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authorLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2021-04-26 13:22:43 -0700
committerLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2021-04-26 13:22:43 -0700
commit2f9ef0559efbee18a10a3ca26eefe57f69918693 (patch)
tree3c30d105078c06b51de764e703a59f6ae1c2bb5a /Documentation/admin-guide
parent0c855563182001c829065faa17f8e29e9ceffe13 (diff)
parent441ca977a84dadac6173db7c07c25db110b76c1e (diff)
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Merge tag 'docs-5.13' of git://git.lwn.net/linux
Pull documentation updates from Jonathan Corbet: "It's been a relatively busy cycle in docsland, though more than usually well contained to Documentation/ itself. Highlights include: - The Chinese translators have been busy and show no signs of stopping anytime soon. Italian has also caught up. - Aditya Srivastava has been working on improvements to the kernel-doc script. - Thorsten continues his work on reporting-issues.rst and related documentation around regression reporting. - Lots of documentation updates, typo fixes, etc. as usual" * tag 'docs-5.13' of git://git.lwn.net/linux: (139 commits) docs/zh_CN: add openrisc translation to zh_CN index docs/zh_CN: add openrisc index.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add openrisc todo.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add openrisc openrisc_port.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add core api translation to zh_CN index docs/zh_CN: add core-api index.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add core-api irq index.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add core-api irq irqflags-tracing.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add core-api irq irq-domain.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add core-api irq irq-affinity.rst translation docs/zh_CN: add core-api irq concepts.rst translation docs: sphinx-pre-install: don't barf on beta Sphinx releases scripts: kernel-doc: improve parsing for kernel-doc comments syntax docs/zh_CN: two minor fixes in zh_CN/doc-guide/ Documentation: dev-tools: Add Testing Overview docs/zh_CN: add translations in zh_CN/dev-tools/gcov docs: reporting-issues: make people CC the regressions list MAINTAINERS: add regressions mailing list doc:it_IT: align Italian documentation docs/zh_CN: sync reporting-issues.rst ...
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/admin-guide')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/LoadPin.rst6
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/cgroup-v1/memory.rst7
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/dynamic-debug-howto.rst2
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst1
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst1
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt3
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-per-CPU-kthreads.rst20
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/mm/numaperf.rst2
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst187
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst1117
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/sysrq.rst4
11 files changed, 635 insertions, 715 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/LoadPin.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/LoadPin.rst
index 716ad9b23c9a..dd3ca68b5df1 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/LoadPin.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/LSM/LoadPin.rst
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ restrictions without needing to sign the files individually.
The LSM is selectable at build-time with ``CONFIG_SECURITY_LOADPIN``, and
can be controlled at boot-time with the kernel command line option
-"``loadpin.enabled``". By default, it is enabled, but can be disabled at
-boot ("``loadpin.enabled=0``").
+"``loadpin.enforce``". By default, it is enabled, but can be disabled at
+boot ("``loadpin.enforce=0``").
LoadPin starts pinning when it sees the first file loaded. If the
block device backing the filesystem is not read-only, a sysctl is
@@ -28,4 +28,4 @@ different mechanisms such as ``CONFIG_MODULE_SIG`` and
``CONFIG_KEXEC_VERIFY_SIG`` to verify kernel module and kernel image while
still use LoadPin to protect the integrity of other files kernel loads. The
full list of valid file types can be found in ``kernel_read_file_str``
-defined in ``include/linux/fs.h``.
+defined in ``include/linux/kernel_read_file.h``.
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/cgroup-v1/memory.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/cgroup-v1/memory.rst
index 0936412e044e..41191b5fb69d 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/cgroup-v1/memory.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/cgroup-v1/memory.rst
@@ -360,8 +360,8 @@ U != 0, K = unlimited:
U != 0, K < U:
Kernel memory is a subset of the user memory. This setup is useful in
- deployments where the total amount of memory per-cgroup is overcommited.
- Overcommiting kernel memory limits is definitely not recommended, since the
+ deployments where the total amount of memory per-cgroup is overcommitted.
+ Overcommitting kernel memory limits is definitely not recommended, since the
box can still run out of non-reclaimable memory.
In this case, the admin could set up K so that the sum of all groups is
never greater than the total memory, and freely set U at the cost of his
@@ -851,6 +851,9 @@ At reading, current status of OOM is shown.
