Re: git: cf94672363d6 - main - rtw88/rtw89: remove local firmware.

On Thu, Sep 7, 2023 at 6:36 AM Bjoern A. Zeeb <bz@freebsd.org> wrote:

> On Wed, 6 Sep 2023, John Baldwin wrote:
>
> > On 9/6/23 12:06 PM, Bjoern A. Zeeb wrote:
> >> On Wed, 6 Sep 2023, John Baldwin wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 9/5/23 2:16 PM, Bjoern A. Zeeb wrote:
> >>>> The branch main has been updated by bz:
> >>>>
> >>>> URL:
> >>>>
> https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=cf94672363d6638b7268c05b4628b62bbfc8dbe5
> >>>>
> >>>> commit cf94672363d6638b7268c05b4628b62bbfc8dbe5
> >>>> Author:     Bjoern A. Zeeb <bz@FreeBSD.org>
> >>>> AuthorDate: 2023-06-08 21:35:09 +0000
> >>>> Commit:     Bjoern A. Zeeb <bz@FreeBSD.org>
> >>>> CommitDate: 2023-09-05 21:13:18 +0000
> >>>>
> >>>>       rtw88/rtw89: remove local firmware.
> >>>>            Remove firmware from src/ in favor of the ports/packages
> and
> >>>> fwget(8).
> >>>>       This will allow us to shrink the size of src (and installed
> >>>> modules).
> >>>>       Update the rtw88 man page to reflect the change.
> >>>
> >>> How does this interfact with doing an install to a machine over one of
> >>> these
> >>> interfaces?
> >>
> >> That's nothing we support.  At least we do not support netboot over wifi
> >> currently, so you'll always need another install media.
> >>
> >> How's the "bootstrapping" going to work if wireless is the only network
> >> option?
> >
> > To be clear, I was discussing the case you use a USB memstick, but fetch
> > the base system and packages over the network.
>
> Understood.  Not sure we actually support the former;  I guess I am not
> using the installer too much.
>
>
> > Or at least you need to
> > install pkg over the network, but you need pkg to install the firmware
> > so you can bring up the network which you did address, though it seems
> > something we plan to fix in the future so won't be in 14.0?
>
> Yes.  We plan to sort this out but I'd say it's unlikely for 14.0.
>
> And to be clear, it was me who raised exactly these "botstrapping"
> installer concerns in the first place.
>
> At the moment we will first need stable drivers to be able to do any
> networking in first place.   Once that is sorted, installing mobile
> devices with just them and no other means of networking will be
> addressed.
>

Yea, the rtw88 driver is stable enough for me to do a network install
over it. So now people with -current can't do that any more and have
to do hokey things to get the firmware or other packages to the laptop
before they can do anything. This is not really going to make people
happy and will generate a fair number of complaints.

I'd assume some other "fallout" will improve some installer bits along
> when this happens and that we'll want enough and brought testing for it.
>

It sounds rather premature to remove it from -current if there's no support
in the installer, and nothing in place that adds the packages to the
installation
media with no firm plans or timelines to address that.

Warner