linux-kernel - RE: [PATCH 1/2 v6] kdump: add the vmcoreinfo documentation

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Date:   Mon, 14 Jan 2019 17:48:48 +0000
From:   Kazuhito Hagio <k-hagio@...jp.nec.com>
To:     Borislav Petkov <bp@...en8.de>, Lianbo Jiang <lijiang@...hat.com>
CC:     "linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        "kexec@...ts.infradead.org" <kexec@...ts.infradead.org>,
        "tglx@...utronix.de" <tglx@...utronix.de>,
        "mingo@...hat.com" <mingo@...hat.com>,
        "x86@...nel.org" <x86@...nel.org>,
        "akpm@...ux-foundation.org" <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
        "bhe@...hat.com" <bhe@...hat.com>,
        "dyoung@...hat.com" <dyoung@...hat.com>,
        "anderson@...hat.com" <anderson@...hat.com>,
        "linux-doc@...r.kernel.org" <linux-doc@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: RE: [PATCH 1/2 v6] kdump: add the vmcoreinfo documentation

On 1/11/2019 7:33 AM, Borislav Petkov wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 10, 2019 at 08:19:43PM +0800, Lianbo Jiang wrote:
>> +init_uts_ns.name.release
>> +------------------------
>> +
>> +The version of the Linux kernel. Used to find the corresponding source
>> +code from which the kernel has been built.
>> +
> 
> ...
> 
>> +
>> +init_uts_ns
>> +-----------
>> +
>> +This is the UTS namespace, which is used to isolate two specific
>> +elements of the system that relate to the uname(2) system call. The UTS
>> +namespace is named after the data structure used to store information
>> +returned by the uname(2) system call.
>> +
>> +User-space tools can get the kernel name, host name, kernel release
>> +number, kernel version, architecture name and OS type from it.
> 
> Already asked this but no reply so lemme paste my question again:
> 
> "And this document already fulfills its purpose - those two vmcoreinfo
> exports are redundant and the first one can be removed.
> 
> And now that we agreed that VMCOREINFO is not an ABI and is very tightly
> coupled to the kernel version, init_uts_ns.name.release can be removed,
> yes?
> 
> Or is there anything speaking against that?"

As for makedumpfile, it will be not impossible to remove the
init_uts_ns.name.relase (OSRELEASE), but some fixes are needed.
Because historically OSRELEASE has been a kind of a mandatory entry
in vmcoreinfo from the beginning of vmcoreinfo, so makedumpfile uses
its existence to check whether a vmcoreinfo is sane.

Also, I think crash also will need to be fixed if it is removed.
So I hope it will be left as it is.

Thanks,
Kazu