linux-kernel - Re: 2.6.18-stable release plans?

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Date:	Wed, 24 Jan 2007 21:05:04 -0600
From:	Mark Rustad <mrustad@...il.com>
To:	Chris Rankin <rankincj@...oo.com>
Cc:	Alan <alan@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: 2.6.18-stable release plans?

On Jan 24, 2007, at 5:45 PM, Chris Rankin wrote:
>> --- Mark Rustad <mrustad@...il.com> wrote:
>> Exactly. Halting use of a version of the kernel based on a single
>> incident provides no insight to the source of the problem. It could
>> be anything...
>
> There is a world of difference between a polite request for more  
> information (although I gave you
> everything I had), and fobbing someone off with a story about  
> cosmic rays.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything like that. I just happened  
to notice that the date of the bug report appeared to correlate  
pretty well with one of the solar flare events last month. I was  
really trying to share some information that just conceivably might  
have been related, based on the earlier messages in this thread  
regarding memory errors.

I don't normally follow solar activity. I have been looking into some  
system failures that happened last month. The systems had been  
running with all bus error detection enabled – the hardware set to  
spontaneously reboot on any uncorrectable error. Since our systems  
are redundant, performing a reset simply means that the redundant  
partner will take over, so the reset is the best way to be certain  
that there is no data corruption. I eventually recalled a radio  
report last month about a coronal mass ejection on the sun and how  
things might be disrupted here. I checked out www.spaceweather.com  
and found that December was a very active month, with three separate  
X-class flares. I have no way to conclude that the failures that I  
have seen were influenced by events on the sun, but it seems  
possible. Compared to our systems, most PCs and even much server- 
class hardware systems are likely to corrupt a bit just keep on going.

We'll never know if any of these things were correlated with the  
solar flares because they all seem to be one-off failures. I do find  
it interesting though. Our systems seem to be doing statistically  
better this month. What do you think?

-- 
Mark Rustad, MRustad@....com

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