Ubuntu Wiki

This document describes the policy for updating the linux-firmware package in stable Ubuntu releases, backporting all new firware required by a new HWE/OEM kernel.

[Introduction]

Updating the kernel typically results in various driver modules adding support for new hardware,
and this also means they require new firmware to load. Users of older hardware are getting confused,
because the new module now complains on kernel logs that it can't find the new firmware.

We should backport the new firmware to fix both issues; support new hardware and avoid unnecessary
bugreports where users assume their hardware driver is not working properly when it complains
about possibly missing firmware.

[Fix]

linux-firmware has a script for comparing two kernels and list the required commits to add
the missing firmware:

$ debian/scripts/list-lts-update-files \
  launchpad/jammy \
  launchpad/lunar \
  linux-hwe-6.2/debian.hwe-6.2/abi/fwinfo | \
  xargs git log --graph --oneline launchpad/jammy..launchpad/lunar --
* d02d58aae brcm: Add nvram for the Advantech MICA-071 tablet
* f48fbe42c ath11k: IPQ5018 hw1.0: add to WLAN.HK.2.6.0.1-00861-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1
* 9dacec6da ath11k: IPQ5018 hw1.0: add board-2.bin
* 3723b4800 brcm: add configuration files for CyberTan WC121
* e9b83572f amdgpu: updated aldebaran firmware for amd-5.4
* 9aa8db1cc rtlwifi: Add firmware v4.0 for RTL8188FU
* 2c2be4215 nvidia: add GA102/GA103/GA104/GA106/GA107 signed firmware
* 4ffcf980a brcm: rename Rock960 NVRAM to AP6356S and link devices to it

These are cherry-picked to the series branch, and modified to add the BugLink for SRU.

[Test case]

As it is generally impossible to verify each individual firmware update, and since these
are new files in the package, it should be enough to just make sure that all the required
files are shipped with the new version, and that no other firmware got modified.

[Where things could go wrong]

If we for whatever the reason miss a backported firmware file, the new/updated module does
not work on the new hardware we're supposed to support now.