Carrier Grade Linux/Gaps Alpha1

[troy.heber@xxxxxx (Troy Heber)]

On 05/26/08 21:01, Greg KH wrote:

> 	Priority: P3

The first thing you should take into account when looking at
requirements is the priority which ranges from P1 to P3 with P1 being
mandatory, P2 optional, and P3 "roadmap".

In this case the requirement is P3, thus it is a wishlist item.

> What is supposed to be achieved by this?

Obviously, faster boot times on multiprocessor machines. Just like the
broken PCI_MULTITHREAD_PROBE attempted to achieve.

> Why is it a requirement?

Because it was submitted to the CGL working group as requirement by a
contributor who would like to see the feature implemented in the Linux
kernel. It was evaluated by the working group, accepted, given an
appropriate priority, and finally placed in the gaps documented.

> What is supposed to happen if this is implemented?

In a perfect world the implementation would be flawless resulting in
faster boot times.

> Hint, it was implemented, went into a kernel.org kernel, and then later
> removed, does anyone want to tell me why you all want it back in?

Yes, there was an implementation, it was proven to be very buggy and
it was removed. However, that does not invalidate the concept. The
idea of loading drivers in parallel on a SMP machine to decrease
bootime is still a reasonable idea. Thus there is no good reason for
the CGL workgroup to remove it from being a wishlist gap.

> I thought you all were moving away from this kind of nonsense...

Why is it nonsense to have wishlist items? OK, we may not be able
achieve full parallel diver initialization. It still a reasonable goal
and any stride towards achieving it is still progress.

Troy