(if 1, oom-killer is disabled)
- under_oom 0 or 1
(if 1, the memory cgroup is under OOM, tasks may be stopped.)
+ - oom_kill integer counter
+ The number of processes belonging to this cgroup killed by any
+ kind of OOM killer.
11. Memory Pressure
===================
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/dynamic-debug-howto.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/dynamic-debug-howto.rst
index 6c04aea8f4cd..b119b8277b3e 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/dynamic-debug-howto.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/dynamic-debug-howto.rst
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@ Examples
<debugfs>/dynamic_debug/control
// enable messages in files of which the paths include string "usb"
- nullarbor:~ # echo -n '*usb* +p' > <debugfs>/dynamic_debug/control
+ nullarbor:~ # echo -n 'file *usb* +p' > <debugfs>/dynamic_debug/control
// enable all messages
nullarbor:~ # echo -n '+p' > <debugfs>/dynamic_debug/control
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
index 423116c4e787..dc00afcabb95 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ problems and bugs in particular.
:maxdepth: 1
reporting-issues
- Reporting bugs (obsolete) <reporting-bugs>
security-bugs
bug-hunting
bug-bisect
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
index 1132796a8d96..24302cad174a 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@ parameter is applicable::
PPT Parallel port support is enabled.
PS2 Appropriate PS/2 support is enabled.
RAM RAM disk support is enabled.
+ RISCV RISCV architecture is enabled.
RDT Intel Resource Director Technology.
S390 S390 architecture is enabled.
SCSI Appropriate SCSI support is enabled.
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
index 9b3c086d4266..550cf2b2b7e8 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
@@ -3471,7 +3471,8 @@
nr_uarts= [SERIAL] maximum number of UARTs to be registered.
- numa_balancing= [KNL,X86] Enable or disable automatic NUMA balancing.
+ numa_balancing= [KNL,ARM64,PPC,RISCV,S390,X86] Enable or disable automatic
+ NUMA balancing.
Allowed values are enable and disable
numa_zonelist_order= [KNL, BOOT] Select zonelist order for NUMA.
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-per-CPU-kthreads.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-per-CPU-kthreads.rst
index 531f689311f2..5e51ee5b0358 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-per-CPU-kthreads.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-per-CPU-kthreads.rst
@@ -332,23 +332,3 @@ To reduce its OS jitter, do at least one of the following:
kthreads from being created in the first place. However, please
note that this will not eliminate OS jitter, but will instead
shift it to RCU_SOFTIRQ.
-
-Name:
- watchdog/%u
-
-Purpose:
- Detect software lockups on each CPU.
-
-To reduce its OS jitter, do at least one of the following:
-
-1. Build with CONFIG_LOCKUP_DETECTOR=n, which will prevent these
- kthreads from being created in the first place.
-2. Boot with "nosoftlockup=0", which will also prevent these kthreads
- from being created. Other related watchdog and softlockup boot
- parameters may be found in Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
- and Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-parameters.rst.
-3. Echo a zero to /proc/sys/kernel/watchdog to disable the
- watchdog timer.
-4. Echo a large number of /proc/sys/kernel/watchdog_thresh in
- order to reduce the frequency of OS jitter due to the watchdog
- timer down to a level that is acceptable for your workload.
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/mm/numaperf.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/mm/numaperf.rst
index c2f826409bf0..166697325947 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/mm/numaperf.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/mm/numaperf.rst
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ Each cache level's directory provides its attributes. For example, the
following shows a single cache level and the attributes available for
software to query::
- # tree sys/devices/system/node/node0/memory_side_cache/
+ # tree /sys/devices/system/node/node0/memory_side_cache/
/sys/devices/system/node/node0/memory_side_cache/
|-- index1
| |-- indexing
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 409fa91d7495..000000000000
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,187 +0,0 @@
-.. _reportingbugs:
-
-.. note::
-
- This document is obsolete, and will be replaced by
- 'Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst' in the near future.
-
-Reporting bugs
-++++++++++++++
-
-Background
-==========
-
-The upstream Linux kernel maintainers only fix bugs for specific kernel
-versions. Those versions include the current "release candidate" (or -rc)
-kernel, any "stable" kernel versions, and any "long term" kernels.
-
-Please see https://www.kernel.org/ for a list of supported kernels. Any
-kernel marked with [EOL] is "end of life" and will not have any fixes
-backported to it.
