Ubuntu/Debian firmware-tools status

[Matt Domsch]

On Mon, Nov 12, 2007 at 10:15:02PM -0600, Matt Domsch wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 12, 2007 at 01:51:59PM +0100, Robert Lindgren wrote:
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I was just wondering if there is any work going on with providing
> > newer version of the firmware-tools for Ubuntu/Debian. I'm aware that
> > Dell doesn't support this OS, but right now it's kinda problematic to
> > upgrade a remote Dell server running these OSes.
> > 
> > Is it possible to convert the current versions of the rpms with alien
> > and have a successful flash of lets say the latest urgent perc4
> > firmware for 2850?
> 
> A few weeks ago I spent time making proper Debian/Ubuntu packages.
> That code is in the git repositories at http://linux.dell.com/git/ for
> firmware-tools and firmware-addon-dell.  "make deb" and "make sdeb"
> (for uploading to REVU) are added and functional.

I've uploaded firmware-tools and firmware-addon-dell to REVU and have
LP bugs filed, if anyone would care to comment on them.

http://revu.tauware.de/details.py?package=firmware-tools
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/163120

http://revu.tauware.de/details.py?package=firmware-addon-dell
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/163122


> A few gotchas still exist.
> 1) there's no easy way to deal with multiple target distro versions
>    without editing debian/changelog for each build.  That's somewhat
>    annoying.  OK, more than somewhat.  So this isn't automated.

This may be simpler than I thought.  firmware-tools and
firmware-addon-dell are entirely in Python, and Debian/Ubuntu
packaging for python apps do the byte compilation at installation
time, not at package build time (as is done in RPMs).  This means we
can upload the packages for Hardy, and then request they be added to
feisty-backports and gutsy-backports, without rebuilding the packages.

 
> 2) corollary to 1), where do we put all those firmware packages that
>    will work for all the debian versions?  They're really simple
>    packages, but it makes no sense to replicate them for each distro
>    version. (and no, I don't really want to get into full pool
>    management if I can avoid it).  This may wind up being as simple as
>    creating a fake version named 'crossdistro' or something,

I was under the impression we had to rebuild the package for each
target distro.  I now believe, thanks to conversations with the MOTU
team, that we can build them once for Hardy, and then hardlink copy the debs
into the apt-ftparchive directory structure for gutsy and feisty,
without rebuilding them.

Thanks,
Matt

-- 
Matt Domsch
Linux Technology Strategist, Dell Office of the CTO
linux.dell.com & www.dell.com/linux