[Nix-dev] Default Kernel Policy

[Shea Levy]

Hi all,

Greg Kroah-Hartman has just announced[1] that the Linux 3.10 series will be maintained as a longterm stable kernel. As we just recently changed the default kernel for NixOS to 3.4, last year's stable, I thought it might be good to come up with a policy for how we update our default kernel relative to the stable releases.

For those who don't know, Greg KH has committed to choosing a new series every year to support as longterm for the next two years. I propose we adopt the following policy:

• Each year, when the next longterm kernel is selected, we update the default kernel to the previous year's longterm kernel
• Each year, when the next longterm kernel is selected, we update the default kernel for installation media to the new longterm kernel
• All NixOS automated tests run against both longterm kernels when it makes sense (i.e. when they don't require some new kernel feature)

This has a number of benefits:

• Installation media is more likely to have support for modern hardware while still providing a reliable system
• The default kernel will always be a mature, tested code base that will still be fully supported until the next upgrade (without high-frequency upgrades)
• Especially as more tests get added, NixOS can realistically claim to support the kernel series that conservatice users, particularly enterprise users, will want to use

Thoughts? Any ideas for how this should interact with the official releases we're planning?

Thanks,
Shea

[1]: http://www.kroah.com/log/blog/2013/08/04/longterm-kernel-3-dot-10/
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