Bug#525958: Disable CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE on sparc - also affects Lenny!
found 525958 2.6.26-15 thanks If I understand David Miller correctly, this also affects stable kernels. Here's a message I received from him for #504721 against D-I's rootskel (which was rejected because that bug's already been archived). I'm not sure if changing this is appropriate for stable, but I guess if anyone is an authority on correct Sparc kernel configuration, then David is. Cheers, FJP Forwarded message === From: David Miller da...@davemloft.net To: 504...@bugs.debian.org Date: 03/05/09 23:32 The reason this bug happens is because CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE is enabled in the kernel. It unconditionally gets registered as a real console before the Sun Hypervisor console driver has a chance to register. The kernel takes whatever real console registers first, as the highest priority console (unless specified otherwise on the command line). This is why the test program that runs to determine the inittab getty settings doesn't see the console as a serial device. And no, using console=ttyS0 will not fix this problem on Niagara. On Niagara you would need to use console=ttyHV0. The only reasonable fix for this bug is to disable CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE in the kernel configuration. Nobody should be enabling that kernel config option on sparc. It specifically creates this problem because unlike the framebuffer and serial console drivers, it does not have a way to know whether it should register or not. The serial and framebuffer drivers check the PROM indicated device node of the console device, and it only registers the device as the console if it matches the value of the 'output-device' PROM environment variable setting. Therefore, having CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE enabled in the tree is going to do nothing other than constantly create problems and conflicts like this. It needs to be turned off, forever. == -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#525958: Disable CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE on sparc
On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 08:42:44AM +0100, Jurij Smakov wrote: Please see David Miller's message below, looks like we need to remove the PROM console driver (CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE) in order to make the performance acceptable on Niagara boxes. It would be great if you could make the newly built kernel with this change available to sparc folks before upload, so that we can make sure that it does not introduce any regressions. Is this prom console used by other sparc boxes? Bastian -- Without followers, evil cannot spread. -- Spock, And The Children Shall Lead, stardate 5029.5 -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#525958: Disable CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE on sparc
On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 10:39:46AM +0200, Bastian Blank wrote: On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 08:42:44AM +0100, Jurij Smakov wrote: Please see David Miller's message below, looks like we need to remove the PROM console driver (CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE) in order to make the performance acceptable on Niagara boxes. It would be great if you could make the newly built kernel with this change available to sparc folks before upload, so that we can make sure that it does not introduce any regressions. Is this prom console used by other sparc boxes? I have no idea, that's why I would prefer to ask people to test the kernel on debian-sparc before uploading. If you are pressed for time during this round, it's better to postpone it then. -- Jurij Smakov ju...@wooyd.org Key: http://www.wooyd.org/pgpkey/ KeyID: C99E03CC -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#525958: Disable CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE on sparc
Package: linux-2.6 Version: 2.6.29-3 Severity: wishlist Hi kernel-team, Please see David Miller's message below, looks like we need to remove the PROM console driver (CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE) in order to make the performance acceptable on Niagara boxes. It would be great if you could make the newly built kernel with this change available to sparc folks before upload, so that we can make sure that it does not introduce any regressions. - Forwarded message from David Miller da...@davemloft.net - Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:09:43 -0700 (PDT) To: ju...@wooyd.org Cc: sparcli...@vger.kernel.org, debian-sp...@lists.debian.org Subject: debian unusable on niagara From: David Miller da...@davemloft.net X-Mailer: Mew version 6.2.51 on Emacs 22.1 / Mule 5.0 (SAKAKI) X-Mailing-List: debian-sp...@lists.debian.org archive/latest/22353 I really didn't expect this, and then I saw other users complaining too. 1) Please remove the PROM console driver from the kernel config, it does nothing but get in the way. This will fix the console slow on bootup problem everyone reports on niagara boxes. Putting console=ttyHV0 on the kernel command line works as a workaround but it still clears the screen once using the PROM console and even that takes nearly a minute (!). 2) Please fix the GETTY setup so that it properly uses ttyS0 on Niagara. Otherwise people have no console and can't use their machine at all after installation. Ubuntu does this by making sure there is an /etc/event.d/ttyS0 file with a line saying exec /sbin/getty -L ttyS0 9600 vt102 or similar. Between the ultra45 unbootable problem and these, I'm really losing faith... :-/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-sparc-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org - End forwarded message - -- Jurij Smakov ju...@wooyd.org Key: http://www.wooyd.org/pgpkey/ KeyID: C99E03CC -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
