Big problems with 7.1 locking up :-(

Doug Barton dougb at FreeBSD.org
Wed Jan 21 22:32:04 PST 2009


Pete Carah wrote:
> I have done some (lots of) kernel debugging in the past.  I have several 
> points:
> 
> 1. I shouldn't *have* to kernel debug for a normal usage of an
> official release.

Um, why not? We certainly put every possible effort into making sure
that releases (and in fact stable branches in general) do not regress,
but it is inevitable that with the extraordinarily wide range of
hardware and workloads that run FreeBSD there will be regressions.
Mark has already commented on the need for wider community review of
release candidates, so I won't go there.

Helping the community understand and hopefully fix the problem when
something goes pear-shaped for you is part of the "price" of free
software. If you're unwilling (or unable, as you indicate below) to
pay that price, you may just have to find another tool for the job.

> 2. One of the soekris boxes is 2800 MILES away, in a remote location,

That's what serial consoles and remote power switches are for. It's
not our fault if you don't have access to those.

> 3. I can't afford the time to debug my tools (freebsd is a tool, not an
> experiment, for lots of people, including me...)  I use this laptop at 
> work in a place where I am *not* working on freebsd. (nor am I even allowed
> to at work...)


Doug (who's still a volunteer, last time I checked)

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