linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] init/initramfs.c: allow asynchronous unpacking

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Date:   Tue, 9 Mar 2021 14:07:36 -0800
From:   Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:     Rasmus Villemoes <linux@...musvillemoes.dk>
Cc:     Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@...nel.org>,
        Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
        Jessica Yu <jeyu@...nel.org>, Borislav Petkov <bp@...en8.de>,
        Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>,
        Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>,
        Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Nick Desaulniers <ndesaulniers@...gle.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] init/initramfs.c: allow asynchronous unpacking

On Tue, Mar 9, 2021 at 1:17 PM Rasmus Villemoes
<linux@...musvillemoes.dk> wrote:
>
> So add an initramfs_async= kernel parameter, allowing the main init
> process to proceed to handling device_initcall()s without waiting for
> populate_rootfs() to finish.

I like this smaller second version of the patch, but am wondering why
we even need the parameter.

It sounds mostly like a "maybe I didn't think of all cases" thing -
and one that will mean that this code will not see a lot of actual
test coverage..

And because of the lack of test coverage, I'd rather reverse the
meaning, and have the async case on by default (without even the
Kconfig option), and have the kernel command line purely as a "oops,
it's buggy, easy to ask people to test if this is what ails them".

What *can* happen early boot outside of firmware loading and usermodehelpers?

Hmm?

              Linus