Re: [PATCH 0/3] kci-gitlab: Introducing GitLab-CI Pipeline for Kernel Testing

From: Nikolai Kondrashov <spbnick@gmail.com>
To: Guillaume Tucker <gtucker@gtucker.io>,
	Helen Koike <helen.koike@collabora.com>,
	linuxtv-ci@linuxtv.org, dave.pigott@collabora.com,
	mripard@kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
	dri-devel@lists.freedesktop.org, linux-kselftest@vger.kernel.org,
	gustavo.padovan@collabora.com, pawiecz@collabora.com,
	tales.aparecida@gmail.com, workflows@vger.kernel.org,
	kernelci@lists.linux.dev, skhan@linuxfoundation.org,
	kunit-dev@googlegroups.com, nfraprado@collabora.com,
	davidgow@google.com, cocci@inria.fr, Julia.Lawall@inria.fr,
	laura.nao@collabora.com, ricardo.canuelo@collabora.com,
	kernel@collabora.com, torvalds@linuxfoundation.org,
	gregkh@linuxfoundation.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/3] kci-gitlab: Introducing GitLab-CI Pipeline for Kernel Testing
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:16:15 +0200	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <a5726043-1906-44ba-a6ee-a725a2776269@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <d99d026e-ed32-4432-bab3-db75296e67d8@gtucker.io>

On 2/29/24 2:20 PM, Guillaume Tucker wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> On 28/02/2024 23:55, Helen Koike wrote:
>> Dear Kernel Community,
>>
>> This patch introduces a `.gitlab-ci` file along with a `ci/` folder, defining a
>> basic test pipeline triggered by code pushes to a GitLab-CI instance. This
>> initial version includes static checks (checkpatch and smatch for now) and build
>> tests across various architectures and configurations. It leverages an
>> integrated cache for efficient build times and introduces a flexible 'scenarios'
>> mechanism for subsystem-specific extensions.
> 
> This sounds like a nice starting point to me as an additional way
> to run tests upstream.  I have one particular question as I see a
> pattern through the rest of the email, please see below.
> 
> [...]
> 
>> 4. **Collaborative Testing Environment:** The kernel community is already
>> engaged in numerous testing efforts, including various GitLab-CI pipelines such
>> as DRM-CI, which I maintain, along with other solutions like KernelCI and
>> BPF-CI. This proposal is designed to further stimulate contributions to the
>> evolving testing landscape. Our goal is to establish a comprehensive suite of
>> common tools and files.
> 
> [...]
> 
>> **Leveraging External Test Labs:**
>> We can extend our testing to external labs, similar to what DRM-CI currently
>> does. This includes:
>> - Lava labs
>> - Bare metal labs
>> - Using KernelCI-provided labs
>>
>> **Other integrations**
>> - Submit results to KCIDB
> 
> [...]
> 
>> **Join Our Slack Channel:**
>> We have a Slack channel, #gitlab-ci, on the KernelCI Slack instance https://kernelci.slack.com/ .
>> Feel free to join and contribute to the conversation. The KernelCI team has
>> weekly calls where we also discuss the GitLab-CI pipeline.
>>
>> **Acknowledgments:**
>> A special thanks to Nikolai Kondrashov, Tales da Aparecida - both from Red Hat -
>> and KernelCI community for their valuable feedback and support in this proposal.
> 
> Where does this fit on the KernelCI roadmap?
> 
> I see it mentioned a few times but it's not entirely clear
> whether this initiative is an independent one or in some way
> linked to KernelCI.  Say, are you planning to use the kci tool,
> new API, compiler toolchains, user-space and Docker images etc?
> Or, are KernelCI plans evolving to follow this move?

I would say this is an important part of KernelCI the project, considering its 
aim to improve testing and CI in the kernel. It's not a part of KernelCI the 
service as it is right now, although I would say it would be good to have 
ability to submit KernelCI jobs from GitLab CI and pull results in the same 
pipeline, as we discussed earlier.

Nick