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diff --git a/Documentation/networking/netdev-FAQ.txt b/Documentation/networking/netdev-FAQ.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fa951b820b25..000000000000 --- a/Documentation/networking/netdev-FAQ.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,244 +0,0 @@ - -Information you need to know about netdev ------------------------------------------ - -Q: What is netdev? - -A: It is a mailing list for all network-related Linux stuff. This includes - anything found under net/ (i.e. core code like IPv6) and drivers/net - (i.e. hardware specific drivers) in the Linux source tree. - - Note that some subsystems (e.g. wireless drivers) which have a high volume - of traffic have their own specific mailing lists. - - The netdev list is managed (like many other Linux mailing lists) through - VGER ( http://vger.kernel.org/ ) and archives can be found below: - - http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev - http://www.spinics.net/lists/netdev/ - - Aside from subsystems like that mentioned above, all network-related Linux - development (i.e. RFC, review, comments, etc.) takes place on netdev. - -Q: How do the changes posted to netdev make their way into Linux? - -A: There are always two trees (git repositories) in play. Both are driven - by David Miller, the main network maintainer. There is the "net" tree, - and the "net-next" tree. As you can probably guess from the names, the - net tree is for fixes to existing code already in the mainline tree from - Linus, and net-next is where the new code goes for the future release. - You can find the trees here: - - https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/davem/net.git - https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/davem/net-next.git - -Q: How often do changes from these trees make it to the mainline Linus tree? - -A: To understand this, you need to know a bit of background information - on the cadence of Linux development. Each new release starts off with - a two week "merge window" where the main maintainers feed their new - stuff to Linus for merging into the mainline tree. After the two weeks, - the merge window is closed, and it is called/tagged "-rc1". No new - features get mainlined after this -- only fixes to the rc1 content - are expected. After roughly a week of collecting fixes to the rc1 - content, rc2 is released. This repeats on a roughly weekly basis - until rc7 (typically; sometimes rc6 if things are quiet, or rc8 if - things are in a state of churn), and a week after the last vX.Y-rcN - was done, the official "vX.Y" is released. - - Relating that to netdev: At the beginning of the 2-week merge window, - the net-next tree will be closed - no new changes/features. The - accumulated new content of the past ~10 weeks will be passed onto - mainline/Linus via a pull request for vX.Y -- at the same time, - the "net" tree will start accumulating fixes for this pulled content - relating to vX.Y - - An announcement indicating when net-next has been closed is usually - sent to netdev, but knowing the above, you can predict that in advance. - - IMPORTANT: Do not send new net-next content to netdev during the - period during which net-next tree is closed. - - Shortly after the two weeks have passed (and vX.Y-rc1 is released), the - tree for net-next reopens to collect content for the next (vX.Y+1) release. - - If you aren't subscribed to netdev and/or are simply unsure if net-next - has re-opened yet, simply check the net-next git repository link above for - any new networking-related commits. You may also check the following - website for the current status: - - http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/net-next.html - - The "net" tree continues to collect fixes for the vX.Y content, and - is fed back to Linus at regular (~weekly) intervals. Meaning that the - focus for "net" is on stabilization and bugfixes. - - Finally, the vX.Y gets released, and the whole cycle starts over. - -Q: So where are we now in this cycle? - -A: Load the mainline (Linus) page here: - - https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - - and note the top of the "tags" section. If it is rc1, it is early - in the dev cycle. If it was tagged rc7 a week ago, then a release - is probably imminent. - -Q: How do I indicate which tree (net vs. net-next) my patch should be in? - -A: Firstly, think whether you have a bug fix or new "next-like" content. - Then once decided, assuming that you use git, use the prefix flag, i.e. - - git format-patch --subject-prefix='PATCH net-next' start..finish - - Use "net" instead of "net-next" (always lower case) in the above for - bug-fix net content. If you don't use git, then note the only magic in - the above is just the subject text of the outgoing e-mail, and you can - manually change it yourself with whatever MUA you are comfortable with. - -Q: I sent a patch and I'm wondering what happened to it. How can I tell - whether it got merged? - -A: Start by looking at the main patchworks queue for netdev: - - http://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/netdev/list/ - - The "State" field will tell you exactly where things are at with - your patch. - -Q: The above only says "Under Review". How can I find out more? - -A: Generally speaking, the patches get triaged quickly (in less than 48h). - So be patient. Asking the maintainer for status updates on your - patch is a good way to ensure your patch is ignored or pushed to - the bottom of the priority list. - -Q: I submitted multiple versions of the patch series, should I directly update - patchwork for the previous versions of these patch series? - -A: No, please don't interfere with the patch status on patchwork, leave it to - the maintainer to figure out what is the most recent and current version that - should be applied. If there is any doubt, the maintainer will reply and