netatm removal warning

[Robert Watson]

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008, Robert Watson wrote:

> This is another of those boring e-mails about kernel subsystems that still 
> require Giant.  Sorry about that!
>
> As previously published, netatm is a non-MPSAFE protocol stack largely 
> superseded by our two other ATM stacks, netnatm and the netgraph/atm (both 
> MPSAFE).  netatm is currently non-functional and uncompileable because it 
> depends on the Giant compatibility shims for the protocol stack, which were 
> removed in FreeBSD 7.0.  We left the code in place in case to make it easier 
> for any interested third parties to distribute patches against it (in 
> particular, patches to make it MPSAFE).
>
> The current plan is that we will remove the netatm code from HEAD and 
> RELENG_7 before FreeBSD 7.1.  A specific schedue for 7.1 hasn't been 
> published yet, but in order to give plenty of warning, here's the proposed 
> netatm removal schedule:
>
> 10 March 2008			E-mail warning to arch@/net@
> 10 April 2008			E-mail warning to arch@/net@
> 10 May 2008			Removal of netatm from HEAD
> 20 May 2008			Removal of netatm from RELENG_7
>
> Obviously, netatm will remain in the revision control history should anyone 
> wish to ressurect it after that date.  However, I suspect that those 
> interested in ATM on FreeBSD have long since been using Harti's netgraph ATM 
> framework.

Somehow the dates slipped pasted more quickly than I had hoped -- this is the 
HEADS UP that, on a slightly delayed schedule, I will be trimming netatm from 
the src tree for HEAD, and then a week or two later, from RELENG_7.  Assuming 
all goes well, this should result in no functional change at all.

Robert N M Watson
Computer Laboratory
University of Cambridge