[OpenAFS-devel] Solaris afs.rc file damage

[Dean Anderson]

On Tue, 17 Apr 2007, Russ Allbery wrote:

> Dean Anderson <dean@av8.com> writes:
> 
> > The afs_syscall interface can, I expect, always be statically linked in
> > even if a kernel doesn't offer dynamic system calls.
> 
> Uh, where did you get static linking from?  I don't remember ever
> statically linking an AFS kernel module on Solaris.

If solaris,linux,etc remove dynamic system calls, then one will have to
statically link syscalls into the kernel, or use a dynamically loaded
pseudo driver.

> What are we even talking about at this point?  You're describing a method
> of handling kernel interfaces that I don't recognize at all.

Really? What did we do before there were dynamic modules?  I recall
having to relink the kernel with vendor-provided objects back in the old
days.  I suppose dynamic loading has become like cellphones and
blackberrys: No one remembers what we did before or how we survived
without them.  Their absence is now cause for panic. (pun intended ;-)

> > On systems that can support both interfaces dynamically, this isn't a
> > problem, and there is no need. But on systems that can't do both
> > dynamically, you will need a syscall module that can be statically
> > linked, and you will need a dynamically loaded driver module.
> 
> The only systems I know of that need static linking need it for *any*
> kernel module, regardless of what it's doing.

I think you missed the future tense in my statement above.  What happens
when Linux, etc removes dynamic system calls?  Then you will be able to
dynamically load drivers, but you will have to statically link system
calls and reboot like in the old days before dynamic loading.  Getting a
syscall installed on a system will be a slight pain, but may worth it in
at least some cases.

		--Dean

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