Gentoo Linux, a source-based Linux distribution known for its customisability, has officially announced the discontinuation of support for the IA-64 (Itanium) architecture.
This decision, approved by the Gentoo Council, stems from the lack of upstream support in the Linux kernel and glibc, making it impossible for the Gentoo IA-64 team to maintain the architecture.
Additionally, the council voted to deprecate 32-bit profiles for SPARC and 31-bit profiles for s390, citing a lack of use and maintenance challenges.
Table of Contents
Key Highlights
- Gentoo is discontinuing support for the IA-64 (Itanium) architecture due to upstream (kernel and glibc) deprecation and lack of resources for maintenance.
- A comprehensive review of all supported architectures is underway, with the goal of optimizing resource allocation and potentially simplifying supported architecture profiles.
- The 32-bit architectures, in particular, are facing increasing challenges in terms of upstream support and maintenance complexity.
- Several architectures are being considered for destabilization or deprecation, with varying timelines and community impact.
Why did Gentoo Linux drop support for IA-64?
Gentoo Linux decided to discontinue support for the IA-64 (Itanium) architecture due to several contributing factors.
Primarily, the Linux kernel and glibc, both essential components for IA-64, dropped their support. This removal of support in core elements made it impossible for the Gentoo IA-64 team to effectively maintain the architecture.
Furthermore, the Gentoo IA-64 team lacked the necessary resources to continue their work, including a functional development box or a reliable emulator. This lack of resources presented a significant obstacle to providing adequate support.
Adding to the challenge, Gentoo identified minimal user interest in IA-64 hardware. This limited user base made continued support impractical.
Due to these factors, the Gentoo Council formally decided to deprecate the IA-64 architecture during their meeting on July 21, 2024. This decision included a one-month deprecation period following the publication of a related news item.
Deprecating 32-bit Profiles for Sparc and s390
This removal is not an isolated incident but rather part of a larger trend within the Gentoo project to strategically allocate resources and focus on architectures with active development and user bases.
Arthur Zamarin, a Gentoo Linux developer, highlighted this in an email to the Gentoo developer mailing list. He pointed out that various architectures within the Gentoo ecosystem exist in different states of support:
- Stable,
- Development (dev),
- and Experimental (exp).
Stable architectures, such as amd64 and arm64, enjoy the highest level of support, with stable profiles and a high degree of attention from the development team. Dev architectures, like s390, while having a complete dependency tree, lack stable profiles. Finally, exp architectures represent the most volatile category, where support is limited and the dependency tree might have breaks.
Zamarin argues for a reevaluation of support for several architectures, particularly 32-bit ones. He notes that maintaining these architectures has become increasingly burdensome, with challenges like compiling software like qtwebengine on actual 32-bit hardware.
He advocates for minimizing effort on these architectures, potentially by mass-destabilization, mass-dekeywording, and even a complete removal of stable status for some, including x86.
This effort is further evidenced by the Gentoo Council's decisions regarding other architectures. The Council has decided to deprecate 32-bit profiles for both Sparc and s390, with a grace period of six months after the announcement.
Key Observations and Proposals
The following are Zamarin's key observations and proposals:
- 32-bit Architectures (x86, arm, ppc, sparc32): Advocate for mass-destabilization and potential mass-dekeywording, with the possibility of complete removal of stable status for some.
- x86: Proposes downgrading to dev status and mass-dekeywording packages.
- arm: Suggests mass-destabilization and mass-dekeywording while retaining stable status for now.
- ppc: Proposes downgrading to dev status due to increasing maintenance challenges.
- sparc: Plans to drop support for sparc32 due to its removal from the kernel. Sparc64 remains well-supported and operational.
- ppc64: Recommends splitting the architecture into ppc64ul (big-endian) and ppc64le (little-endian) to reflect upstream support and simplify profile management.
- hppa: Uncertain future due to hardware challenges.
- s390: Proposes dropping the s390 (32-bit) profile to streamline support, focusing on the well-supported s390x (64-bit).
- alpha: Recommends promoting to dev status due to the nearly complete and functional dependency tree.
- mips: Open to discussion with the mips team regarding potential promotion to dev status.
Gentoo Council Decisions
The Gentoo Council, during its meeting on July 21, 2024, made the following decisions based on Zamarin's proposals and subsequent discussions:
- ia64: Approved deprecation with a one-month grace period.
- alpha: Approved promotion to stable profile status once the dependency tree is confirmed to be fully functional.
- sparc: Approved deprecation of 32-bit profiles with a six-month grace period.
- s390: Approved deprecation of 32-bit profiles with a six-month grace period.
IA-64 Deprecation Process
The deprecation of IA-64 will be implemented in stages. All IA-64 profiles will be removed, IA-64 keywords will be dropped from all packages, and related bug reports will be closed. This process will begin in the first half of September 2024.
Summary
In summary, the following factors influenced Gentoo's decision to drop support for IA-64 architecture:
- Removal of support in essential components: The Linux kernel and glibc, both fundamental to the IA-64 architecture, had their support dropped. This made it impossible for the Gentoo IA-64 team to maintain and support the architecture effectively.
- Lack of essential resources: The Gentoo IA-64 team lacked a functional development box or a well-established emulator, further hindering their ability to support the architecture.
- Minimal user interest: Gentoo observed very few users interested in IA-64 hardware, making continued support less practical.
These factors, combined with the Gentoo Council's vote following discussions on the mailing list, led to the decision to discontinue all IA-64 profiles and keywords.
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