Just so everyone is clear: We (IBM) do not like to resort to OCO, but in this world it is the only way to protect the intellectual property present in the drivers. If the drivers weren't OCO, anyone could step up to the challenge to provide support. But, when all the shouting is over, IBM or its delegate is the one who provides support for its OCO modules, not the Open Source community at large. This means that IBM has the right and the responsibility to determine what levels of the kernel it will support.
It is obvious that many on this list have differing views about what the word "support" means. By that, I mean more than just doing some coding. I mean that IBM will fix something that isn't working. That promise is not trivial and actually costs IBM real dollars to provide. We have people that design, code, test, and document our drivers. When there's a new driver, there's more testing. That means tying up REAL resources (people and machines). When that happens, those resources aren't available to be used on other things, whether related to Linux or IBM's other business interests. It is not the IBM business model to release code to the world that may or may not work, and then wait for the fall-out. I *know* this is frustrating to many and I am sorry for that, but we would rather focus our efforts on opening up the interface (a difficult task at best, with lots of legal complications) and eliminate the need for OCO drivers altogether. This is where the win/win is to be found. In the meantime, solutions can be had simply by routing your "new Linux" IP traffic through a "certified Linux" which owns the adapters. Yeah, that means some overhead, but on the other hand it gets the job done since it is obviously important to create the "new Linux" for reasons totally unrelated to networking. (Those with other IBM operating systems can route their Linux IP traffic through those platforms as well.) Alternatively, choose a networking interface for which source exists, e.g. CLAW. Regards, Alan Senior Software Engineer z/VM, TCP/IP, VIF, and Linux for zSeries Development, Endicott, NY Phone 607.752.6027 fax 607.752.1497 t/l 852
