diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/admin-guide')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/blockdev/zram.rst | 20 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst | 1 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/iostats.rst | 6 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt | 18 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/perf/index.rst | 1 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst | 73 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-regressions.rst | 451 |
7 files changed, 520 insertions, 50 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/blockdev/zram.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/blockdev/zram.rst index 3e11926a4df9..54fe63745ed8 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/blockdev/zram.rst +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/blockdev/zram.rst @@ -315,8 +315,8 @@ To use the feature, admin should set up backing device via:: echo /dev/sda5 > /sys/block/zramX/backing_dev -before disksize setting. It supports only partition at this moment. -If admin wants to use incompressible page writeback, they could do via:: +before disksize setting. It supports only partitions at this moment. +If admin wants to use incompressible page writeback, they could do it via:: echo huge > /sys/block/zramX/writeback @@ -341,9 +341,9 @@ Admin can request writeback of those idle pages at right timing via:: echo idle > /sys/block/zramX/writeback -With the command, zram writeback idle pages from memory to the storage. +With the command, zram will writeback idle pages from memory to the storage. -If admin want to write a specific page in zram device to backing device, +If an admin wants to write a specific page in zram device to the backing device, they could write a page index into the interface. echo "page_index=1251" > /sys/block/zramX/writeback @@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ to guarantee storage health for entire product life. To overcome the concern, zram supports "writeback_limit" feature. The "writeback_limit_enable"'s default value is 0 so that it doesn't limit -any writeback. IOW, if admin wants to apply writeback budget, he should +any writeback. IOW, if admin wants to apply writeback budget, they should enable writeback_limit_enable via:: $ echo 1 > /sys/block/zramX/writeback_limit_enable @@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ until admin sets the budget via /sys/block/zramX/writeback_limit. (If admin doesn't enable writeback_limit_enable, writeback_limit's value assigned via /sys/block/zramX/writeback_limit is meaningless.) -If admin want to limit writeback as per-day 400M, he could do it +If admin wants to limit writeback as per-day 400M, they could do it like below:: $ MB_SHIFT=20 @@ -375,16 +375,16 @@ like below:: $ echo 1 > /sys/block/zram0/writeback_limit_enable If admins want to allow further write again once the budget is exhausted, -he could do it like below:: +they could do it like below:: $ echo $((400<<MB_SHIFT>>4K_SHIFT)) > \ /sys/block/zram0/writeback_limit -If admin wants to see remaining writeback budget since last set:: +If an admin wants to see the remaining writeback budget since last set:: $ cat /sys/block/zramX/writeback_limit -If admin want to disable writeback limit, he could do:: +If an admin wants to disable writeback limit, they could do:: $ echo 0 > /sys/block/zramX/writeback_limit_enable @@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ system reboot, echo 1 > /sys/block/zramX/reset) so keeping how many of writeback happened until you reset the zram to allocate extra writeback budget in next setting is user's job. -If admin wants to measure writeback count in a certain period, he could +If admin wants to measure writeback count in a certain period, they could know it via /sys/block/zram0/bd_stat's 3rd column. memory tracking diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst index 1bedab498104..5bfafcbb9562 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst @@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ problems and bugs in particular. :maxdepth: 1 reporting-issues + reporting-regressions security-bugs bug-hunting bug-bisect diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/iostats.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/iostats.rst index 9b14b0c2c9c4..609a3201fd4e 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/iostats.rst +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/iostats.rst @@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ Field 3 -- # of sectors read (unsigned long) Field 4 -- # of milliseconds spent reading (unsigned int) This is the total number of milliseconds spent by all reads (as - measured from __make_request() to end_that_request_last()). + measured from blk_mq_alloc_request() to __blk_mq_end_request()). Field 5 -- # of writes completed (unsigned long) This is the total number of writes completed successfully. @@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ Field 7 -- # of sectors written (unsigned long) Field 8 -- # of milliseconds spent writing (unsigned int) This is the total number of milliseconds spent by all writes (as - measured from __make_request() to end_that_request_last()). + measured from blk_mq_alloc_request() to __blk_mq_end_request()). Field 9 -- # of I/Os currently in progress (unsigned int) The only field that should go to zero. Incremented as requests are @@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ Field 14 -- # of sectors discarded (unsigned long) Field 15 -- # of milliseconds spent