[Qemu-devel] KVM call minutes for Mar 15

[Chris Wright <chrisw@redhat.com>]

QAPI -- http://wiki.qemu.org/Features/QAPI
- please review!
- Anthony would like to see feedback and plans to commit in a week
  (assuming agreement and no major issues in review)
- some concern about the maintainability of code generation
  - but still nothing concrete on the list, need to review and discuss
    on the list
- some concern that implementation details may change the wire protocol
  - introduces a new mechanism for new signals (mask by default and
    enabled explicitly)
  - disagreement over when/how to introduce new extensions
- libvirt feedback?
  - no protocol level changes
    - old and new versions are testable with test suite and proves this
- c library implementation is critical to have unit tests and test
  driven development
  - thread safe?
    - no shared state, no statics.
    - threading model requires lock for the qmp session
  - licensiing?
    - LGPL
  - forwards/backwards compat?
    - designed with that in mind see wiki:
      
      http://wiki.qemu.org/Features/QAPI

QCFG -- http://wiki.qemu.org/Features/QCFG
- command line args translation to objects is complex and buggy
- schema + code generator to formalize this
- formally describe each command line option and generate code
  to build and validate objects
- provides systematic way to document command line options
- automatically 
- device_add does multiple conversions to go from qmp to qemuopts to
  objects
- move to basic c structures, and autogenerated marshalling code
- no plan to do this work soon, late in 0.15 cycle
  - same as qapi, fork a tree, do mass conversion and merge for 0.16 cycle
- qmp server mode to take all configuation commands before actually
  starting the guest
- can provide a config file 
- qdev...
  - could just bridge to setting and getting qdev properties
  - OR get to point where device objects go directly to qdev device init
- why not move command line to qmp instead of new schema?
  - single schema
- considerations for -M (didn't capture all of these)
- for all the details:
  
  http://wiki.qemu.org/Features/QCFG

Merging big changes
- in the past, evolving in tree has not worked well, leaving partial
  conversions
- QAPI/QCFG method of doing changes in external tree hopes to set new precedent
  - preserve patch/review on list
  - do full conversion
  - provide strong testing to show it works

Kemari merge plans
- just needs some ACKs
- Juan, Anthony, anybody else who is familiar with migration to review?

switch from gpxe to ipxe
- possible 0.15 release w/ ipxe (Alex looking into it)
- Michael Brown been helpful in fixing bugs, so compat
- Alex will send out mail soon on the details
- ipxe releases?  not yet, there are plans for it, should be coming RSN
- Stefan volunteers to help test