Speaker
Description
Our CI systems build thousands of kernels a day, yet the kernel build itself has no canonical identity and no portable distribution format. Reproducing the exact binary behind a regression report is guesswork, and correlating KCIDB results back to a build is convention, not verification.
KBI (Kernel Bundle Image, Apache-2.0) is a concrete starting point for fixing this. It packages vmlinuz, modules, initrd, BTF, firmware, and config as a standard OCI image and derives a deterministic, independently recomputable build identity from the artifacts. Existing registries handle distribution and signing, which maps naturally onto pull-mode labs. Module and eBPF add-ons bind to a specific build identity, turning silent runtime mismatches in labs into early, explainable rejections.
Proposed discussion points:
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What should define kernel build identity, and how does it interact with reproducible builds?
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Could Tuxmake and KernelCI Maestro emit OCI kernel bundles, and could KCIDB adopt a verifiable build identity field?
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How far should artifact metadata go toward a kernel SBOM for safety and traceability use cases?
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Could it solve bare metal kernel CI testing with multikernel?