discarding (unsigned int) This is the total number of milliseconds spent by all discards (as - measured from __make_request() to end_that_request_last()). + measured from blk_mq_alloc_request() to __blk_mq_end_request()). Field 16 -- # of flush requests completed This is the total number of flush requests completed successfully. diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt index 98fa63d93ac5..c2d1f8b5e8f3 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt @@ -2827,6 +2827,9 @@ For details see: Documentation/admin-guide/hw-vuln/mds.rst + mem=nn[KMG] [HEXAGON] Set the memory size. + Must be specified, otherwise memory size will be 0. + mem=nn[KMG] [KNL,BOOT] Force usage of a specific amount of memory Amount of memory to be used in cases as follows: @@ -2834,6 +2837,13 @@ 2 when the kernel is not able to see the whole system memory; 3 memory that lies after 'mem=' boundary is excluded from the hypervisor, then assigned to KVM guests. + 4 to limit the memory available for kdump kernel. + + [ARC,MICROBLAZE] - the limit applies only to low memory, + high memory is not affected. + + [ARM64] - only limits memory covered by the linear + mapping. The NOMAP regions are not affected. [X86] Work as limiting max address. Use together with memmap= to avoid physical address space collisions. @@ -2844,6 +2854,14 @@ in above case 3, memory may need be hot added after boot if system memory of hypervisor is not sufficient. + mem=nn[KMG]@ss[KMG] + [ARM,MIPS] - override the memory layout reported by + firmware. + Define a memory region of size nn[KMG] starting at + ss[KMG]. + Multiple different regions can be specified with + multiple mem= parameters on the command line. + mem=nopentium [BUGS=X86-32] Disable usage of 4MB pages for kernel memory. diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/perf/index.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/perf/index.rst index 5a8f2529a033..69b23f087c05 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/perf/index.rst +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/perf/index.rst @@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Performance monitor support :maxdepth: 1 hisi-pmu + hisi-pcie-pmu imx-ddr qcom_l2_pmu qcom_l3_pmu diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst index d7ac13f789cc..ec62151fe672 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst @@ -1,14 +1,5 @@ .. SPDX-License-Identifier: (GPL-2.0+ OR CC-BY-4.0) -.. - If you want to distribute this text under CC-BY-4.0 only, please use 'The - Linux kernel developers' for author attribution and link this as source: - https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/plain/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst -.. - Note: Only the content of this RST file as found in the Linux kernel sources - is available under CC-BY-4.0, as versions of this text that were processed - (for example by the kernel's build system) might contain content taken from - files which use a more restrictive license. - +.. See the bottom of this file for additional redistribution information. Reporting issues ++++++++++++++++ @@ -395,22 +386,16 @@ fixed as soon as possible, hence there are 'issues of high priority' that get handled slightly differently in the reporting process. Three type of cases qualify: regressions, security issues, and really severe problems. -You deal with a 'regression' if something that worked with an older version of -the Linux kernel does not work with a newer one or somehow works worse with it. -It thus is a regression when a WiFi driver that did a fine job with Linux 5.7 -somehow misbehaves with 5.8 or doesn't work at all. It's also a regression if -an application shows erratic behavior with a newer kernel, which might happen -due to incompatible changes in the interface between the kernel and the -userland (like procfs and sysfs). Significantly reduced performance or -increased power consumption also qualify as regression. But keep in mind: the -new kernel needs to be built with a configuration that is similar to the one -from the old kernel (see below how to achieve that). That's because the kernel -developers sometimes can not avoid incompatibilities when implementing new -features; but to avoid regressions such features have to be enabled explicitly -during build time configuration. +You deal with a regression if some application or practical use case running +fine with one Linux kernel works worse or not at all with a newer version +compiled using a similar configuration. The document +Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-regressions.rst explains this in more +detail. It also provides a good deal of other information about regressions you +might want to be aware of; it for example explains how to add your issue to the +list of tracked regressions, to ensure it won't fall through the cracks. What qualifies as security issue is left to your judgment. Consider reading -'Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst' before proceeding, as it +Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst before proceeding, as it provides additional details how to best handle security issues. An issue is a 'really severe problem' when something totally unacceptably bad @@ -517,7 +502,7 @@ line starting with 'CPU:'. It should end with 'Not tainted' if the kernel was not tainted when it noticed the problem; it was tainted if you see 'Tainted:' followed by a few spaces and some letters. -If your kernel is tainted, study 'Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst' +If your kernel is