The zram driver: Supportability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Solution Verified - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2
  • zram

Issue

  • Is the zram driver fully supported in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 ?
  • Is the zram driver recommended to use in production environment ?
  • Why zram module is present inside "staging" directory ?
    Eg:
$ modinfo zram
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.32-279.19.1.el6.x86_64/kernel/drivers/staging/zram/zram.ko
description:    Compressed RAM Block Device
author:         Nitin Gupta <ngupta@vflare.org>
license:        Dual BSD/GPL
srcversion:     AD0B60E37ED8152B15E6FBA
depends:        lzo_compress,lzo_decompress
staging:        Y
vermagic:       2.6.32-279.19.1.el6.x86_64 SMP mod_unload modversions 
parm:           num_devices:Number of zram devices (uint)

Resolution

  • The zram driver is present inside "staging" directory but it is fully supported in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 by Red Hat Global Support Service and can be used in the production environment.

  • As per Greg Kroah-Hartman, the Linux "staging" tree is used to hold stand-alone drivers and filesystems that are not ready to be merged into the main portion of the Linux kernel tree at this point in time for various technical reasons. It is contained within the main Linux kernel tree so that users can get access to the drivers much easier than before, and to provide a common place for the development to happen.

This solution is part of Red Hat’s fast-track publication program, providing a huge library of solutions that Red Hat engineers have created while supporting our customers. To give you the knowledge you need the instant it becomes available, these articles may be presented in a raw and unedited form.

Comments