Recruiting Help in Smashing Kernel Bugs?

Orm asks: "As we all know, Linux version 3.0 (or 2.6) is about to get a feature freeze, meaning that it is bug hunting time. And as we saw on the kernel-summit, some people are afraid that not enough people are willing to try this new kernel, to help get those bugs smashed. My idea to get more people into this hunting, is to write a good paper on how to do it. Not a standard 'how to locate and fix bugs' but a document targeted towards people using 2.4.x today, who will want to help out. So what things should one need to know when testing a new kernel?"

"First: What is new? When I am running menuconfig/xconfig, is there something new I should look into? Will the old /dev directory be replaced with the new devfs-magic?

Second: What needs testing? I guess this is hand in hand with what is new, but you never know. The non-kernel-dev people may not know everything that has happened since 2.4.x., and there may be particular features that should be focused on more than others.

Finally: How do we do it? How should we test? What are the best ways to localize the bugs? How should we write a bug report? Whom should we send it to?

You do want our help, don't you?

I do hope to see this document at the same time as the feature-freeze. I also hope it will be a well-written piece, so many will feel the 'urge' to test the new kernel and give good feedback."

Comments

Re:2.5.44 doesn't compile for me...

[battjt]

Ditto.

I can't test software when the basics fail. I've not gotten 2.5.* to compile for even my most basic setup.

Features that are known to fail (obviously if they don't compile) should not be sent to testing.

Joe

Re:Whats critical for me...

[4of12]

NVidia.There's a love-hate thing.

I've got a Linux box with an nVidia binary driver that I use at work that's 99.9% great under 2.4.

Functionally, it's a great thing.

But I always see the same old exchange on the kernel mailing lists, as people can't get new kernels to work with the binary driver.

Then, someone like Alan Cox usually replies tersely that since they can't see the code for nVidia driver, that they can't help fix the problem. The kernel developers are looking at a black wall.

Meanwhile, I think the nVidia folks use code in their drivers that is encumbered by patents, NDA's , competitive advantage, so they simply won't release the code for the binary driver.

A stand-off, I guess. As long as folks at NVidia update their drivers I'll be fat and happy. If ever they don't, I'm totally hosed.

So: are the GPL'd nVidia drivers any good?

Re:Whats critical for me...

[SpaceLifeForm]

You can follow what's going one without filling up your inbox here.

How to test the kernel

[jgardn]

A lot of linux users don't know or have forgotten how to install a new kernel. A long time ago, the installers that came with the distributions couldn't hide much of that process from you, but nowadays, you can click through a couple of pages and get a working system.

Simple instructions on how to take your working Linux system, allocate a couple of gigs of your hard drive for testing, install your favorite distro on top of that, and then replace the kernel with the 2.5 one would go a long ways to getting people to try it out. Also, some pointers on what to look for while testing would be useful, and perhaps instructions on where to report problems so that they get handled would be nice. Where can we find this information if it already exists?

And isn't there some way to test a linux kernel without rebooting? I have heard of something like this, but it has been so long I don't know any of the details. It would be useful if someone could explain / point to that as well.

In short, it's not that we don't *want* to help, it's that we don't know *how*.