UML/2.6 patches (against vanilla kernel)

Some Uml patches for Linux 2.6 can be found here. The v## directories correspond to the various versions available; always use the latest version you can find. See here for simple use instructions.

You can choose the combo patch or split patches; if you want to use them, read the 00-README file, but if you are not a UML developer, you probably don't need them. Note that they must be applied in alphanumeric order!
The tarball (uml-patches-2.6.x-##.tar.bz2) contains the split patches + the README.

Since version 2.6.0-v8 they do, finally, work properly. I've successfully ran UML built kernels and there are no known bugs (even if, as always, all this stuff is provided "as-is").

About the various kernel releases:

For 2.6.0, they must be applied onto vanilla (i.e. you must not apply any other patch before applying them), as they include even the needed parts of the latest patch from Jeff Dike (the official UML maintainer).
For 2.6.1, since there was an huge number of updates into Jeff Dike's patch, that is not included; I've just updated (with no functional change) the other patches.
For 2.6.2, you can find uml-patch-2.6.2-0.bz2, which is Jeff Dike's patch with very little changes to apply onto 2.6.2 (and not anything else changed); and you will find 00-Combo-v1.bz2, like for other releases, which you must apply on top of uml-patch-2.6.2-0.bz2.

The 00-README file inside it lists the patch providing useful infos for each of them.

Purposes I'm trying to achieve

This bunch of patches is meant:

to add some bug-fixes and little cleanups (expecially for the build system).
to include all patches I develop, + the patches I recollect from others on the UML-devel mailing list.

Its main bug-fix is that with it module support works well (you can even enable CONFIG_MODVERSIONS, since I've tested it and it works).

Also, I prepared a patch that throws away the SKAS3 code (so that UML can be included in mainline). That is currently (for 2.6.2-v1) C-06-Remove-old-skas-support.patch.

Also, if I've not broken anything, i386 should compile even with all these applied (I've a strong commitment on this). The problem with A-04-MM-compile-fix.patch has been finally solved by replacing it. Sorry, but the SKAS patch I published does not compile... I *did* test it, but then I did a little change that broke compilation.

LEGAL NOTE: what you find here is under GPL:

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.

How to apply them

To compile a UML 2.6 guest kernel

Take a 2.6.1/2.6.2 kernel, without any patch applied (i.e. a "vanilla" kernel). The patches for 2.6.0 are still available but there is a lot of work missing from those (at least 6 months of work from Jeff Dike and others).
Go to the root of the kernel tree.
Apply the base Uml patch:
```
      bzcat uml-patch-version.bz2|patch -p1
    
```
For 2.6.1, you can find uml-patch-2.6.1-1.bz2 on the main UML site. For 2.6.2, the updated version is not yet available. Use uml-patch-2.6.2-0.bz2. Note my patches will not apply onto next Jeff Dike's release (also because that one will include some of them).
Then, on top of that, apply the combo patch. In this example I use version 1 of the combo; if you find a later one, use that.
```
      bzcat 00-Combo-v1.bz2|patch -p1
    
```
Configure the kernel for UML (remember to enable /proc/mm under UML-specific options), then build it and enjoy:
```
      make menuconfig ARCH=um
      make linux modules ARCH=um
    
```
see also compiling instructions on UML main site.

To compile a 2.6.0 host kernel with the SKAS patch

You no more need to unapply the A-04 patch, as it has been replaced by a safe one.
Save your .config file in the kernel source tree root and run:
```
      make mrproper ARCH=um
    
```
to avoid problems when building the host kernel. You must always run make mrproper when changing build architecture.
Now configure the kernel(without ARCH=um, this is an host kernel), enable /proc/mm under "Processor type and features" menu, and build it.

To compile a 2.6.2 host kernel with the SKAS patch

Sorry, nothing for now. I hope I'll release soon another host-skas patch.

Reporting problems

In the case you have problems with my patches applied, you can drop me a mail on my address. But probably you can get a faster response by posting a message to the uml-devel/uml-user mailing list or by searching on this FAQ, since I do not have a lot of free time and there are other kind people that help the community answering user question. See here to register on the two mailing lists, or the web archives for the two lists:

uml-user archive
uml-devel archive

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