Kernel configuration options

[Mitch Bradley]

Bernardo Innocenti wrote:
> Mitch Bradley wrote:
>
>   
>> From a security standpoint, there is an advantage to building in 
>> everything.  The main kernel is verified with a crypto signature before 
>> it is executed.  Loading a module without first verifying a 
>> similarly-strong signature weakens the security.
>>
>> Modules are a good idea for kernels that are intended to run on a wide 
>> variety of hardware.  I am in favor of treating XO like an appliance and 
>> making the kernel as monolithic as possible.
>>     
>
> Uh-oh... Does our security system really depend on this?
>
> Reducing the number of modules is not going to help, because
> you only need to load a single module to tap into the kernel.
>
> Building everything statically and disabling module loading
> is also not an option if you want half decent support for
> USB devices.  Note that USB also brings in SCSI, DVB, and
> a lot more.
>   

I would argue that support for some reasonable subset of important USB 
devices - e.g. mass storage, network, and HID - should be compiled-in 
and we should support the rest of the wide world of USB from userland, 
e.g. with libusb.