batman-adv-dkms

Debian packaging for the batman-adv kernel module, delivered as a DKMS source package. DKMS compiles the module automatically whenever a new kernel image is installed, so the module no longer has to be rebuilt by hand for each kernel release. This replaces the legacy tecff/scripts/build-batman_adv script.

Read docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for the full rationale — host roles, the end-to-end pipeline, comparison with the old script and with other Freifunk communities, distribution, monitoring, and the in-kernel-module alternative. This README is the quick how-to.

Host roles

	Build host (you provide)	Target host = host03.tecff.de
Purpose	Builds the source .deb	Compiles the module via DKMS
Needs	dpkg-dev debhelper dh-dkms git xz-utils devscripts	dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r) (pulls gcc/make/etc.)
Does not need	kernel headers, gcc, the target kernel	dpkg-dev, debhelper, dh-dkms, git, quilt, checkinstall
Footprint	packaging toolchain (~build host only)	compiler slice only (~150–250 MB)

Nothing is compiled on the build host (the package is Architecture: all). DKMS is "compile on the target", so the target irreducibly needs a compiler — but no packaging tools.

Layout

.
├── build.sh                       # build driver (prepare / build / source / clean / all)
├── docs/ARCHITECTURE.md           # full rationale & pipeline
└── debian/
    ├── changelog                  # single source of truth for the version
    ├── control                    # Source/binary metadata; Architecture: all
    ├── copyright
    ├── rules                      # dh --with dkms; stages sources to usr/src/
    ├── batman-adv-dkms.dkms       # dkms.conf template (AUTOINSTALL, -j, KERNELPATH)
    ├── source/format              # 3.0 (quilt)
    └── patches/series             # add quilt patches here when needed

Upstream sources are vendored at build time (cloned from https://git.open-mesh.org/batman-adv.git at tag v<upstream-version>) into a reproducible orig.tar.xz, so the .dsc/.deb is self-contained.

Build (on the build host)

apt install dpkg-dev debhelper dh-dkms git xz-utils devscripts   # once
./build.sh            # prepare + build binary .deb (default = "all")
./build.sh source     # produce .dsc + orig.tar.xz + debian.tar.xz
./build.sh clean      # wipe build/

Artifacts appear in build/.

Bump to a new batman-adv release

1. dch -v 2026.1-1~tecff1 (adds a debian/changelog entry — the only file you edit by hand; it is the single source of truth).
2. ./build.sh — derives git tag v2026.1, re-syncs PACKAGE_VERSION in the .dkms file, fetches upstream, builds the .deb.

Deploy on the target host (host03.tecff.de)

Simplest (single server):

scp build/batman-adv-dkms_2026.2-1~tecff1_all.deb root@host03.tecff.de:/tmp/
ssh root@host03.tecff.de 'apt install -y /tmp/batman-adv-dkms_2026.2-1~tecff1_all.deb'

Or publish to a tiny apt repo on host03 (which already serves HTTP) and apt install batman-adv-dkms — see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md §8.

Install registers the module with DKMS and builds it for the running kernel. Future apt upgrade of linux-image-amd64 rebuild it automatically (AUTOINSTALL=yes). Inspect:

dkms status        # batman-adv/2026.2: installed   (or failed — see §9)
modinfo batman-adv

Remove: apt remove batman-adv-dkms (also runs dkms remove --all).

Patches & config flags

• Patches: drop quilt patches into debian/patches/, list in debian/patches/series (supersedes /usr/src/batman_adv_patches/ + git am).
• Config knobs (CONFIG_BATMAN_ADV_DEBUG, _BLA, _DAT, _NC, _MCAST): append to MAKE[0] in debian/batman-adv-dkms.dkms — documented there. This is where you enable the deprecated DEBUGFS/SYSFS interfaces the old script mentioned.

Monitoring

If a new kernel breaks the build (API change between batman-adv releases), dkms status shows failed — silent otherwise. Add a healthcheck; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md §9.