Re: [PATCH] VMware balloon: force compiling as a module

[Dmitry Torokhov <dtor@vmware.com>]

On Tuesday, June 29, 2010 09:28:59 am Bruno Prémont wrote:
> On Tue, 29 June 2010 Alexander Clouter <alex@digriz.org.uk> wrote:
> > Dmitry Torokhov <dtor@vmware.com> wrote:
> > > VMware Tools installer requires the upstream driver to be compiled
> > > as a module in order to detect its presence and avoid installing
> > > our own version on top of it. To avoid surprises with 2 versions
> > > of the driver being installed and fighting with each other, let's
> > > force the driver to be compiled as a module unless user selects
> > > CONFIG_EMBEDDED.
> > 
> > *barf*
> > 
> > This surely is a problem in the installer and not the kernel?  Can you
> > not nosey around in /sys/class/misc or where-ever your driver appears?
> > If it does not, then I would probably suggest a patch to your balloon
> > driver that dumps some details in there, including module version
> > information.
> > 
> > Eugh.
> 
> In addition, the installer may check under /sys/module/ for it (as for
> any/most code that can be built as a module), even for built-in code.
> (if balloon driver does not show up there when built-in it would be
> better to get it to show up there)
> 

When driver is built-in the only thing exported in /sys/module/XXX are
module parameters.

We also need to handle scenario when module is not loaded into the
kernel.

Thanks.

-- 
Dmitry