Bug 10561

Summary: stap-server: take over signing duties, allow arg passing to stap
Product: systemtap Reporter: Frank Ch. Eigler <fche>
Component: translatorAssignee: Dave Brolley <brolley>
Status: RESOLVED FIXED    
Severity: normal CC: jistone
Priority: P2    
Version: unspecified   
Target Milestone: ---   
Host: Target:
Build: Last reconfirmed:
Bug Depends on:    
Bug Blocks: 10907    

Description Frank Ch. Eigler 2009-08-25 20:50:43 UTC 
It is sometimes desirable to launch stap-server processes on a machine
with multiple sets of kernel-debuginfo/devel installed (as in a master
compilation server), or for cross-arch purposes.  For this to work,
each stap-server needs to accept some arguments at startup time
(at least -a, -r, -B, for the nonce).

OTOH, unprivileged mode support specifically disabled some of these 
flags within stap.  Yet we want that too.

So it seems like a possible solution is to clarify what stap options
may be passed through which layer.  It seems as though stap-server
should pass some server-admin-specified flags (might as well come
from stap-start-server), and block these same ones from clients
(as they arrive from stap-client or whatever in the request-containing
zip file).  It'd have to safely collate the two lists of options, and
pass them to plain stap.

Since stap-server would now perform stap argument sanitization, it
becomes probably the best place to do module-signing.  That means
stap wouldn't do it (even in the --unprivileged case), just include
some more constraints during the translation process.
Comment 1 Dave Brolley 2009-08-26 14:52:46 UTC 
With this proposed change the usage module officially changes from "in order to
have their modules loaded, unprivileged users should compile their modules using
a systemtap server" to "in order to have their modules loaded, unprivileged
users *must* compile their modules using a systemtap server".
Comment 2 Frank Ch. Eigler 2009-08-26 15:05:00 UTC 
(In reply to comment #1)
> With this proposed change the usage module officially changes from "in order to
> have their modules loaded, unprivileged users SHOULD compile their modules using
> a systemtap server" [... but now MUST ...]

What other way is there that we are about to sacrifice?
Comment 3 Frank Ch. Eigler 2009-11-05 13:53:16 UTC 
done