-
-If you've found a bug on a kernel version that isn't listed on kernel.org,
-contact your Linux distribution or embedded vendor for support.
-Alternatively, you can attempt to run one of the supported stable or -rc
-kernels, and see if you can reproduce the bug on that. It's preferable
-to reproduce the bug on the latest -rc kernel.
-
-
-How to report Linux kernel bugs
-===============================
-
-
-Identify the problematic subsystem
-----------------------------------
-
-Identifying which part of the Linux kernel might be causing your issue
-increases your chances of getting your bug fixed. Simply posting to the
-generic linux-kernel mailing list (LKML) may cause your bug report to be
-lost in the noise of a mailing list that gets 1000+ emails a day.
-
-Instead, try to figure out which kernel subsystem is causing the issue,
-and email that subsystem's maintainer and mailing list. If the subsystem
-maintainer doesn't answer, then expand your scope to mailing lists like
-LKML.
-
-
-Identify who to notify
-----------------------
-
-Once you know the subsystem that is causing the issue, you should send a
-bug report. Some maintainers prefer bugs to be reported via bugzilla
-(https://bugzilla.kernel.org), while others prefer that bugs be reported
-via the subsystem mailing list.
-
-To find out where to send an emailed bug report, find your subsystem or
-device driver in the MAINTAINERS file. Search in the file for relevant
-entries, and send your bug report to the person(s) listed in the "M:"
-lines, making sure to Cc the mailing list(s) in the "L:" lines. When the
-maintainer replies to you, make sure to 'Reply-all' in order to keep the
-public mailing list(s) in the email thread.
-
-If you know which driver is causing issues, you can pass one of the driver
-files to the get_maintainer.pl script::
-
- perl scripts/get_maintainer.pl -f <filename>
-
-If it is a security bug, please copy the Security Contact listed in the
-MAINTAINERS file. They can help coordinate bugfix and disclosure. See
-:ref:`Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst <securitybugs>` for more information.
-
-If you can't figure out which subsystem caused the issue, you should file
-a bug in kernel.org bugzilla and send email to
-linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, referencing the bugzilla URL. (For more
-information on the linux-kernel mailing list see
-http://vger.kernel.org/lkml/).
-
-
-Tips for reporting bugs
------------------------
-
-If you haven't reported a bug before, please read:
-
- https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html
-
- http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
-
-It's REALLY important to report bugs that seem unrelated as separate email
-threads or separate bugzilla entries. If you report several unrelated
-bugs at once, it's difficult for maintainers to tease apart the relevant
-data.
-
-
-Gather information
-------------------
-
-The most important information in a bug report is how to reproduce the
-bug. This includes system information, and (most importantly)
-step-by-step instructions for how a user can trigger the bug.
-
-If the failure includes an "OOPS:", take a picture of the screen, capture
-a netconsole trace, or type the message from your screen into the bug
-report. Please read "Documentation/admin-guide/bug-hunting.rst" before posting your
-bug report. This explains what you should do with the "Oops" information
-to make it useful to the recipient.
-
-This is a suggested format for a bug report sent via email or bugzilla.
-Having a standardized bug report form makes it easier for you not to
-overlook things, and easier for the developers to find the pieces of
-information they're really interested in. If some information is not
-relevant to your bug, feel free to exclude it.
-
-First run the ver_linux script included as scripts/ver_linux, which
-reports the version of some important subsystems. Run this script with
-the command ``awk -f scripts/ver_linux``.
-
-Use that information to fill in all fields of the bug report form, and
-post it to the mailing list with a subject of "PROBLEM: <one line
-summary from [1.]>" for easy identification by the developers::
-
- [1.] One line summary of the problem:
- [2.] Full description of the problem/report:
- [3.] Keywords (i.e., modules, networking, kernel):
- [4.] Kernel information
- [4.1.] Kernel version (from /proc/version):
- [4.2.] Kernel .config file:
- [5.] Most recent kernel version which did not have the bug:
- [6.] Output of Oops.. message (if applicable) with symbolic information
- resolved (see Documentation/admin-guide/bug-hunting.rst)
- [7.] A small shell script or example program which triggers the
- problem (if possible)
- [8.] Environment
- [8.1.] Software (add the output of the ver_linux script here)
- [8.2.] Processor information (from /proc/cpuinfo):
- [8.3.] Module information (from /proc/modules):
- [8.4.] Loaded driver and hardware information (/proc/ioports, /proc/iomem)
- [8.5.] PCI information ('lspci -vvv' as root)
- [8.6.] SCSI information (from /proc/scsi/scsi)
- [8.7.] Other information that might be relevant to the problem
- (please look in /proc and include all information that you
- think to be relevant):
- [X.] Other notes, patches, fixes, workarounds:
-
-
-Follow up
-=========
-
-Expectations for bug reporters
-------------------------------
-
-Linux kernel maintainers expect bug reporters to be able to follow up on
-bug reports. That may include running new tests, applying patches,
-recompiling your kernel, and/or re-triggering your bug. The most
-frustrating thing for maintainers is for someone to report a bug, and then
-never follow up on a request to try out a fix.