ask - what should be done. - -Q: How can I tell what patches are queued up for backporting to the - various stable releases? - -A: Normally Greg Kroah-Hartman collects stable commits himself, but - for networking, Dave collects up patches he deems critical for the - networking subsystem, and then hands them off to Greg. - - There is a patchworks queue that you can see here: - http://patchwork.ozlabs.org/bundle/davem/stable/?state=* - - It contains the patches which Dave has selected, but not yet handed - off to Greg. If Greg already has the patch, then it will be here: - https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/stable-queue.git - - A quick way to find whether the patch is in this stable-queue is - to simply clone the repo, and then git grep the mainline commit ID, e.g. - - stable-queue$ git grep -l 284041ef21fdf2e - releases/3.0.84/ipv6-fix-possible-crashes-in-ip6_cork_release.patch - releases/3.4.51/ipv6-fix-possible-crashes-in-ip6_cork_release.patch - releases/3.9.8/ipv6-fix-possible-crashes-in-ip6_cork_release.patch - stable/stable-queue$ - -Q: I see a network patch and I think it should be backported to stable. - Should I request it via "stable@vger.kernel.org" like the references in - the kernel's Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst file say? - -A: No, not for networking. Check the stable queues as per above 1st to see - if it is already queued. If not, then send a mail to netdev, listing - the upstream commit ID and why you think it should be a stable candidate. - - Before you jump to go do the above, do note that the normal stable rules - in Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst still apply. So you need to - explicitly indicate why it is a critical fix and exactly what users are - impacted. In addition, you need to convince yourself that you _really_ - think it has been overlooked, vs. having been considered and rejected. - - Generally speaking, the longer it has had a chance to "soak" in mainline, - the better the odds that it is an OK candidate for stable. So scrambling - to request a commit be added the day after it appears should be avoided. - -Q: I have created a network patch and I think it should be backported to - stable. Should I add a "Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org" like the references - in the kernel's Documentation/ directory say? - -A: No. See above answer. In short, if you think it really belongs in - stable, then ensure you write a decent commit log that describes who - gets impacted by the bugfix and how it manifests itself, and when the - bug was introduced. If you do that properly, then the commit will - get handled appropriately and most likely get put in the patchworks - stable queue if it really warrants it. - - If you think there is some valid information relating to it being in - stable that does _not_ belong in the commit log, then use the three - dash marker line as described in Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst to - temporarily embed that information into the patch that you send. - -Q: Are all networking bug fixes backported to all stable releases? - -A: Due to capacity, Dave could only take care of the backports for the last - 2 stable releases. For earlier stable releases, each stable branch maintainer - is supposed to take care of them. If you find any patch is missing from an - earlier stable branch, please notify stable@vger.kernel.org with either a - commit ID or a formal patch backported, and CC Dave and other relevant - networking developers. - -Q: Someone said that the comment style and coding convention is different - for the networking content. Is this true? - -A: Yes, in a largely trivial way. Instead of this: - - /* - * foobar blah blah blah - * another line of text - */ - - it is requested that you make it look like this: - - /* foobar blah blah blah - * another line of text - */ - -Q: I am working in existing code that has the former comment style and not the - latter. Should I submit new code in the former style or the latter? - -A: Make it the latter style, so that eventually all code in the domain of - netdev is of this format. - -Q: I found a bug that might have possible security implications or similar. - Should I mail the main netdev maintainer off-list? - -A: No. The current netdev maintainer has consistently requested that people - use the mailing lists and not reach out directly. If you aren't OK with - that, then perhaps consider mailing "security@kernel.org" or reading about - http://oss-security.openwall.org/wiki/mailing-lists/distros - as possible alternative mechanisms. - -Q: What level of testing is expected before I submit my change? - -A: If your changes are against net-next, the expectation is that you - have tested by layering your changes on top of net-next. Ideally you - will have done run-time testing specific to your change, but at a - minimum, your changes should survive an "allyesconfig" and an - "allmodconfig" build without new warnings or failures. - -Q: Any other tips to help ensure my net/net-next patch gets OK'd? - -A: Attention to detail. Re-read your own work as if you were the - reviewer. You can start with using checkpatch.pl, perhaps even - with the "--strict" flag. But do not be mindlessly robotic in - doing so. If your change is a bug-fix, make sure your commit log - indicates the end-user visible symptom, the underlying reason as - to why it happens, and then if necessary, explain why the fix proposed - is the best way to get things done. Don't mangle whitespace, and as - is common, don't mis-indent function arguments that span multiple lines. - If it is your first patch, mail it to yourself so you can test apply - it to an unpatched tree to confirm infrastructure didn't mangle it. - - Finally, go back and read Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst to be - sure you are not repeating some common mistake documented there. |