Tested-by: dietmar.eggemann@arm.com
> >         Tested-by: linux@manojrajarao.com
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> --
> Qais Yousef