linux-kernel - Re: [GIT PULL] Please pull fwctl subsystem changes

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Message-ID: <20250326101312.7557b3d1@kernel.org>
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2025 10:13:12 -0700
From: Jakub Kicinski <kuba@...nel.org>
To: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
Cc: Jason Gunthorpe <jgg@...dia.com>, Dave Jiang <dave.jiang@...el.com>,
 Saeed Mahameed <saeedm@...dia.com>, Jonathan Cameron
 <Jonathan.Cameron@...wei.com>, Dan Williams <dan.j.williams@...el.com>,
 Shannon Nelson <shannon.nelson@....com>, linux-rdma@...r.kernel.org,
 netdev@...r.kernel.org, linux-cxl@...r.kernel.org,
 linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [GIT PULL] Please pull fwctl subsystem changes

On Mon, 24 Mar 2025 12:13:57 -0300 Jason Gunthorpe wrote:
> fwctl is a new subsystem intended to bring some common rules and order to
> the growing pattern of exposing a secure FW interface directly to
> userspace. Unlike existing places like RDMA/DRM/VFIO/uacce that are
> exposing a device for datapath operations fwctl is focused on debugging,
> configuration and provisioning of the device. It will not have the
> necessary features like interrupt delivery to support a datapath.
> 
> This concept is similar to the long standing practice in the "HW" RAID
> space of having a device specific misc device to manage the RAID
> controller FW. fwctl generalizes this notion of a companion debug and
> management interface that goes along with a dataplane implemented in an
> appropriate subsystem.

This breaks netdev's long standing policy against exposing proprietary
interfaces (proprietary user space <> proprietary FW). I've been asking
all this time for the interface to be disabled if the device is used
purely as a netdev. Hopefully retaining the benefits of community
standards for majority of users who only use netdev. This has not been
done.