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| title: Documentation |
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| The Backports Project aims to backport current Linux '''upstream''' device drivers for use with older kernels. The objective (1) is to provide a central mechanism for backporting the device drivers of ''any'' subsystem, thereby enabling (2) ''both'' users '''and''' developers to always focus on upstream Linux kernel development. |
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| The project shall '''never''' include proprietary drivers, and is designed to disallow its use with proprietary drivers. |
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| Backports supports backporting in either of two modes: |
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| # '''[[Documentation/packaging|package releases mode]]''' - backports produces a tarball (loosely akin to a patch) containing the subsystems/drivers of a future kernel |
| # '''[[Documentation/integration|kernel integration mode]]''' - backports directly '''integrates''' the subsystems/drivers of a future kernel into an older kernel tree |
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| Every backports release has been test compiled ''for usage'' against all supported kernels. The oldest release is (currently) 3.0. |
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| Linux kernel releases can become deprecated. You are encouraged to use supported stable kernels as listed on [http://kernel.org kernel.org]. |
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| = Currently backported subsystems = |
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| Device drivers are available for the following subsystems: |
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| * Ethernet |
| * Wireless |
| * Bluetooth |
| * NFC |
| * ieee802154 |
| * Media |
| * Regulator |
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| Whether or not a device driver is available from a subsytem will depend on whether or not a developer decided to backport it '''and''' if the device driver is backported down to the kernel you are on. If you see the driver on '''make menuconfig''' it means you can use it. An alternative is to look at the git tree [https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/backports.git/tree/dependencies dependencies] file. Note that the [https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/backports.git/tree/dependencies dependencies] '''does not''' exist on a final release, it only exists on the development git tree and the one linked here is the one on the master branch -- you should look at the [https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/backports.git/refs/ release branches] for their respective dependencies file if using an older release. Someone is welcome to come up with a fancy page that provides the device driver <--> kernel dependency map page. If a device driver is available on '''make menuconfig''' but is not listed on the [https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/backports.git/tree/dependencies dependencies] file it means it is available for usage on all supported kernel. |
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| Users should just install what they ''know'' they need, if not sure don't enable a driver. Typically Linux distributions would use the backports project and build modules for you and you'd have a backports package available for your distribution. |
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| [[File:88x31.png]] - This text is licensed under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License]. |
