[FFe] [needs-packaging] ubuntu-kernel-accessories seed and metapackage

[Robie Basak]

Specification: https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/spec-kernel-accessories-seed-and-metapackage/43133

Pending MIRs: bpfcc is LP: #2052813; bpftrace is LP: #2052809.

This missed feature freeze because it turns out that the seed change cannot take effect in ubuntu-meta until the MIRs are complete (I'm told that ubuntu-meta regeneration is ignoring these packages because they're in universe).

I think it is preferable to push this change into Noble sooner rather than later, so that the image size implications can be felt in practice. If a revert or changes are then deemed required, we will have the opportunity to make those changes.

Therefore, I'd like to deliberately create a component mismatch to enable this.

For ubuntu-meta, I will create the metapackage as a manually-managed binary package for now, and switch over to the usual automatic generation when bpfcc and bpftrace move to main.

After the ubuntu-meta change lands, linux-meta* will Recommend ubuntu-kernel-accessories, which will cause bpftrace and bpfcc to be pulled into the relevant images as desired.

If the MIRs end up being rejected, a revert of these changes will be straightforward.

Release team: please could you provide an FFe ack for the ubuntu-meta change as well as the linux-meta* change?

[Robie Basak (racb)]

@p-pisati FYI. As soon as this lands and the new binary package is created, we'll be ready to add this Recommends to src:linux-meta*

[Jeremy Bícha (jbicha)]

> After the ubuntu-meta change lands, linux-meta* will Recommend ubuntu-kernel-accessories, which will cause bpftrace and bpfcc to be pulled into the relevant images as desired.

I think our "main" images do not build from universe. Further, anybody that installs from those images won't get the recommended packages even after they are promoted to main.

[Jeremy Bícha (jbicha)]

Or once a new linux* is built, apt would install the recommends then?? I'm not sure on that detail.

[Jeremy Bícha (jbicha)]

I still think it is ok to create the new metapackage now for universe. There are a lot of desktop flavors that do install from universe and you could manually add the recommends to one of those flavors if you want and if the flavor leads are ok with it.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

FFe approved

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

*** This is an automated message ***

This bug is tagged needs-packaging which identifies it as a request for a new package in Ubuntu. As a part of the managing needs-packaging bug reports specification, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/Specs/NeedsPackagingBugs, all needs-packaging bug reports have Wishlist importance. Subsequently, I'm setting this bug's status to Wishlist.

[Robie Basak (racb)]

Uploaded.