On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:30:18 -0800 Carol Hebert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> On Thu, 2008-04-03 at 15:29 -0700, Andrew Morton wrote:
> > On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:09:48 -0500
> > Corey Minyard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > 
> > > Carol Hebert wrote:
> > > > Hi Corey,
> > > >
> > > > This patch does not appear to be in the 2.6.25-rc8 kernel although you
> > > > sent it in to lkml over 6 weeks back.  We were sort of expecting (and
> > > > counting on) it to be included in the mainline kernel by now.  Is there
> > > > anything we can do to encourage the kernel folks to pull this patch in
> > > > soon?
> > > >
> > > > Thank you very much for all your help, :-)
> > > >   
> > > Well, we can try, but it might be a little late.
> > > 
> > > Andrew, could we get this patch pushed to the mainstream kernel?
> > > 
> > 
> > yes, but...
> > 
> > > 
> > > > Carol Hebert
> > > >
> > > > On Wed, 2008-02-13 at 10:22 -0600, Corey Minyard wrote:
> > > >   
> > > >> From: Carol Hebert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > >>
> > > >> Currently, on systems with multiple BMC interfaces, the ipmi device
> > > >> names are being created in reverse order relative to how they are
> > > >> discovered on the system (e.g. on an IBM x3950 multinode server with N
> > > >> nodes, the device name for the BMC in the first node is /dev/ipmiN-1 
> > > >> and
> > > >> the device name for the BMC in the last node is /dev/ipmi0, etc.). The
> > > >> problem is caused by the list handling routines chosen in dmi_scan.c.
> > > >> Using list_add() causes the multiple ipmi devices to be added to the
> > > >> device list using a stack-paradigm and so the ipmi driver subsequently
> > > >> pulls them off during initialization in LIFO order.  This patch changes
> > > >> the dmi_save_ipmi_device() list handling paradigm to a queue, thereby
> > > >> allowing the ipmi driver to build the ipmi device names in the order in
> > 
> > So the device nodes are enumerated in reverse order relative to their
> > order-of-discovery.  The changelog doesn't actually explain why this is a
> > problem.  It should do so.
> > 
> > It sounds to me like someone has an expectation which is just unreasonable,
> > and is fragile.  But from this changelog, I just don't know what the problem
> > is. 
> > 
> > It also appears that this change will cause breakage for all those people
> > who are relying upon the existing enumeration scheme?
> > 
> 
> Hi,
> 
> This reverse enumeration scheme is actually different from how the ipmi
> driver has worked in the past.  The BMCs in multinode systems were
> historically named by the ipmi driver in the order in which they were
> probed.  As such, current multinode users are expecting ipmi0 to
> reference the BMC in their first node, ipmi1 to reference the BMC in
> their second node, etc. as was always the case in the past.  Without
> this patch, they will unknowingly be addressing the wrong BMC.  This
> could conceivably cause operations to be erroneously executed that could
> result in data loss, etc.

In which kernel version did this behavioural change occur?

(this is a hard way to write a changelog!)

> Also, if there is any software that people are using which depends on
> historical ipmi device node order, it will break without this patch.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help,
> 
> Carol Hebert
> 

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