-
-That said, it's still useful for a kernel maintainer to know a bug exists
-on a supported kernel, even if you can't follow up with retests. Follow
-up reports, such as replying to the email thread with "I tried the latest
-kernel and I can't reproduce my bug anymore" are also helpful, because
-maintainers have to assume silence means things are still broken.
-
-Expectations for kernel maintainers
------------------------------------
-
-Linux kernel maintainers are busy, overworked human beings. Some times
-they may not be able to address your bug in a day, a week, or two weeks.
-If they don't answer your email, they may be on vacation, or at a Linux
-conference. Check the conference schedule at https://LWN.net for more info:
-
- https://lwn.net/Calendar/
-
-In general, kernel maintainers take 1 to 5 business days to respond to
-bugs. The majority of kernel maintainers are employed to work on the
-kernel, and they may not work on the weekends. Maintainers are scattered
-around the world, and they may not work in your time zone. Unless you
-have a high priority bug, please wait at least a week after the first bug
-report before sending the maintainer a reminder email.
-
-The exceptions to this rule are regressions, kernel crashes, security holes,
-or userspace breakage caused by new kernel behavior. Those bugs should be
-addressed by the maintainers ASAP. If you suspect a maintainer is not
-responding to these types of bugs in a timely manner (especially during a
-merge window), escalate the bug to LKML and Linus Torvalds.
-
-Thank you!
-
-[Some of this is taken from Frohwalt Egerer's original linux-kernel FAQ]
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
index 07879d01fe68..48b4d0ef2b09 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
@@ -9,25 +9,6 @@
(for example by the kernel's build system) might contain content taken from
files which use a more restrictive license.
-.. important::
-
- This document is being prepared to replace
- 'Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst'. The main work is done and
- you are already free to follow its instructions when reporting issues to the
- Linux kernel developers. But keep in mind, below text still needs a few
- finishing touches and review. It was merged to the Linux kernel sources at
- this stage to make this process easier and increase the text's visibility.
-
- Any improvements for the text or other feedback is thus very much welcome.
- Please send it to 'Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@leemhuis.info>' and 'Jonathan
- Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>', ideally with 'Linux kernel mailing list (LKML)
- <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>' and the 'Linux Kernel Documentation List
- <linux-doc@vger.kernel.org>' in CC.
-
- Areas in the text that still need work or discussion contain a hint like this
- which point out the remaining issues; all of them start with the word "FIXME"
- to make them easy to find.
-
Reporting issues
++++++++++++++++
@@ -36,46 +17,43 @@ Reporting issues
The short guide (aka TL;DR)
===========================
-If you're facing multiple issues with the Linux kernel at once, report each
-separately to its developers. Try your best guess which kernel part might be
-causing the issue. Check the :ref:`MAINTAINERS <maintainers>` file for how its
-developers expect to be told about issues. Note, it's rarely
-`bugzilla.kernel.org <https://bugzilla.kernel.org/>`_, as in almost all cases
-the report needs to be sent by email!
-
-Check the destination thoroughly for existing reports; also search the LKML
-archives and the web. Join existing discussion if you find matches. If you
-don't find any, install `the latest Linux mainline kernel
-<https://kernel.org/>`_. Make sure it's vanilla, thus is not patched or using
-add-on kernel modules. Also ensure the kernel is running in a healthy
-environment and is not already tainted before the issue occurs.
