[LU-5712] Derive LGPL library from libcfs

• Type: Improvement
• Resolution: Duplicate
• Priority: Minor
• Assignee: WC Triage
• Reporter: Doug Oucharek (Inactive)

Description

Features like Dynamic LNet Config (LU-2456) create an LGPL library so user space users do not have to adopt the GPL in their own source. However, the libcfs library, which is GPL, is still depended upon for things like the ioctl communication layer for communicating with Lustre modules in kernel space.

This ticket is proposing the creation of a new LGPL library which replicates some features of libcfs but in a LGPL library. Two specific areas identified by the Dynamic LNet Config project for this library are:

1- ioctl interface layer
2- various conversion routines for dealing with things like NIDs in LNet

In addition, keeping this library leaner than libcfs will help reduce the required storage for user space applications.

Issue Links

• duplicates: LU-5969 Create an LGPL version of liblustreapi

Comments

[Andreas Dilger]

Closing as a duplicate of LU-5969

[Gerrit Updater]

James Simmons ([e-mail]) uploaded a new patch: http://review.whamcloud.com/13424
Subject: LU-5712 libcfs: merge libcfs.a into libcfsutil.a
Project: fs/lustre-release
Branch: master
Current Patch Set: 1
Commit: 2818bcd77aefbc50a1d70802886341cdd637cede

[James A Simmons]

A few suggestions for this work I like to purpose. One is separate out the user land code from the libcfs headers and place them with this library. Currently the libcfs headers are a tangled mess. Secondly we should place the procfs/sysfs parameter handling here instead of liblustreapi. This way light weight routers don't need to carry liblustreapi on them. It looks like all the parsing can be ported to the getopt api which is a portable standard.