Re: Xen 4.4 development update: RC0 imminent

[Sander Eikelenboom <linux@eikelenboom.it>]

Thursday, December 5, 2013, 9:06:16 PM, you wrote:

>>That wasn't a yes/no question; it is a, "which do you think is best" question:

>>* Announcing features for external projects (linux, libvirt) in the main Xen release.  Advantage: Longer list of features, more concentrated coverage

>>* Announcing features for external projects when the external projects release.  Advantage: More frequent coverage, may build good-will between projects to announce their releases

> My gut: do both.  Make noise in the Xen release, then make more noise when the external project releases.  Preface the second one with "as we previously indicated during the release of XXXX...".

I guess in practice it would be the other way around i think .. at least Linux and Qemu seem to have a faster paced development cycle.
So if such a project gets a feature that is related to Xen and the present or next version of Xen is going to take advantage of that, that news could be shared on a blog.

The release announcement could have a summary or a link to a summary article which gives an overview of features in external projects the new Xen release can now take advantage off and that were introduced in the external project in the timeframe of the Xen release.
Although that could lead to misconceptions as will i guess, say f.e.:
- As a external feature in linux, pv ticketlocks could be mentioned.
- It's xen related, it went into the kernel during the timeframe of the coming release.
- But by mentioning it specifically at the release it could be misinterpreted as being tied to the Xen version of the release (which it is not, in this case)

So it's probably important to at least make very clear:
- if it is tied to this release, or also applicable to the previous stable versions of Xen.
- in which version of the external project it was introduced

--
Sander

> News is news until people know about it.  We reach a very limited subset of the Open Source world with any piece of PR.  Exercising an opportunity to announce & announce again (under the guise of a reminder to people) is prudent, IMO.  We need to make lots of positive noise continually to overcome the existing market misconception that KVM is the future.

> It's kind of like the old adage of voting in Chicago: "Vote early; vote often."  ;)

> Russ Pavlicek
> Xen Project Evangelist, Citrix Systems
> Home Office: +1-301-829-5327
> Mobile: +1-240-397-0199
> UK VoIP: +44 1223 852 894

> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Dunlap [mailto:george.dunlap@eu.citrix.com] 
> Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2013 12:05 PM
> To: Lars Kurth; George Dunlap; Roger Pau Monne; xen-devel
> Cc: Russell Pavlicek
> Subject: Re: Xen 4.4 development update: RC0 imminent

> On 12/05/2013 05:01 PM, Lars Kurth wrote:
>>
>>>> * Disk: indirect descriptors (in 3.11)
>>>>    - ?
>>> It's part of the "Xen ecosystem", and so it should be tested and 
>>> announced.  It makes sense to me to announce developments that happen 
>>> all together with Xen releases; we can make it clear that these are 
>>> features in *external
>>> projects* that happened during the Xen 4.4 *timeframe*.  The 
>>> alternative would be to announce them when the other projects had a release; but I think that may be diluting the messaging a bit.
>>>
>>> In any case, if we don't announce them on Xen releases, we ought to pay attention and announce them when the projects do their release.
>>>
>>> Lars / Russ, any opinions here?
>> That works

> That wasn't a yes/no question; it is a, "which do you think is best" 
> question:

> * Announcing features for external projects (linux, libvirt) in the main Xen release.  Advantage: Longer list of features, more concentrated coverage

> * Announcing features for external projects when the external projects release.  Advantage: More frequent coverage, may build good-will between projects to announce their releases

>    -George