Re: [PATCH] Add new TAINT_KSPLICE flag for when a Ksplice update has been loaded.

[Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>]

On Mon, 2009-06-22 at 03:51 -0400, Jon Masters wrote:
> On Fri, 2009-06-19 at 22:11 +0200, Peter Zijlstra wrote:
> > On Fri, 2009-06-19 at 15:57 -0400, Tim Abbott wrote:
> > > Distributions and kerneloops.org have requested that the Ksplice
> > > rebootless update system taint the kernel the first time that a
> > > Ksplice update is installed, in order to assist with bug triage.
> > > 
> > > Ksplice uses a new taint flag, TAINT_KSPLICE, displayed as 'K', for
> > > this purpose.
> > > 
> > > We would like to confirm that this use of taint meets with the
> > > community's approval and get this taint flag registered in mainline.
> > > 
> > > Signed-off-by: Tim Abbott <tabbott@ksplice.com>
> > 
> > Since all of ksplice is still out-of-tree, it seems to me this taint
> > should be too.
> 
> Respectfully, I disagree.
> 
> The thing is, distribution maintainers and others would really benefit
> from knowing if this stuff is loaded today, before the possible eventual
> addition of ksplice upstream. We already have tainting for non-GPL code
> and I don't see us arguing about the fact that the kernel has no non-GPL
> code actually shipping in it to cause such taints to get set :)

But without ksplice patches you cannot ksplice, right? That is, there is
a non trivial patch to the kernel to make this happen afaik. If distros
ship that, then they can add this taint flag as well. No need to burden
mainline with any of that until it ksplice proper makes it in.