[openib-general] Re: [PATCH repost] remove ip_dev_find from addr.c

[Michael S. Tsirkin]

Quoting r. Bryan O'Sullivan <bos at pathscale.com>:
> Subject: Re: [PATCH repost] remove ip_dev_find from addr.c
> 
> On Wed, 2006-03-01 at 11:39 -0800, Sean Hefty wrote:
> 
> > If a kernel component is not ready to be merged upstream, then it likely
> > isn't of release quality.
> 
> I'm just asking for Michael's opinion.

I agree with Sean and Roland on this.

> However, there is another point to building my own kernel RPMs, which is
> that I need to verify that PathScale's not-yet-upstream driver works
> with the 1.0 userspace code.  It may be that our driver will be accepted
> into 2.6.17, but if not, we still have an internal need to test it and
> make sure it works.

Right, internal testing is what everyone does before pushing code upstream.
We just should be sure to avoid distributing out of kernel drivers as parts of
"official" 1.0 openib release.

> >   If the kernel code does not come from upstream, then what's 
> >   the goal of merging anything upstream?
> 
> In short: to make it easy for distributors to pick it up.
 
You are saying, kernel code comes from upstream, to make it
easier for distributors to pick it up? Right. This also
makes it easier for distributors to support and maintain it:
remember they have to backport fixes sometimes for several years,
the farther from mainline, the harder it is to do.

-- 
Michael S. Tsirkin
Staff Engineer, Mellanox Technologies