[OpenAFS-devel] Openafs master kernel module does not build under Oracle Linux 3.8 unbreakable

[Dave Botsch]

Oracle is interesting as you have a choice of their kernel or the RedHat
compatible kernel. We use the RedHat compatible one... OpenAFS known to
work on RedHat being a big reason. But in the past OAFS has run off the
UEK kernel (when we booted it by accident). Maybe Oracle broke that,
now.

If you have a support contract with Oracle, you could certainly query
them about that. We don't have enough instances, unfortunately, to
dedicate an OEL box to the UEK kernel for stuff like this.

Though, if the UEK kernel is in Oracle's public yum repo, I certainly
would be willing to host a buildbot for OEL 6 if no one else can/etc.

On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 04:09:40PM -0500, Jeffrey Altman wrote:
> On 1/22/2015 6:53 AM, Karl Behler wrote:
> > Dear All,
> > 
> > we try to build openafs 1.6.10 or alternatively openafs master on our
> > Oracle Linux platform.
> > Linux lxaug27.aug.ipp.mpg.de 3.8.13-55.1.2.el6uek.x86_64 #2 SMP Thu Dec
> > 18 00:15:51 PST 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
> > 
> > We cloned the openafs master repository and started the build process
> > for branch openafs-stable-1_6_x as well as for master.
> > But make fails with:
> >
> > [deleted]
> >
> > Any idea what might be wrong with our kernel or our build trial?
> 
> Oracle maintains their own fork of the Linux kernel.  As is true with
> other commercial distributions, Oracle picks and chooses the patches it
> wants to apply and frequently has to rewrite them in significant ways.
> 
> Marc Dionne (Your File System Inc) researched this issue out of
> curiosity and determined that the build problem is the result of Oracle
> back-porting a more recent change to their own kernel but had to alter
> the patch in a manner that is incompatible with the approach used on the
> mainline kernel.
> 
> OpenAFS.org has decided that it does not have the resources to provide
> packaging and support downstream Linux distributions.  Especially rarely
> used distributions such as Oracle's.  If running OpenAFS on Oracle Linux
> is important to the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics I will make
> the following suggestions.
> 
> (1) The Institute should host Buildbot instances for each stable release
> of Oracle Linux that it would like to be supported.   This will permit
> the OpenAFS developer community to validate each patch submissions
> against the relevant platforms.
> 
> (2) If the Institute does not have Linux kernel developers on staff that
> are capable of diagnosing and submitting patches to OpenAFS for changes
> to Oracle Linux, it should consider purchasing a support contract with
> one of the commercial support providers for OpenAFS.  A list can be
> found at:
> 
>       http://www.openafs.org/support.html
> 
> If the Institute does not have an explicit need for Oracle Linux, it
> should consider one of the Linux distributions with better support for
> OpenAFS.  In particular Debian or Scientific Linux.
> 
> Jeffrey Altman
> Your File System Inc.
> 
> 



-- 
********************************
David William Botsch
Programmer/Analyst
@CNFComputing
botsch@cnf.cornell.edu
********************************