Kernel.org updates its status

Kernel.org is still down The administrators of kernel.org are still working to restore the Linux developers' web site which went down after a security breach at the end of August. In a status update, H. Peter Anvin reported that they are currently in the process of setting up the kernel.org infrastructure from scratch.

The first Git repositories should be back online this week and Anvin hopes that in early October, they will be able to offer wider access to the developers. The restoration of other services will take some time though. Anvin said nothing about bringing .tgz (tar-gzip) "tarballs" back online; those tarballs offer the traditional and official source of versions of the Linux kernel for users.

With the new services, a number of other changes will also take effect. The major changes will be the end of developers having shell access to the repository, kernel tree and server resources. Instead, the "new" kernel.org will be using the gitolite as its "web glue"; Gitolite was developed to give fine-grained access control on servers that hold multiple git repositories and that are accessed by several developers. The switch to Gitolite does come with several inconveniences such as limited server-side scripting, so developers will have to rethink any scripts they rely on.

(djwm)