tainted, study Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst to find out why. Try to eliminate the reason. Often it's caused by one these three things: @@ -1043,7 +1028,7 @@ down the culprit, as maintainers often won't have the time or setup at hand to reproduce it themselves. To find the change there is a process called 'bisection' which the document -'Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst' describes in detail. That process +Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst describes in detail. That process will often require you to build about ten to twenty kernel images, trying to reproduce the issue with each of them before building the next. Yes, that takes some time, but don't worry, it works a lot quicker than most people assume. @@ -1073,10 +1058,11 @@ When dealing with regressions make sure the issue you face is really caused by the kernel and not by something else, as outlined above already. In the whole process keep in mind: an issue only qualifies as regression if the -older and the newer kernel got built with a similar configuration. The best way -to archive this: copy the configuration file (``.config``) from the old working -kernel freshly to each newer kernel version you try. Afterwards run ``make -olddefconfig`` to adjust it for the needs of the new version. +older and the newer kernel got built with a similar configuration. This can be +achieved by using ``make olddefconfig``, as explained in more detail by +Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-regressions.rst; that document also +provides a good deal of other information about regressions you might want to be +aware of. Write and send the report @@ -1283,7 +1269,7 @@ them when sending the report by mail. If you filed it in a bug tracker, forward the report's text to these addresses; but on top of it put a small note where you mention that you filed it with a link to the ticket. -See 'Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst' for more information. +See Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst for more information. Duties after the report went out @@ -1571,7 +1557,7 @@ Once your report is out your might get asked to do a proper one, as it allows to pinpoint the exact change that causes the issue (which then can easily get reverted to fix the issue quickly). Hence consider to do a proper bisection right away if time permits. See the section 'Special care for regressions' and -the document 'Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst' for details how to +the document Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst for details how to perform one. In case of a successful bisection add the author of the culprit to the recipients; also CC everyone in the signed-off-by chain, which you find at the end of its commit message. @@ -1594,7 +1580,7 @@ Some fixes are too complex Even small and seemingly obvious code-changes sometimes introduce new and totally unexpected problems. The maintainers of the stable and longterm kernels are very aware of that and thus only apply changes to these kernels that are -within rules outlined in 'Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst'. +within rules outlined in Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst. Complex or risky changes for example do not qualify and thus only get applied to mainline. Other fixes are easy to get backported to the newest stable and @@ -1756,10 +1742,23 @@ art will lay some groundwork to improve the situation over time. .. - This text is maintained by Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@leemhuis.info>. If you - spot a typo or small mistake, feel free to let him know directly and he'll - fix it. You are free to do the same in a mostly informal way if you want - to contribute changes to the text, but for copyright reasons please CC + end-of-content +.. + This document is maintained by Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@leemhuis.info>. If + you spot a typo or small mistake, feel free to let him know directly and + he'll fix it. You are free to do the same in a mostly informal way if you + want to contribute changes to the text, but for copyright reasons please CC linux-doc@vger.kernel.org and "sign-off" your contribution as Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst outlines in the section "Sign your work - the Developer's Certificate of Origin". +.. + This text is available under GPL-2.0+ or CC-BY-4.0, as stated at the top + of the file. If you want to distribute this text under CC-BY-4.0 only, + please use "The Linux kernel developers" for author attribution and link + this as source: + https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/plain/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst +.. + Note: Only the content of this RST file as found in the Linux kernel sources + is available under CC-BY-4.0, as versions of this text that were processed + (for example by the kernel's build system) might contain content taken from + files which use a more restrictive license. diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-regressions.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-regressions.