File diff 1bcf6f6a8e47 → 5c01d8b1e504
www/conservancy/static/copyleft-compliance/vmware-lawsuit-faq.html
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@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@
 
  component in ESXi that the lawsuit alleges violates the GPL?</dt>
 
<dd>
 
    <p>The GPL violation at issue involves VMware's ESXi product.
 
    Conservancy independently reviewed ESXi 5.5 and its incomplete
 
    Conservancy independently reviewed ESXi and its incomplete
 
      <abbr title="complete, corresponding source">CCS</abbr>
 
    release as part of our GPL enforcement efforts described above.</p>
 

	
...
 
@@ -243,12 +243,12 @@ Code, and for which (at least some) source code is provided.
 
       good, since the court documents discuss the specifics of alleged
 
         infringement on Hellwig's copyrights.</p>
 

	
 
       <p>However, Conservancy examined VMware's ESXi 5.5 product in detail
 
       <p>However, Conservancy examined VMware's ESXi product in detail
 
       even before Hellwig's enforcement action began.  Below is one example
 
       among many where VMware's CCS was incomplete per GPLv2&sect;2(c) and
 
       GPLv2&sect;3(a).  (One can verify these results by
 
       <a href="#verify">downloading and installing the binary and source
 
       packages for VMware's ESXi 5.5 Update 2</a>.)  Note that this
 
       packages for VMware's ESXi 6.0</a>.)  Note that this
 
       example below is not necessarily regarding
 
       Hellwig's copyrights; VMware incorporated Linux code copyrighted by
 
       many others as well into their kernel.</p>
...
 
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ Code, and for which (at least some) source code is provided.
 
       <p>Our example begins with examination of the file
 
           called <code>vmkdrivers/src_92/vmklinux_92/vmware/linux_pci.c</code>,
 
           which can be found in the &ldquo;Open Source&rdquo; release for
 
           ESXi 5.5.0 Update 2 (5.5U2).  A small excerpt from that file, found in the
 
           ESXi 6.0.  A small excerpt from that file, found in the
 
           function <code>LinuxPCIDeviceRemoved()</code>, reads as follows:</p>
 

	
 
<pre>
...
 
@@ -279,8 +279,8 @@ LinuxPCIDeviceRemoved(vmk_PCIDevice vmkDev)
 
      vmkDevName[0] = 0;
 
  }
 
[...]
 
VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID(pciDevExt->moduleID,
 
                        linuxDev->driver->remove,
 
VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID(pciDevExt-&gt;moduleID,
 
                        linuxDev-&gt;driver-&gt;remove,
 
                        linuxDev);
 
</pre>        
 

	
...
 
@@ -288,8 +288,8 @@ VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID(pciDevExt->moduleID,
 

	
 
<p>The function, <code>vmk_PCIGetDeviceName()</code> must be defined, with an
 
      implementation, for this code above to work, or even compile.
 
      Inside <code>BLD/build/HEADERS/vmkapi-current-all-public/vmkernel64/release/device/vmkapi_pci_incompat.h</code>,
 
      found in the <code>vmkdrivers</code> package of ESXi 5.5U2, shows a
 
      Inside <code>BLD/build/HEADERS/vmkapi-current-all-public/generic/release/hardware/vmkapi_pci_incompat.h</code>,
 
      found in the <code>vmkdrivers</code> package of ESXi 6.0, shows a
 
      function header definition for <code>vmk_PCIGetDeviceName()</code>.
 
      However, the source of its implementation is not provided there or
 
      anywhere in the source release.</p>
...
 
@@ -309,10 +309,10 @@ VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID(pciDevExt->moduleID,
 
</p>
 

	
 
<pre>
 
00000000000327ff R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
0000000000035318 R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
00000000000387e1 R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
000000000003cf40 R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
0000000000032db3 R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
00000000000333ea R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
0000000000036644 R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
000000000003986a R_X86_64_PC32     vmk_PCIGetDeviceName+0xfffffffffffffffc
 
</pre>
 

	
 
<p>The above two properties both suggest that the <code>vmklinux_9</code>
...
 
@@ -321,9 +321,9 @@ VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID(pciDevExt->moduleID,
 
 inside <code>vmklinux_9</code> itself.</p>
 

	
 
<p>The definition can however be found in binary-only software provided in
 
  ESXi 5.5U2 &mdash; specifically, inside a file named <code>k.b00</code>,
 
  ESXi 6.0 &mdash; specifically, inside a file named <code>k.b00</code>,
 
  which is located in partition 5 on a disk where ESXi has been installed (or
 
  in the ESXi 5.5U2 installer ISO image).  Running <code>file</code>
 
  in the ESXi 6.0 installer ISO image).  Running <code>file</code>
 
  after <code>gunzip</code> on this file yields &ldquo;ELF 64-bit LSB shared
 
  object&rdquo;.  Meanwhile, <code>file k.b00</code> reports &ldquo;gzip
 
  compressed data, was &lsquo;vmvisor64-vmkernel.stripped&rsquo;&rdquo;.
...
 
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID(pciDevExt->moduleID,
 
  &ldquo;SYMBOL TABLE&rdquo; section:</p>
 

	
 
<pre>
 
000041800036a408 g     F .text  0000000000000137 vmk_PCIGetDeviceName
 
000041800033193c g     F .text  000000000000012e vmk_PCIGetDeviceName
 
</pre>
 

	
 
<p>&hellip; which indicated these binary file contains the function body
...
 
