linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH][resubmit] HP iLO driver

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Date:	Tue, 8 Jul 2008 10:02:41 +0200
From:	Bruno Prémont <bruno.premont@...tena.lu>
To:	"Altobelli, David" <david.altobelli@...com>
Cc:	Pavel Machek <pavel@...e.cz>,
	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	"greg@...ah.com" <greg@...ah.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH][resubmit] HP iLO driver

On Tue, 8 Jul 2008 09:21:52 +0200 Pavel Machek <pavel@...e.cz> wrote:
> On Mon 2008-07-07 17:37:18, Altobelli, David wrote:
> > Pavel Machek wrote:
> > > Hi!
> > >
> > >>>> A driver for the HP iLO/iLO2 management processor, which allows
> > >>>> userspace programs to query the management processor. Programs
> > >>>> can open a channel to the device (/dev/hpilo/dXccbN), and use
> > >>>> this to send/receive queries.
> > >>>
> > >>> What kind of queries? Is there documentation somewhere?
> > >>
> > >> Generally, it can get data out of the management processor -
> > >> things like basic iLO configuration (users, nic, etc), handle
> > >> SNMP traffic, flashing iLO, and some others.
> > >>
> > >> Unfortunately, there isn't yet any available documenation.
> > >
> > > Ok, I guess we should have documentation "what does it do" and
> > > "what protocol does it speak" before we can think about merging.
> > 
> > I really hope that isn't the case.
> 
> Telling us "what does it do" seems like good start.
> 
> > However, I do think there is value in merging the driver without
> > docs. Having drivers in tree is often stated as a goal, because of
> > the obvious security and API/ABI disadvantages to out of tree
> > drivers.
> 
> You know, we'd prefer to have kernel<->user ABI documented. With this
> driver... we don't.
> 
> What does /dev/hpilo/* do? Beep speakers? Control fans? Launch atomic
> bombs? What will happen on cat /bin/bash > /dev/hpilo/dXccbN? Does
> that depend on concrete machine? Is it acceptable for this
> functionality not to be abstracted out? (Kernel should provide hw
> abstraction, right?)

If the driver allows access to hardware monitoring features available
via iLO/iLO2 (fan, temperature, voltage) it would be really useful if
this driver also registered the sensors with hwmon framework so the
details are accessible via lm_sensors. (like is now done for ACPI
thermal zone)
Same applies for any information that could be properly mapped to
other existing frameworks (e.g. power supply class)

> > If this can't be merged, then we continue to ship an out of tree
> > driver, which no one (us, distros, customers) likes.  We pester our
> > partners to support this driver, or include it, or what have you.
> > We get slowly out of date, and bugs creep in, or our package breaks
> > on upstream kernels. To me, it seems like merging the driver is the
> > better path.
> 
> Docs for kernel<->user ABI does not seem like too much to ask.
> 
> If you wrote a driver, I don't think it is unreasonable for me to ask
> "how to use that driver".
> 									Pavel

Bruno
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