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..d8adccdae23f --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-regressions.rst @@ -0,0 +1,451 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: (GPL-2.0+ OR CC-BY-4.0) +.. [see the bottom of this file for redistribution information] + +Reporting regressions ++++++++++++++++++++++ + +"*We don't cause regressions*" is the first rule of Linux kernel development; +Linux founder and lead developer Linus Torvalds established it himself and +ensures it's obeyed. + +This document describes what the rule means for users and how the Linux kernel's +development model ensures to address all reported regressions; aspects relevant +for kernel developers are left to Documentation/process/handling-regressions.rst. + + +The important bits (aka "TL;DR") +================================ + +#. It's a regression if something running fine with one Linux kernel works worse + or not at all with a newer version. Note, the newer kernel has to be compiled + using a similar configuration; the detailed explanations below describes this + and other fine print in more detail. + +#. Report your issue as outlined in Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst, + it already covers all aspects important for regressions and repeated + below for convenience. Two of them are important: start your report's subject + with "[REGRESSION]" and CC or forward it to `the regression mailing list + <https://lore.kernel.org/regressions/>`_ (regressions@lists.linux.dev). + +#. Optional, but recommended: when sending or forwarding your report, make the + Linux kernel regression tracking bot "regzbot" track the issue by specifying + when the regression started like this:: + + #regzbot introduced v5.13..v5.14-rc1 + + +All the details on Linux kernel regressions relevant for users +============================================================== + + +The important basics +-------------------- + + +What is a "regression" and what is the "no regressions rule"? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +It's a regression if some application or practical use case running fine with +one Linux kernel works worse or not at all with a newer version compiled using a +similar configuration. The "no regressions rule" forbids this to take place; if +it happens by accident, developers that caused it are expected to quickly fix +the issue. + +It thus is a regression when a WiFi driver from Linux 5.13 works fine, but with +5.14 doesn't work at all, works significantly slower, or misbehaves somehow. +It's also a regression if a perfectly working application suddenly shows erratic +behavior with a newer kernel version; such issues can be caused by changes in +procfs, sysfs, or one of the many other interfaces Linux provides to userland +software. But keep in mind, as mentioned earlier: 5.14 in this example needs to +be built from a configuration similar to the one from 5.13. This can be achieved +using ``make olddefconfig``, as explained in more detail below. + +Note the "practical use case" in the first sentence of this section: developers +despite the "no regressions" rule are free to change any aspect of the kernel +and even APIs or ABIs to userland, as long as no existing application or use +case breaks. + +Also be aware the "no regressions" rule covers only interfaces the kernel +provides to the userland. It thus does not apply to kernel-internal interfaces +like the module API, which some externally developed drivers use to hook into +the kernel. + +How do I report a regression? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Just report the issue as outlined in +Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst, it already describes the +important points. The following aspects outlined there are especially relevant +for regressions: + + * When checking for existing reports to join, also search the `archives of the + Linux regressions mailing list <https://lore.kernel.org/regressions/>`_ and + `regzbot's web-interface <https://linux-regtracking.leemhuis.info/regzbot/>`_. + + * Start your report's subject with "[REGRESSION]". + + * In your report, clearly mention the last kernel version that worked fine and + the first broken one. Ideally try to find the exact change causing the + regression using a bisection, as explained below in more detail. + + * Remember to let the Linux regressions mailing list + (regressions@lists.linux.dev) know about your report: + + * If you report the regression by mail, CC the regressions list. + + * If you report your regression to some bug tracker, forward the submitted + report by mail to the regressions list while CCing the maintainer and the + mailing list for the subsystem in question. + + If it's a regression within a stable or longterm series (e.g. + v5.15.3..v5.15.5), remember to CC the `Linux stable mailing list + <https://lore.kernel.org/stable/>`_ (stable@vger.kernel.org). + + In case you performed a successful bisection, add everyone to the CC the + culprit's commit message mentions in lines starting with "Signed-off-by:". + +When CCing for forwarding your report to the list, consider directly telling the +aforementioned Linux kernel regression tracking bot about your report. To do +that, include a paragraph like this in your mail:: + + #regzbot introduced: v5.13..v5.14-rc1 + +Regzbot will then consider your mail a report for a regression introduced in the +specified version range. In above case Linux v5.13 still worked fine and Linux +v5.14-rc1 was the first version where you encountered the issue. If you +performed a bisection to find the commit that caused the regression, specify the +culprit's commit-id instead:: + + #regzbot introduced: 1f2e3d4c5d + +Placing such a "regzbot command" is in your interest, as it will ensure the +report won't fall through the cracks unnoticed. If you omit this, the Linux +kernel's regressions tracker will take care of telling regzbot about your +regression, as long as you send a copy to the regressions mailing lists. But the +regression tracker is just one human which sometimes has to rest or occasionally +might even enjoy some time away from computers (as crazy as that might sound). +Relying on this person thus will result in an unnecessary delay before the +regressions becomes mentioned `on the list of tracked and unresolved Linux +kernel regressions <https://linux-regtracking.leemhuis.info/regzbot/>`_ and the +weekly regression reports sent by regzbot. Such delays can result in Linus +Torvalds being unaware of important regressions when deciding between "continue +development or call this finished and release the final?". + +Are really all regressions fixed? