c7ff693fa2
The kernel configuration allows specifying a module compression mode. If
one is selected then each module gets compressed during
'make modules_install' and additionally one can also enable support for
a respective direct in-kernel decompression support. This means that the
decompression support cannot be enabled without the automatic compression.
Some distributions, such as the (open)SUSE family, use a signer service for
modules. A build runs on a worker machine but signing is done by a separate
locked-down server that is in possession of the signing key. The build
invokes 'make modules_install' to create a modules tree, collects
information about the modules, asks the signer service for their signature,
appends each signature to the respective module and compresses all modules.
When using this arrangment, the 'make modules_install' step produces
unsigned+uncompressed modules and the distribution's own build recipe takes
care of signing and compression later.
The signing support can be currently enabled without automatically signing
modules during 'make modules_install'. However, the in-kernel decompression
support can be selected only after first enabling automatic compression
during this step.
To allow only enabling the in-kernel decompression support without the
automatic compression during 'make modules_install', separate the
compression options similarly to the signing options, as follows:
> Enable loadable module support
[*] Module compression
Module compression type (GZIP) --->
[*] Automatically compress all modules
[ ] Support in-kernel module decompression
* "Module compression" (MODULE_COMPRESS) is a new main switch for the
compression/decompression support. It replaces MODULE_COMPRESS_NONE.
* "Module compression type" (MODULE_COMPRESS_<type>) chooses the
compression type, one of GZ, XZ, ZSTD.
* "Automatically compress all modules" (MODULE_COMPRESS_ALL) is a new
option to enable module compression during 'make modules_install'. It
defaults to Y.
* "Support in-kernel module decompression" (MODULE_DECOMPRESS) enables
in-kernel decompression.
Signed-off-by: Petr Pavlu <petr.pavlu@suse.com>
Acked-by: Masahiro Yamada <masahiroy@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@kernel.org>
Linux kernel
============
There are several guides for kernel developers and users. These guides can
be rendered in a number of formats, like HTML and PDF. Please read
Documentation/admin-guide/README.rst first.
In order to build the documentation, use ``make htmldocs`` or
``make pdfdocs``. The formatted documentation can also be read online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/
There are various text files in the Documentation/ subdirectory,
several of them using the reStructuredText markup notation.
Please read the Documentation/process/changes.rst file, as it contains the
requirements for building and running the kernel, and information about
the problems which may result by upgrading your kernel.