> On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, M Carling wrote:
>
> Except for many of us (myself included) have been applying the RAID
> patches since the 2.2 series began. This is more than just a hassle since
> because the RAID isn't directly in the kernel we don't always see RAID
> patches for every kernel release. Sometimes we can get away w/ just applying
> an old patch, but other times this causes problems.
I agree that it's a hassle. That's why I'd like to see the changes get
into 2.3 which I'd like to see frozen as soon as possible so that we can
have these features in 2.4.
> > Now that companies are beginning to run Linux on production systems, the
> > carefree attitude toward "stable" kernels has to change. I'd love to be
> > able to recommend Linux to my clients on Wall Street, but there have to be
> > stable kernels first. That means nothing changes unless it's a bug fix.
> > Everything else (updated drivers, new features, code cleanups) waits for
> > the next major release. Otherwise, there is little difference between odd
> > and even numbered kernels.
>
> We hardly need to have limitations put on us from anyone.
Huh?!? The only people who limit what goes into the kernels are Linus
and Alan. What I recommend to my clients does not impose a limitation on
you.
> Those who
> run production systems should have other systems on which they test things
> before actually putting them in place. They should also be watching to see
> what others say about particular kernels before using them. They should
> also (scary thought) read the change list, and see what changed, and what
> they might need to update.
We do all of that. In fact, some of us even read this list. But that does
not make it ok to deliberately break existing functionality within a
"stable" kernel series. Consider that we must often upgrade kernels on an
emergency basis as security vulnerabilities are fixed.
M Carling
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