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    SubjectRe: [PATCH] VMware balloon: force compiling as a module
    Date
    On Thursday, July 01, 2010 03:18:35 pm Andrew Morton wrote:
    > On Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:40:38 -0700
    >
    > Dmitry Torokhov <dtor@vmware.com> wrote:
    > > On Tuesday, June 29, 2010 09:28:59 am Bruno Pr__mont wrote:
    > > > On Tue, 29 June 2010 Alexander Clouter <alex@digriz.org.uk> wrote:
    > > > > Dmitry Torokhov <dtor@vmware.com> wrote:
    > > > > > VMware Tools installer requires the upstream driver to be compiled
    > > > > > as a module in order to detect its presence and avoid installing
    > > > > > our own version on top of it. To avoid surprises with 2 versions
    > > > > > of the driver being installed and fighting with each other, let's
    > > > > > force the driver to be compiled as a module unless user selects
    > > > > > CONFIG_EMBEDDED.
    > > > >
    > > > > *barf*
    > > > >
    > > > > This surely is a problem in the installer and not the kernel? Can
    > > > > you not nosey around in /sys/class/misc or where-ever your driver
    > > > > appears? If it does not, then I would probably suggest a patch to
    > > > > your balloon driver that dumps some details in there, including
    > > > > module version information.
    > > > >
    > > > > Eugh.
    > > >
    > > > In addition, the installer may check under /sys/module/ for it (as for
    > > > any/most code that can be built as a module), even for built-in code.
    > > > (if balloon driver does not show up there when built-in it would be
    > > > better to get it to show up there)
    > >
    > > When driver is built-in the only thing exported in /sys/module/XXX are
    > > module parameters.
    > >
    > > We also need to handle scenario when module is not loaded into the
    > > kernel.
    >
    > - check for the /sys/module directory.

    Empty.

    >
    > - if that failed, modprobe the driver
    >

    Succeeds since the driver name changed (we renamed it to vmware_balloon
    before submitting into mainline to avoid confusion based on our experience
    with pvscsi; the existing one in the wild is called vmmemctl).

    Now we have 2 drivers fighting. There is no backing device and so driver
    core will not save us by refusing to bind to already claimed device.

    > - if that failed, error out
    >
    > The patch really is pretty icky. Adding restrictions to kernel
    > configuration to work around problems in some installer program?

    It is probably not the prettiest patch, I agree, but users still have
    an option of building this stuff in if they care that much
    (CONFIG_EMBEDDED).

    Thanks.

    --
    Dmitry



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