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Nearly all of them are, as long as the change causing the regression (the +"culprit commit") is reliably identified. Some regressions can be fixed without +this, but often it's required. + +Who needs to find the root cause of a regression? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Developers of the affected code area should try to locate the culprit on their +own. But for them that's often impossible to do with reasonable effort, as quite +a lot of issues only occur in a particular environment outside the developer's +reach -- for example, a specific hardware platform, firmware, Linux distro, +system's configuration, or application. That's why in the end it's often up to +the reporter to locate the culprit commit; sometimes users might even need to +run additional tests afterwards to pinpoint the exact root cause. Developers +should offer advice and reasonably help where they can, to make this process +relatively easy and achievable for typical users. + +How can I find the culprit? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Perform a bisection, as roughly outlined in +Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst and described in more detail by +Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst. It might sound like a lot of work, but +in many cases finds the culprit relatively quickly. If it's hard or +time-consuming to reliably reproduce the issue, consider teaming up with other +affected users to narrow down the search range together. + +Who can I ask for advice when it comes to regressions? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Send a mail to the regressions mailing list (regressions@lists.linux.dev) while +CCing the Linux kernel's regression tracker (regressions@leemhuis.info); if the +issue might better be dealt with in private, feel free to omit the list. + + +Additional details about regressions +------------------------------------ + + +What is the goal of the "no regressions rule"? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Users should feel safe when updating kernel versions and not have to worry +something might break. This is in the interest of the kernel developers to make +updating attractive: they don't want users to stay on stable or longterm Linux +series that are either abandoned or more than one and a half years old. That's +in everybody's interest, as `those series might have known bugs, security +issues, or other problematic aspects already fixed in later versions +<http://www.kroah.com/log/blog/2018/08/24/what-stable-kernel-should-i-use/>`_. +Additionally, the kernel developers want to make it simple and appealing for +users to test the latest pre-release or regular release. That's also in +everybody's interest, as it's a lot easier to track down and fix problems, if +they are reported shortly after being introduced. + +Is the "no regressions" rule really adhered in practice? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +It's taken really seriously, as can be seen by many mailing list posts from +Linux creator and lead developer Linus Torvalds, some of which are quoted in +Documentation/process/handling-regressions.rst. + +Exceptions to this rule are extremely rare; in the past developers almost always +turned out to be wrong when they assumed a particular situation was warranting +an exception. + +Who ensures the "no regressions" is actually followed? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The subsystem maintainers should take care of that, which are watched and +supported by the tree maintainers -- e.g. Linus Torvalds for mainline and +Greg Kroah-Hartman et al. for various stable/longterm series. + +All of them are helped by people trying to ensure no regression report falls +through the cracks. One of them is Thorsten Leemhuis, who's currently acting as +the Linux kernel's "regressions tracker"; to facilitate this work he relies on +regzbot, the Linux kernel regression tracking bot. That's why you want to bring +your report on the radar of these people by CCing or forwarding each report to +the regressions mailing list, ideally with a "regzbot command" in your mail to +get it tracked immediately. + +How quickly are regressions normally fixed? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Developers should fix any reported regression as quickly as possible, to provide +affected users with a solution in a timely manner and prevent more users from +running into the issue; nevertheless developers need to take enough time and +care to ensure regression fixes do not cause additional damage. + +The answer thus depends on various factors like the impact of a regression, its +age, or the Linux series in which it occurs. In the end though, most regressions +should be fixed within two weeks. + +Is it a regression, if the issue can be avoided by updating some software? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Almost always: yes. If a developer tells you otherwise, ask the regression +tracker for advice as outlined above. + +Is it a regression, if a newer kernel works slower or consumes more energy? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Yes, but the difference has to be significant. A five percent slow-down in a +micro-benchmark thus is unlikely to qualify as regression, unless it also +influences the results of a broad benchmark by more than one percent. If in +doubt, ask for advice. + +Is it a regression, if an external kernel module breaks when updating Linux? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +No, as the "no regression" rule is about interfaces and services the Linux +kernel provides to the userland. It thus does not cover building or running +externally developed kernel modules, as they run in kernel-space and hook into +the kernel using internal interfaces occasionally changed. + +How are regressions handled that are caused by security fixes? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +In extremely rare situations security issues can't be fixed without causing +regressions; those fixes are given way, as they are the lesser evil in the end. +Luckily this middling almost always can be avoided, as key developers for the +affected area and often Linus Torvalds himself try very hard to fix security +issues without causing regressions. + +If you nevertheless face such a case, check the mailing list archives if people +tried their best to avoid the regression. If not, report it; if in doubt, ask +for advice as outlined above. + +What happens if fixing a regression is impossible without causing another? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Sadly these things happen, but luckily not very often; if they occur, expert +developers of the affected code area should look into the issue to find a fix +that avoids regressions or at least their impact. If you run into such a +situation, do what was outlined already for regressions caused by security +fixes: check earlier discussions if people already tried their best and ask for +advice if in doubt. + +A quick note while at it: these situations could be avoided, if people would +regularly give mainline pre-releases (say v5.15-rc1 or -rc3) from each +development cycle a test run. This is best explained by imagining a change +integrated between Linux v5.14 and v5.15-rc1 which causes a regression, but at +the same time is a hard requirement for some other improvement applied for +5.15-rc1. All these changes often can simply be reverted and the regression thus +solved, if someone finds and reports it before 5.15 is released. A few days or +weeks later this solution can become impossible, as some software might have +started to rely on aspects introduced by one of the follow-up changes: reverting +all changes would then cause a regression for users of said software and thus is +out of the question. + +Is it a regression, if some feature I relied on was removed months ago? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +It is, but often it's hard to fix such regressions due to the aspects outlined +in the previous section. It hence needs to be dealt with on a case-by-case +basis. This is another reason why it's in everybody's interest to regularly test +mainline pre-releases. + +Does the "no regression" rule apply if I seem to be the only affected person? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +It does, but only for practical usage: the Linux developers want to be free to +remove support for hardware only to be found in attics and museums anymore. + +Note, sometimes regressions can't be avoided to make progress -- and the latter +is needed to prevent Linux from stagnation. Hence, if only very few users seem +to be affected by a regression, it for the greater good might be in their and +everyone else's interest to lettings things pass. Especially if there is an +easy way to circumvent the regression somehow, for example by updating some +software or using a kernel parameter created just for this purpose. + +Does the regression rule apply for code in the staging tree as well? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Not according to the `help text for the configuration option covering all +staging code <https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/staging/Kconfig>`_, +which since its early days states:: + + Please note that these drivers are under heavy development, may or + may not work, and may contain userspace interfaces that most likely + will be changed in the near future. + +The staging developers nevertheless often adhere to the "no regressions" rule, +but sometimes bend it to make progress. That's for example why some users had to +deal with (often negligible) regressions when a WiFi driver from the staging +tree was replaced by a totally different one written from scratch. + +Why do later versions have to be "compiled with a similar configuration"? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Because the Linux kernel developers sometimes integrate changes known to cause +regressions, but make them optional and disable them in the kernel's default +configuration. This trick allows progress, as the "no regressions" rule +otherwise would lead to stagnation. + +Consider for example a new security feature blocking access to some kernel +interfaces often abused by malware, which at the same time are required to run a +few rarely used applications. The outlined approach makes both camps happy: +people using these applications can leave the new security feature off, while +everyone else can enable it without running into trouble. + +How to create a configuration similar to the one of an older kernel? