Documentation for DSA? (Avoiding "OpenWrt 21.02 broke my router")

[Fernando Frediani]

Hello Rich

I share the same concerns you have and think that it is necessary to 
take more take in both pushing something new to users without a proper 
way for them to fully understand the effects or without a clear 
transition mechanism that can make that more gradual. Even for newer and 
cool technology it is necessary to be careful regarding the significant 
changes thinking from the users perspective.
Thanks for the contribution vi the documentation which certainly can 
help but it is still necessary to inform users better in order to avoid 
events like this.

Fernando

On 30/07/2021 11:13, Rich Brown wrote:
> Folks,
>
> I'm writing to the OpenWrt-Adm list because I haven't heard much response from the OpenWrt-devel list.
>
> I am concerned about the state of DSA documentation. When 21.02 ships, DSA will roll out to roughly half of the devices supported by OpenWrt. Yet I have not seen much written about the incompatibilities between swconfig and DSA configuration files.
>
> My big concern: People upgrade to 21.02, their networking isn't working, and the Forum (or Slashdot) lights up with "OpenWrt 21.02 broke my router" posts.
>
> Maybe it's all going to be OK. Maybe I'm getting panicky for no reason. But this is an incompatible upgrade for many people. If there are cases that cannot be converted automatically, we are going to have a big support load. And if there's no documentation, we're sunk...
>
> I know the state of the majority of DSA pages in the wiki. (I started to write/edit a couple of them, but realized that I didn't know enough. So they're at best, incomplete, if not entirely wrong...)
>
> I sent these notes to the openwrt-devel list:
>
> DSA Documentation Status: http://lists.openwrt.org/pipermail/openwrt-devel/2021-July/035954.html
>
> DSA Mini-Tutorial (only started): http://lists.openwrt.org/pipermail/openwrt-devel/2021-July/035854.html
>
> Supporting DSA on the Forum: http://lists.openwrt.org/pipermail/openwrt-devel/2021-July/035942.html
>
> It's my hope that someone who has the time and knowledge will follow up on them. (I'm ENOTIME, and don't know enough, anyway.) Or re-assure me that everything is OK.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Rich
> _______________________________________________
> openwrt-adm mailing list
> openwrt-adm at lists.openwrt.org
> https://lists.openwrt.org/mailman/listinfo/openwrt-adm