[OpenAFS-devel] Kernel module recompilation, stability, etc.

[Derrick J Brashear]

On Tue, 29 May 2001, Kuba Ober wrote:

> > > > If you build a 2.4.2-2 module without the extradefs stuff, it will be
> > > > broken. Likewise for any kernel with Alan Cox patches. The patch you
> > > > submitted undoes the fixes for this instead of fixing the problem
> > > > you're having. You need to find out why Makefile.extradefs isn't being
> > > > created as an empty file, instead of suppressing it.
> > >
> > > What goes into extradefs files? The default .rpm module doesn't have this
> > > file. I can obviously create it as an empty file, but will it help?
> >
> > Look at redhat.sh; In the default RPM Makefile.extradefs should just be
> > empty until redhat.sh runs.

[]

> Is redhat.sh created somehow in `automagic' way? I don't have it :-(

No; It is in the tar file, at least.

> > > Another thing is the link-creation brokenness, and this is a valid bug I
> > > assume.
> >
> > I don't remember, I'll have to go dig for your patch.
> 
> The search for $$v/asm in src/Makefile

Ok. Will check that.

> > > I can do this a few times. Sooner or later umount /afs complains about
> > > filesystem being busy, and that's it.
> >
> > There appear to be 2 problems, one with Linux 2.4 and one with AFS, both
> > are or seem to be inode leakage of some sort. The 2.4 problem is why it's
> > more prevalent with 2.4.
> 
> OK, I get it. Makes sense. Two sources of same problem - UGH. Good point.
> 
> Is there a chance that 2.4.3 would fix the kernel part of it? Somehow I feel 
> reluctant to try non-redhat blessed ;-) kernel, although I compile kernels 
> myself, so maybe it's worth a try...

2.4.3 may have had other problems, go to at least 2.4.4 if you wish to do
that. 

> > Only if you restart the client. Remember the server doesn't need the
> > module at all. The afsd becomes dead problem I've never seen; The afs
> > module becomes non-unloadable I've seen but never when I can get any
> > information about it. Can you get afsd to become useless while running a
> > kernel module built from the tar file? (on 2.4; on Redhat 2.2 kernels the
> > module should be the same)
> 
> Does klog & friends work without afsd & client module installed? It doesn't 
> seem to in my case :-(

No, they don't. 

> On the other hand, afsd becoming dead is esoteric. It does happen when you 
> try to kill it by hand (killall -9 afsd). Then even afsd -shutdown won't 
> help...

Well, don't try to kill -9 afsd; It won't work. If that's the only way
you're making it unhappy, then there's no other problem. What is causing
you to need to restart the client on a running host? Presumably *that* is
the real problem.

> Anyway, are Alan Cox's patches being integrated into the main kernel tree, or 
> is it some kind of `parallel-universe' trunk?

It's a parallel universe trunk, which is what makes testing all this so
much fun.

-D