GNU bug report logs - #45403
[PATCH] gnu: zfs: Split into packages specific for each of our major supported kernel versions.

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From: raid5atemyhomework <raid5atemyhomework <at> protonmail.com>
To: Danny Milosavljevic <dannym <at> scratchpost.org>
Cc: me <at> tobias.gr, 45403 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: [bug#45403] [PATCH] gnu: zfs: Split into packages specific for each of our major supported kernel versions.
Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 16:07:08 +0000

Here's another alternative:

* Remove the separate "module" output and put the `.ko` file in the "out" output.
* Create a separate `zfs-guix-tools` which provides `zpool`, `zfs`, `zed`, `arc_summary`, `arcstat`, `dbufstat`, `raidz_test`, `zgenhostid`, `zvol_wait`, `fsck.zfs`, `mount.zfs`, `zdb`, `zhack`, `zinject`, `zstreamdump`, `ztest`.
  * What the provided binaries do is:
    * It looks at `/run/booted-system/kernel/manifest` and looks for a `"zfs"` package.
    * It `exec`s into the corresponding file in the `/gnu/store` for that package.

This way, we can have a separate package for ZFS userspace tools, which just calls the corresponding tools in the actual ZFS that gets installed.
It's somewhat magical, though.

Thanks
raid5atemyhomework

> This doesn't work, for two reasons:
>
> -   The kernel-module is in the output "module" of the `zfs` package. The code specifically checks for `(package? module)`, but we have to specify it as `(list system-zfs "module")`.
> -   ZFS is primarily managed via userspace tools, that's what ZFS users know how to use, and we should support that so that Guix users can ask non-Guix ZFS users for help with their ZFS problems. The userspace tools are included in the package. If the base `zfs` package cannot compile because it's incompatible with the default kernel, then the userspace tools are nonexistent and there is no way to manage ZFS.
>     -   So, for example we can't just remove the "module" output and have the `.ko` installed in the default "out" output, our core problem is we need to compile a ZFS module and userspace tools.
>     -   We can try to split the compilation to separate the ZFS module from the userspace tool, but that risks brittleness and subtle incompatibilities between a ZFS module compiled for your local kernel (which cannot be the latest and greatest kernel since the kernel does not maintain interface compatibility with kernel modules and the ZFS module is always having to catch up), and ZFS userspace tool compiled for the default latest-and-greatest kernel (even if we somehow manage to compile just the userspace tools with the latest kernel, there may be implicit assumptions about kernel constants and so on passed from the userspace tools to the kernel module, which may cause problems and birttleness).
>
>         So it's just safer to always override the `zfs` `#:linux` with the system kernel, and install it in `(packages ...)` and in `(kernel-loadable-modules ...)`.
>
> -   We get compileability as long as older kernel is used.
> -   We ensure that the userspace tool is built for the same kernel module for a compatible kernel, at all generations of the `guix system`.
>
>     Thanks
>     raid5atemyhomework
>
>
> > Why is this needed? KERNEL-LOADABLE-MODULES are already automatically
> > adapted in this way.
> > See this in gnu/system.scm :
> > (define* (operating-system-directory-base-entries os)
> > "Return the basic entries of the 'system' directory of OS for use as the
> > value of the SYSTEM-SERVICE-TYPE service."
> > (let* ((locale (operating-system-locale-directory os))
> > (kernel (operating-system-kernel os))
> > (hurd (operating-system-hurd os))
> > (modules (operating-system-kernel-loadable-modules os))
> > (kernel (if hurd
> > kernel
> > (profile
> > (content (packages->manifest
> >
> >                                  (cons kernel
> >                                        (map (lambda (module)
> >                                               (if (package? module)
> >                                                   (package-for-kernel kernel    <-----
> >                                                                       module)
> >                                                   module))
> >                                             modules))))
> >                        (hooks (list linux-module-database)))))
> >          (initrd  (and (not hurd) (operating-system-initrd-file os)))
> >          (params  (operating-system-boot-parameters-file os)))
> >     `(("kernel" ,kernel)
> >       ,@(if hurd `(("hurd" ,hurd)) '())
> >       ("parameters" ,params)
> >       ,@(if initrd `(("initrd" ,initrd)) '())
> >       ("locale" ,locale))))   ;used by libc
> >

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