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Start your machine with a known-good kernel and configure the newer Linux +version with ``make olddefconfig``. This makes the kernel's build scripts pick +up the configuration file (the ".config" file) from the running kernel as base +for the new one you are about to compile; afterwards they set all new +configuration options to their default value, which should disable new features +that might cause regressions. + +Can I report a regression I found with pre-compiled vanilla kernels? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +You need to ensure the newer kernel was compiled with a similar configuration +file as the older one (see above), as those that built them might have enabled +some known-to-be incompatible feature for the newer kernel. If in doubt, report +the matter to the kernel's provider and ask for advice. + + +More about regression tracking with "regzbot" +--------------------------------------------- + +What is regression tracking and why should I care about it? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Rules like "no regressions" need someone to ensure they are followed, otherwise +they are broken either accidentally or on purpose. History has shown this to be +true for Linux kernel development as well. That's why Thorsten Leemhuis, the +Linux Kernel's regression tracker, and some people try to ensure all regression +are fixed by keeping an eye on them until they are resolved. Neither of them are +paid for this, that's why the work is done on a best effort basis. + +Why and how are Linux kernel regressions tracked using a bot? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Tracking regressions completely manually has proven to be quite hard due to the +distributed and loosely structured nature of Linux kernel development process. +That's why the Linux kernel's regression tracker developed regzbot to facilitate +the work, with the long term goal to automate regression tracking as much as +possible for everyone involved. + +Regzbot works by watching for replies to reports of tracked regressions. +Additionally, it's looking out for posted or committed patches referencing such +reports with "Link:" tags; replies to such patch postings are tracked as well. +Combined this data provides good insights into the current state of the fixing +process. + +How to see which regressions regzbot tracks currently? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Check out `regzbot's web-interface <https://linux-regtracking.leemhuis.info/regzbot/>`_. + +What kind of issues are supposed to be tracked by regzbot? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The bot is meant to track regressions, hence please don't involve regzbot for +regular issues. But it's okay for the Linux kernel's regression tracker if you +involve regzbot to track severe issues, like reports about hangs, corrupted +data, or internal errors (Panic, Oops, BUG(), warning, ...). + +How to change aspects of a tracked regression? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +By using a 'regzbot command' in a direct or indirect reply to the mail with the +report. The easiest way to do that: find the report in your "Sent" folder or the +mailing list archive and reply to it using your mailer's "Reply-all" function. +In that mail, use one of the following commands in a stand-alone paragraph (IOW: +use blank lines to separate one or multiple of these commands from the rest of +the mail's text). + + * Update when the regression started to happen, for example after performing a + bisection:: + + #regzbot introduced: 1f2e3d4c5d + + * Set or update the title:: + + #regzbot title: foo + + * Monitor a discussion or bugzilla.kernel.org ticket where additions aspects of + the issue or a fix are discussed::: + + #regzbot monitor: https://lore.kernel.org/r/30th.anniversary.repost@klaava.Helsinki.FI/ + #regzbot monitor: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=123456789 + + * Point to a place with further details of interest, like a mailing list post + or a ticket in a bug tracker that are slightly related, but about a different + topic:: + + #regzbot link: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=123456789 + + * Mark a regression as invalid:: + + #regzbot invalid: wasn't a regression, problem has always existed + +Regzbot supports a few other commands primarily used by developers or people +tracking regressions. They and more details about the aforementioned regzbot +commands can be found in the `getting started guide +<https://gitlab.com/knurd42/regzbot/-/blob/main/docs/getting_started.md>`_ and +the `reference documentation <https://gitlab.com/knurd42/regzbot/-/blob/main/docs/reference.md>`_ +for regzbot. + +.. + end-of-content +.. + This text is available under GPL-2.0+ or CC-BY-4.0, as stated at the top + of the file. If you want to distribute this text under CC-BY-4.0 only, + please use "The Linux kernel developers" for author attribution and link + this as source: + https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/plain/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-regressions.rst +.. + Note: Only the content of this RST file as found in the Linux kernel sources + is available under CC-BY-4.0, as versions of this text that were processed + (for example by the kernel's build system) might contain content taken from + files which use a more restrictive license. |