X stack + plumbing LTS point updates

Registered by Bryce Harrington

Canonical has announced a new 5-year LTS support policy for the Ubuntu Desktop which will provide updates to X, drivers, and necessary plumbing layer components to provide support for newer hardware in the LTS.

 * What is the best way to distribute the updated X stack?

 * Will this be an opt-in change for upgraders? If so, how will the upgrader need to be changed to properly guide the user in making a choice?

 * For consistency, what version naming scheme should be used for these package updates?

 * Should we limit it to just the serverside portion of the X stack? (I.e. omit libX11, etc. to avoid breakage to client apps)

 * For certain graphics cards, there is a possibility that driver support could be dropped in future kernel and X combinations; the upgrader will need to be aware of this and not suggest the upgrade if it won't work, or perhaps make them aware of the risks or known-regressions they'll endure if they wish to proceed anyway.

 * Should a way be provided to enable the user to back out the changes? If so, how should that be implemented?

 * How tightly should the kernel / X package versions be kept? I.e. should we discourage or permit old-kernel/new-X and/or new-kernel/old-X setups. (If we permit these combinations it gives user flexibility but imposes a larger testing impact).

Blueprint information

Status:
Started
Approver:
Steve Langasek
Priority:
High
Drafter:
Bryce Harrington
Direction:
Approved
Assignee:
Maarten Lankhorst
Definition:
Approved
Series goal:
Accepted for quantal
Implementation:
Beta Available
Milestone target:
milestone icon ubuntu-12.10
Started by
Bryce Harrington

Related branches

Sprints

Whiteboard

didrocks 2012-09-13: postponed some of the items and asked the change the global status

seb128 2012-07-12: changing target milestoned to ubuntu-12.10, the tracker doesn't like the 12.04.2 milestone for q-serie blueprint and we don't have charts for the lts point releases anyway

bryce 2012-01-03: Emailed archive folks for advice on making old X stacks available in the LTS. For package naming, kernel names source packages by appending -lts-backports-$VERSION. They don't appear to need to rename binary packages since they already include the kernel version; instead I'm assuming we would rename binary packages like sources - append -lts-backports-$VERSION.

bryce 2012-01-04: The old point releases can be found on old-releases, e.g. http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/lucid/. This can be the solution for people who need to use an earlier X stack for the LTS.

slangasek 2012-01-11: the bluetooth stack relies only on the AF_BLUETOOTH socket interface and a handful of ioctls; bluez is not expected to need updates for a new kernel rev.

pitti 2012-04-20: I suggest moving the whole blueprint to Q, as most WIs are still open.

bryce 2012-05-10: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/AutomatedTesting/UpToDateKernel is the wiki page for coordinating automated testing of the point release stack.

The rename scripts are at https://code.launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/xorg-server/xorg-pkg-tools. See dpkg-control, lts-pkg-rename, and lts-pkg-mapping.txt.

jdstrand 2012-05-18: emailed release team regarding timing of EOL notice: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-release/2012-May/001214.html

mlankhorst 2012-05-29: ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/q-lts-backport now has the full Xorg stack

(?)

Work Items

Work items:
[bryce] Look at existing kernel update package name scheme to follow that: DONE
[bryce] Communicate with the release team that we don't put previous point releases where they can't be found: DONE
[raof] Check that just changing the package names doesn't severely break compatibility: DONE
[raof] Need to check libdrm and libpciaccess before P is release to make sure it'll update properly: DONE
[bryce] Need to write script to do renames, replaces, breaks: DONE
[vorlon] Review rename script: DONE
[mlankhorst] Finalize list with all stakeholders of exactly which X packages will be renamed and list in lts-pkg-mapping.txt: INPROGRESS
[mlankhorst] Also review the rename script: DONE
[tjaalton] Also also review the rename script: DONE
[mlankhorst] Need to test mechanically applying the update package names: DONE
[themuso] Coordinate alsalib, et al. updates with the kernel backports (perhaps using same scripts as X): POSTPONED
[themuso] Talk to diwic if pulseaudio is going to need backported when alsa is backported: POSTPONED
[vorlon] Investigate effect on bluetooth and other services for server updates: DONE
[sarvatt] script the package removal process so people can revert back easily: POSTPONED
[mlankhorst] Define desktop-enablement metapackage: INPROGRESS
[timg-tpi] Define kernel-enablement metapackage: DONE
[vanhoof] Talk with PES to ensure metapackage nameing won't frighten off the folks.: DONE
[jdstrand] talk to release team about timing of EOL notice so it does not come too early: DONE
[bryce] Sync with Gemma re: daily testing of 12.04-on-12.10 PPA: DONE
[leannogasawara] Drive decision pre UDS-R whether or not the 12.10 stack is the only supported stack on 12.04.2 media, and if both are supported, which is the default boot option for end users: DONE
[ubuntu-x-swat] virtualbox from precise doesn't build with quantal kernel, find a solution for all dkms packages?: TODO

Dependency tree

* Blueprints in grey have been implemented.