-[Some of this is taken from Frohwalt Egerer's original linux-kernel FAQ]
+Background
+==========
- What follows is a suggested procedure for reporting Linux bugs. You
-aren't obliged to use the bug reporting format, it is provided as a guide
-to the kind of information that can be useful to developers - no more.
+The upstream Linux kernel maintainers only fix bugs for specific kernel
+versions. Those versions include the current "release candidate" (or -rc)
+kernel, any "stable" kernel versions, and any "long term" kernels.
+
+Please see https://www.kernel.org/ for a list of supported kernels. Any
+kernel marked with [EOL] is "end of life" and will not have any fixes
+backported to it.
+
+If you've found a bug on a kernel version isn't listed on kernel.org,
+contact your Linux distribution or embedded vendor for support.
+Alternatively, you can attempt to run one of the supported stable or -rc
+kernels, and see if you can reproduce the bug on that. It's preferable
+to reproduce the bug on the latest -rc kernel.
+
+
+How to report Linux kernel bugs
+===============================
+
+
+Identify the problematic subsystem
+----------------------------------
+
+Identifying which part of the Linux kernel might be causing your issue
+increases your chances of getting your bug fixed. Simply posting to the
+generic linux-kernel mailing list (LKML) may cause your bug report to be
+lost in the noise of a mailing list that gets 1000+ emails a day.
+
+Instead, try to figure out which kernel subsystem is causing the issue,
+and email that subsystem's maintainer and mailing list. If the subsystem
+maintainer doesn't answer, then expand your scope to mailing lists like
+LKML.
+
+
+Identify who to notify
+----------------------
+
+Once you know the subsystem that is causing the issue, you should send a
+bug report. Some maintainers prefer bugs to be reported via bugzilla
+(https://bugzilla.kernel.org), while others prefer that bugs be reported
+via the subsystem mailing list.
+
+To find out where to send an emailed bug report, find your subsystem or
+device driver in the MAINTAINERS file. Search in the file for relevant
+entries, and send your bug report to the person(s) listed in the "M:"
+lines, making sure to Cc the mailing list(s) in the "L:" lines. When the
+maintainer replies to you, make sure to 'Reply-all' in order to keep the
+public mailing list(s) in the email thread.
+
+If you know which driver is causing issues, you can pass one of the driver
+files to the get_maintainer.pl script:
+ perl scripts/get_maintainer.pl -f <filename>
+
+If it is a security bug, please copy the Security Contact listed in the
+MAINTAINERS file. They can help coordinate bugfix and disclosure. See
+Documentation/SecurityBugs for more information.
+
+If you can't figure out which subsystem caused the issue, you should file
+a bug in kernel.org bugzilla and send email to
+linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, referencing the bugzilla URL. (For more
+information on the linux-kernel mailing list see
+http://www.tux.org/lkml/).
- If the failure includes an "OOPS:" type message in your log or on
-screen please read "Documentation/oops-tracing.txt" before posting your
-bug report. This explains what you should do with the "Oops" information
-to make it useful to the recipient.
- Send the output to the maintainer of the kernel area that seems to
-be involved with the problem. Don't worry too much about getting the
-wrong person. If you are unsure send it to the person responsible for the
-code relevant to what you were doing. If it occurs repeatably try and
-describe how to recreate it. That is worth even more than the oops itself.
-The list of maintainers is in the MAINTAINERS file in this directory.
+Tips for reporting bugs
+-----------------------
- If it is a security bug, please copy the Security Contact listed
-in the MAINTAINERS file. They can help coordinate bugfix and disclosure.
-See Documentation/SecurityBugs for more information.
+If you haven't reported a bug before, please read:
- If you are totally stumped as to whom to send the report, send it to
-linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org. (For more information on the linux-kernel
-mailing list see http://www.tux.org/lkml/).
+http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html
+http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
-This is a suggested format for a bug report sent to the Linux kernel mailing
-list. Having a standardized bug report form makes it easier for you not to
+It's REALLY important to report bugs that seem unrelated as separate email
+threads or separate bugzilla entries. If you report several unrelated
+bugs at once, it's difficult for maintainers to tease apart the relevant
+data.
+
+
+Gather information
+------------------
+
+The most important information in a bug report is how to reproduce the
+bug. This includes system information, and (most importantly)
+step-by-step instructions for how a user can trigger the bug.
+
+If the failure includes an "OOPS:", take a picture of the screen, capture
+a netconsole trace, or type the message from your screen into the bug
+report. Please read "Documentation/oops-tracing.txt" before posting your
+bug report. This explains what you should do with the "Oops" information
+to make it useful to the recipient.
+
+This is a suggested format for a bug report sent via email or bugzilla.
+Having a standardized bug report form makes it easier for you not to
overlook things, and easier for the developers to find the pieces of
-information they're really interested in. Don't feel you have to follow it.
+information they're really interested in. If some information is not
+relevant to your bug, feel free to exclude it.
- First run the ver_linux script included as scripts/ver_linux, which
+First run the ver_linux script included as scripts/ver_linux, which
reports the version of some important subsystems. Run this script with
the command "sh scripts/ver_linux".
[1.] One line summary of the problem:
[2.] Full description of the problem/report:
[3.] Keywords (i.e., modules, networking, kernel):
-[4.] Kernel version (from /proc/version):
+[4.] Kernel information
+[4.1.] Kernel version (from /proc/version):
+[4.2.] Kernel .config file:
[5.] Most recent kernel version which did not have the bug:
[6.] Output of Oops.. message (if applicable) with symbolic information
resolved (see Documentation/oops-tracing.txt)
[X.] Other notes, patches, fixes, workarounds:
-Thank you
+Follow up
+=========
+
+Expectations for bug reporters
+------------------------------
+
+Linux kernel maintainers expect bug reporters to be able to follow up on
+bug reports. That may include running new tests, applying patches,
+recompiling your kernel, and/or re-triggering your bug. The most
+frustrating thing for maintainers is for someone to report a bug, and then
+never follow up on a request to try out a fix.
+
+That said, it's still useful for a kernel maintainer to know a bug exists
+on a supported kernel, even if you can't follow up with retests. Follow
+up reports, such as replying to the email thread with "I tried the latest
+kernel and I can't reproduce my bug anymore" are also helpful, because
+maintainers have to assume silence means things are still broken.
+
+Expectations for kernel maintainers
+-----------------------------------
+
+Linux kernel maintainers are busy, overworked human beings. Some times
+they may not be able to address your bug in a day, a week, or two weeks.
+If they don't answer your email, they may be on vacation, or at a Linux
+conference. Check the conference schedule at LWN.net for more info:
+ https://lwn.net/Calendar/
+
+In general, kernel maintainers take 1 to 5 business days to respond to
+bugs. The majority of kernel maintainers are employed to work on the
+kernel, and they may not work on the weekends. Maintainers are scattered
+around the world, and they may not work in your time zone. Unless you
+have a high priority bug, please wait at least a week after the first bug
+report before sending the maintainer a reminder email.
+
+The exceptions to this rule are regressions, kernel crashes, security holes,
+or userspace breakage caused by new kernel behavior. Those bugs should be
+addressed by the maintainers ASAP. If you suspect a maintainer is not
+responding to these types of bugs in a timely manner (especially during a
+merge window), escalate the bug to LKML and Linus Torvalds.
+
+Thank you!
+
+[Some of this is taken from Frohwalt Egerer's original linux-kernel FAQ]
Code Review / linux-3.10.git / blobdiff