-
-If you can reproduce your issue with the mainline kernel, send a report to the
-destination you determined earlier. Make sure it includes all relevant
-information, which in case of a regression should mention the change that's
-causing it which can often can be found with a bisection. Also ensure the
-report reaches all people that need to know about it, for example the security
-team, the stable maintainers or the developers of the patch that causes a
-regression. Once the report is out, answer any questions that might be raised
-and help where you can. That includes keeping the ball rolling: every time a
-new rc1 mainline kernel is released, check if the issue is still happening
-there and attach a status update to your initial report.
-
-If you can not reproduce the issue with the mainline kernel, consider sticking
-with it; if you'd like to use an older version line and want to see it fixed
-there, first make sure it's still supported. Install its latest release as
-vanilla kernel. If you cannot reproduce the issue there, try to find the commit
-that fixed it in mainline or any discussion preceding it: those will often
-mention if backporting is planed or considered too complex. If backporting was
-not discussed, ask if it's in the cards. In case you don't find any commits or
-a preceding discussion, see the Linux-stable mailing list archives for existing
-reports, as it might be a regression specific to the version line. If it is,
-report it like you would report a problem in mainline (including the
-bisection).
-
-If you reached this point without a solution, ask for advice one the
-subsystem's mailing list.
-
+Are you facing a regression with vanilla kernels from the same stable or
+longterm series? One still supported? Then search the `LKML
+<https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/>`_ and the `Linux stable mailing list
+<https://lore.kernel.org/stable/>`_ archives for matching reports to join. If
+you don't find any, install `the latest release from that series
+<https://kernel.org/>`_. If it still shows the issue, report it to the stable
+mailing list (stable@vger.kernel.org) and CC the regressions list
+(regressions@lists.linux.dev).
+
+In all other cases try your best guess which kernel part might be causing the
+issue. Check the :ref:`MAINTAINERS <maintainers>` file for how its developers
+expect to be told about problems, which most of the time will be by email with a
+mailing list in CC. Check the destination's archives for matching reports;
+search the `LKML <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/>`_ and the web, too. If you
+don't find any to join, install `the latest mainline kernel
+<https://kernel.org/>`_. If the issue is present there, send a report.
+
+The issue was fixed there, but you would like to see it resolved in a still
+supported stable or longterm series as well? Then install its latest release.
+If it shows the problem, search for the change that fixed it in mainline and
+check if backporting is in the works or was discarded; if it's neither, ask
+those who handled the change for it.
+
+**General remarks**: When installing and testing a kernel as outlined above,
+ensure it's vanilla (IOW: not patched and not using add-on modules). Also make
+sure it's built and running in a healthy environment and not already tainted
+before the issue occurs.
+
+If you are facing multiple issues with the Linux kernel at once, report each
+separately. While writing your report, include all information relevant to the
+issue, like the kernel and the distro used. In case of a regression, CC the
+regressions mailing list (regressions@lists.linux.dev) to your report; also try
+to include the commit-id of the change causing it, which a bisection can find.
+
+Once the report is out, answer any questions that come up and help where you
+can. That includes keeping the ball rolling by occasionally retesting with newer
+releases and sending a status update afterwards.
Step-by-step guide how to report issues to the kernel maintainers
=================================================================
@@ -94,28 +72,23 @@ early if an issue that looks like a Linux kernel problem is actually caused by
something else. These steps thus help to ensure the time you invest in this
process won't feel wasted in the end:
- * Stop reading this document and report the problem to your vendor instead,
- unless you are running the latest mainline kernel already or are willing to
- install it. This kernel must not be modified or enhanced in any way, and
- thus be considered 'vanilla'.
+ * Are you facing an issue with a Linux kernel a hardware or software vendor
+ provided? Then in almost all cases you are better off to stop reading this
+ document and reporting the issue to your vendor instead, unless you are
+ willing to install the latest Linux version yourself. Be aware the latter
+ will often be needed anyway to hunt down and fix issues.
+
+ * Perform a rough search for existing reports with your favorite internet
+ search engine; additionally, check the archives of the `Linux Kernel Mailing
+ List (LKML) <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/>`_. If you find matching reports,
+ join the discussion instead of sending a new one.
* See if the issue you are dealing with qualifies as regression, security
issue, or a really severe problem: those are 'issues of high priority' that
need special handling in some steps that are about to follow.
- * Check if your kernel was 'tainted' when the issue occurred, as the event
- that made the kernel set this flag might be causing the issue you face.
-
- * Locate the driver or kernel subsystem that seems to be causing the issue.
