linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] arm64: defconfig: Build STMMAC Ethernet driver into the kernel for NFS boot

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Message-ID: <CAMuHMdWmvHZPwppQR5OxB7QB9NOWxRWoVkiMFS-6ScdYw=ywTg@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2025 14:42:08 +0200
From: Geert Uytterhoeven <geert@...ux-m68k.org>
To: Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzysztof.kozlowski@...aro.org>
Cc: Prabhakar <prabhakar.csengg@...il.com>, Catalin Marinas <catalin.marinas@....com>, 
	Will Deacon <will@...nel.org>, Bjorn Andersson <bjorn.andersson@....qualcomm.com>, 
	linux-arm-kernel@...ts.infradead.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, 
	linux-renesas-soc@...r.kernel.org, Biju Das <biju.das.jz@...renesas.com>, 
	Fabrizio Castro <fabrizio.castro.jz@...esas.com>, 
	Lad Prabhakar <prabhakar.mahadev-lad.rj@...renesas.com>, Arnd Bergmann <arnd@...db.de>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] arm64: defconfig: Build STMMAC Ethernet driver into the
 kernel for NFS boot

Hi Krzysztof,

CC arnd

On Tue, 6 May 2025 at 12:52, Krzysztof Kozlowski
<krzysztof.kozlowski@...aro.org> wrote:
> On 06/05/2025 12:47, Prabhakar wrote:
> > From: Lad Prabhakar <prabhakar.mahadev-lad.rj@...renesas.com>
> >
> > Enable `CONFIG_STMMAC_ETH` as built-in (`y`) instead of a module (`m`) to
> > ensure the Ethernet driver is available early in the boot process. This
> > is necessary for platforms mounting the root filesystem via NFS, as the
> > driver must be available before the root filesystem is accessed.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Lad Prabhakar <prabhakar.mahadev-lad.rj@...renesas.com>
>
> Same comments as for previous patches like this (even the same?): you
> are supposed to use initramfs for your arm74 boards. Even armv7 boards
> use initramfs, so network driver does not have to be built in.

Are we? When has that policy changed? Why are lots of network drivers
still built-in?  Making network drivers built-in for systems where
development is done using nfsroot has always been acceptable for the
arm64 defconfig before.  For things not critical for booting, modular
is indeed the preferred way.

arm64/defconfig is for development and testing, not for production
(which famous kernel developer said that before?)

> For example all of our setups use it thus we do not have to populate all
> other vendors with our own drivers.
>
> Sorry, but I am strongly against such change. Kernel is already way too

The kernel will grow without this (it will just take a few more weeks ;-),
so that is IMHO not a good argument.

> big and with KASAN it does not fit to boot partitions in some of the
> devices (and I cannot change the boot partition size, at least not
> without big effort).

arm64/defconfig does not have KASAN enabled?

> Nacked-by: Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzysztof.kozlowski@...aro.org>

Doh...

Gr{oetje,eeting}s,

                        Geert

-- 
Geert Uytterhoeven -- There's lots of Linux beyond ia32 -- geert@...ux-m68k.org

In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But
when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or something like that.
                                -- Linus Torvalds