Re: [PATCH 01/10 net-next] ipv6: convert CONFIG_IPV6 to built-in only and clean up Kconfigs

On Mon, 9 Mar 2026, Krzysztof Kozlowski wrote:

> On 09/03/2026 03:19, Fernando Fernandez Mancera wrote:
> > Configuring IPV6 as a module provides little or no benefit and requires
> > time and resources to maintain. Therefore, drop the support for it.
> > 
> > Change CONFIG_IPV6 from tristate to bool. Remove all Kconfig
> > dependencies across the tree that explicitly checked for IPV6=m. Adjust
> > all the default configurations from CONFIG_IPV6=m to CONFIG_IPV6=y. In
> > addition, remove MODULE_DESCRIPTION(), MODULE_ALIAS(), MODULE_AUTHOR()
> > and MODULE_LICENSE().
> > 
> > This is also replacing module_init() by fs_initcall().
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Fernando Fernandez Mancera <[email protected]>
> > ---
-->8--
> No, I don't want IPV6. It is allowed as module if some users need, but
> it's heavy bloat added to each person's build testing setup. Kernel
> image is already huge and barely fits boot partitions when built with
> KASAN and I do want a generic image with KASAN.
> 
> It must stay module for me. Alternatively, drop it, but then some users
> will be really affected.

I agree. If anything I would prefer to see IPv4 be made optional (and
modular) as well, and not as something IPv6 depends on, it's (AFAIK)
impossible today to build an IPv6-only Linux kernel. 

-- kolla