- Find out how and where its developers expect reports. Note: most of the
- time this won't be bugzilla.kernel.org, as issues typically need to be sent
- by mail to a maintainer and a public mailing list.
-
- * Search the archives of the bug tracker or mailing list in question
- thoroughly for reports that might match your issue. Also check if you find
- something with your favorite internet search engine or in the Linux Kernel
- Mailing List (LKML) archives. If you find anything, join the discussion
- instead of sending a new report.
+ * Make sure it's not the kernel's surroundings that are causing the issue
+ you face.
* Create a fresh backup and put system repair and restore tools at hand.
@@ -123,8 +96,8 @@ process won't feel wasted in the end:
kernel modules on-the-fly, which solutions like DKMS might be doing locally
without your knowledge.
- * Make sure it's not the kernel's surroundings that are causing the issue
- you face.
+ * Check if your kernel was 'tainted' when the issue occurred, as the event
+ that made the kernel set this flag might be causing the issue you face.
* Write down coarsely how to reproduce the issue. If you deal with multiple
issues at once, create separate notes for each of them and make sure they
@@ -132,20 +105,35 @@ process won't feel wasted in the end:
needs to get reported to the kernel developers separately, unless they are
strongly entangled.
+ * If you are facing a regression within a stable or longterm version line
+ (say something broke when updating from 5.10.4 to 5.10.5), scroll down to
+ 'Dealing with regressions within a stable and longterm kernel line'.
+
+ * Locate the driver or kernel subsystem that seems to be causing the issue.
+ Find out how and where its developers expect reports. Note: most of the
+ time this won't be bugzilla.kernel.org, as issues typically need to be sent
+ by mail to a maintainer and a public mailing list.
+
+ * Search the archives of the bug tracker or mailing list in question
+ thoroughly for reports that might match your issue. If you find anything,
+ join the discussion instead of sending a new report.
+
After these preparations you'll now enter the main part:
- * Install the latest Linux mainline kernel: that's where all issues get
- fixed first, because it's the version line the kernel developers mainly
- care about. Testing and reporting with the latest Linux stable kernel can
- be an acceptable alternative in some situations, for example during the
- merge window; but during that period you might want to suspend your efforts
- till its end anyway.
+ * Unless you are already running the latest 'mainline' Linux kernel, better
+ go and install it for the reporting process. Testing and reporting with
+ the latest 'stable' Linux can be an acceptable alternative in some
+ situations; during the merge window that actually might be even the best
+ approach, but in that development phase it can be an even better idea to
+ suspend your efforts for a few days anyway. Whatever version you choose,
+ ideally use a 'vanilla' build. Ignoring these advices will dramatically
+ increase the risk your report will be rejected or ignored.
* Ensure the kernel you just installed does not 'taint' itself when
running.
* Reproduce the issue with the kernel you just installed. If it doesn't show
- up there, head over to the instructions for issues only happening with
+ up there, scroll down to the instructions for issues only happening with
stable and longterm kernels.
* Optimize your notes: try to find and write the most straightforward way to
@@ -154,8 +142,8 @@ After these preparations you'll now enter the main part:
that hear about it for the first time. And if you learned something in this
process, consider searching again for existing reports about the issue.
- * If the failure includes a stack dump, like an Oops does, consider decoding
- it to find the offending line of code.
+ * If your failure involves a 'panic', 'Oops', 'warning', or 'BUG', consider
+ decoding the kernel log to find the line of code that triggered the error.
* If your problem is a regression, try to narrow down when the issue was
introduced as much as possible.
@@ -184,28 +172,54 @@ After these preparations you'll now enter the main part:
help yourself, if you don't get any help or if it's unsatisfying.
+Reporting regressions within a stable and longterm kernel line
+--------------------------------------------------------------
+
+This subsection is for you, if you followed above process and got sent here at
+the point about regression within a stable or longterm kernel version line. You
+face one of those if something breaks when updating from 5.10.4 to 5.10.5 (a
+switch from 5.9.15 to 5.10.5 does not qualify). The developers want to fix such
+regressions as quickly as possible, hence there is a streamlined process to
+report them:
+
+ * Check if the kernel developers still maintain the Linux kernel version
+ line you care about: go to the `front page of kernel.org
+ <https://kernel.org/>`_ and make sure it mentions
+ the latest release of the particular version line without an '[EOL]' tag.
+
+ * Check the archives of the `Linux stable mailing list
+ <https://lore.kernel.org/stable/>`_ for existing reports.
+
+ * Install the latest release from the particular version line as a vanilla
+ kernel. Ensure this kernel is not tainted and still shows the problem, as
+ the issue might have already been fixed there. If you first noticed the
+ problem with a vendor kernel, check a vanilla build of the last version
+ known to work performs fine as well.
+
+ * Send a short problem report to the Linux stable mailing list
+ (stable@vger.kernel.org) and CC the Linux regressions mailing list
+ (regressions@lists.linux.dev). Roughly describe the issue and ideally
+ explain how to reproduce it. Mention the first version that shows the
+ problem and the last version that's working fine. Then wait for further
+ instructions.
+
+The reference section below explains each of these steps in more detail.
+
+
Reporting issues only occurring in older kernel version lines
-------------------------------------------------------------
-This section is for you, if you tried the latest mainline kernel as outlined
+This subsection is for you, if you tried the latest mainline kernel as outlined
above, but failed to reproduce your issue there; at the same time you want to
-see the issue fixed in older version lines or a vendor kernel that's regularly
-rebased on new stable or longterm releases. If that case follow these steps:
+see the issue fixed in a still supported stable or longterm series or vendor
+kernels regularly rebased on those. If that the case, follow these steps:
* Prepare yourself for the possibility that going through the next few steps
might not get the issue solved in older releases: the fix might be too big
or risky to get backported there.
- * Check if the kernel developers still maintain the Linux kernel version
- line you care about: go to the front page of kernel.org and make sure it
- mentions the latest release of the particular version line without an
- '[EOL]' tag.
-
- * Check the archives of the Linux stable mailing list for existing reports.
-
- * Install the latest release from the particular version line as a vanilla
- kernel. Ensure this kernel is not tainted and still shows the problem, as
- the issue might have already been fixed there.
+ * Perform the first three steps in the section "Dealing with regressions
+ within a stable and longterm kernel line" above.
* Search the Linux kernel version control system for the change that fixed
the issue in mainline, as its commit message might tell you if the fix is
@@ -215,22 +229,13 @@ rebased on new stable or longterm releases. If that case follow these steps:
deemed unsuitable for backporting. If backporting was not considered at
all, join the newest discussion, asking if it's in the cards.
- * Check if you're dealing with a regression that was never present in
- mainline by installing the first release of the version line you care
- about. If the issue doesn't show up with it, you basically need to report
- the issue with this version like you would report a problem with mainline
- (see above). This ideally includes a bisection followed by a search for
- existing reports on the net; with the help of the subject and the two
- relevant commit-ids. If that doesn't turn up anything, write the report; CC
- or forward the report to the stable maintainers, the stable mailing list,
- and those who authored the change. Include the shortened commit-id if you
- found the change that causes it.
-
* One of the former steps should lead to a solution. If that doesn't work
out, ask the maintainers for the subsystem that seems to be causing the
issue for advice; CC the mailing list for the particular subsystem as well
as the stable mailing list.
+The reference section below explains each of these steps in more detail.
+
Reference section: Reporting issues to the kernel maintainers
=============================================================
@@ -276,54 +281,103 @@ issues to the Linux kernel developers.
Make sure you're using the upstream Linux kernel
------------------------------------------------
- *Stop reading this document and report the problem to your vendor instead,
- unless you are running the latest mainline kernel already or are willing to
- install it. This kernel must not be modified or enhanced in any way, and
- thus be considered 'vanilla'.*
+ *Are you facing an issue with a Linux kernel a hardware or software vendor
+ provided? Then in almost all cases you are better off to stop reading this
+ document and reporting the issue to your vendor instead, unless you are
+ willing to install the latest Linux version yourself. Be aware the latter
+ will often be needed anyway to hunt down and fix issues.*
Like most programmers, Linux kernel developers don't like to spend time dealing
-with reports for issues that don't even happen with the source code they
-maintain: it's just a waste everybody's time, yours included. That's why you
-later will have to test your issue with the latest 'vanilla' kernel: a kernel
-that was build using the Linux sources taken straight from `kernel.org
-<https://kernel.org/>`_ and not modified or enhanced in any way.
-
-Almost all kernels used in devices (Computers, Laptops, Smartphones, Routers,
-…) and most kernels shipped by Linux distributors are ancient from the point of
-kernel development and heavily modified. They thus do not qualify for reporting