@@ -358,25 +358,27 @@ for  <code>vmk_PCIGetDeviceName</code>.</p>
 

	
 
  <pre>
 
struct pci_dev {
 
[...]
 
#if defined(__VMKLNX__)
 
        /* 2008: Update from Linux source */
 
        u8              revision;       /* PCI revision, low byte of class word */
 
#endif /* defined(__VMKLNX__) */
 
[...]
 
       struct pci_driver *driver;      /* which driver has allocated this device */
 
[...]
 
truct pci_driver {
 
struct pci_driver {
 
        struct list_head node;
 
        char *name;
 
[...]
 
        void (*remove) (struct pci_dev *dev);   /* Device removed (NULL if not a hot-plug capable driver) */
 
[...]
 
#if defined(__VMKLNX__)
 
        /* 2008: Update from Linux source */
 
        u8              revision;       /* PCI revision, low byte of class word */
 
#endif /* defined(__VMKLNX__) */
 
  };
 
</pre>
 

	
 
<p>These structures, and based on those from Linux itself
 
  (<a href="http://lxr.free-electrons.com/source/include/linux/pci.h?v=2.6.24">a
 
    similar version of this file can be seen in Linux 2.6.24</a>), and as can
 
  be seen above, have been modified to work with &ldquo;vmkernel&rdquo;</p>
 
  be seen above, have been modified to work with &ldquo;vmkernel&rdquo;.</p>
 

	
 
<p>In <code>LinuxPCIDeviceRemoved()</code>, we saw a macro called with a
 
  variable, <code>linuxDev</code> which was of type <code>struct pci</code>.
...
 
@@ -387,7 +389,7 @@ truct pci_driver {
 
<h4><code>VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID</code> macro calls driver's code</h4>
 

	
 
<p>The
 
  file <code>BLD/build/HEADERS/vmkapi-current-all-public/vmkernel64/release/base/vmkapi_module.h</code>
 
  file <code>BLD/build/HEADERS/vmkapi-current-all-public/generic/release/base/vmkapi_module.h</code>
 
  contains the macro definition of  <code>VMKAPI_MODULE_CALL_VOID</code>,
 
  which is quoted below (with debug lines removed):
 
<pre>
...
 
@@ -402,8 +404,8 @@ do {                                                    \
 
</pre>
 

	
 
<p>When the macro is expanded, it means that <code>(function)(args)</code> is
 
  actually expanded to <code>linuxDev->driver->remove(linuxDev)</code>.
 
  Therefore, we see <code>LinuxPCIDeviceRemoved()</code>, makes directs calls
 
  actually expanded to <code>linuxDev-&gt;driver-&gt;remove(linuxDev)</code>.
 
  Therefore, we see <code>LinuxPCIDeviceRemoved()</code> makes directs calls
 
  to a driver's remove() function, by combining with Linux's <code>struct
 
  pci</code>, and by VMware's introduction of this new calling code.
 
  Conservancy has confirmed many drivers from Linux are incorporated via
...
 
@@ -423,8 +425,8 @@ static struct pci_driver tg3_driver = {
 
</pre>
 

	
 
<p>Therefore, when the code in <code>LinuxPCIDeviceRemoved()</code>
 
  calls <code>linuxDev->driver->remove(linuxDev)</code>, the code ultimately
 
  called (in the case where a tg3 card is driven by the kernel)
 
  calls <code>linuxDev-&gt;driver-&gt;remove(linuxDev)</code>, the code
 
  ultimately called (in the case where a tg3 card is driven by the kernel)
 
  is <code>tg3_remove_one()</code>, which is found in <code>tg3.c</code> and
 
  comes directly from Linux.</p>
 

	
...
 
@@ -435,11 +437,11 @@ static struct pci_driver tg3_driver = {
 

	
 
<h4>VMware distribution of binary version of <code>tg3.c</code></h4>
 

	
 
<p>VMware furthermore distributes a modified version of <code>tg.c</code> in
 
<p>VMware furthermore distributes a modified version of <code>tg3.c</code> in
 
  binary form.  This can be found in <code>usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/tg3</code>,
 
  which is extracted by un-vmtar'ing the file <code>net_tg3.v00</code> (found
 
  on the ESXi 5.5U2 installer ISO image).  Conservancy has confirmed that
 
  file is a compiled version of <code>tg3.c</code></p>
 
  on the ESXi 6.0 installer ISO image).  Conservancy has confirmed that
 
  file is a compiled version of <code>tg3.c</code>.</p>
 

	
 
<h4>Conclusions</h4>
 

	
...
 
@@ -472,7 +474,8 @@ static struct pci_driver tg3_driver = {
 
    </ul>
 
<p>The above is but one piece of evidence among many, but hopefully it helps
 
  to explain some of the &ldquo;combined work&rdquo; violations found in
 
  VMware's ESXi product.</p>
 
  VMware's ESXi product.  Conservancy did a similar analysis for ESXi 5.0
 
  as well as ESXi 5.5 Update 2 and found nearly identical results.</p>
 

	
 
<dt id="verify">How can I verify Conservancy's technical findings above?</dt>
 

	
...
 
@@ -490,20 +493,20 @@ previously-mentioned <code>linux_pci.c</code>,
 
  these steps (no login is required):</p>
 

	
 
<ol>
 
<li>Visit <a href="https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=ESXI55U2_OSS&productId=353">https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=ESXI55U2_OSS&productId=353</a>.</li>
 
<li>Visit <a href="https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=ESXI600_OSS&productId=491">https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=ESXI600_OSS&productId=491</a>.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Click the &ldquo;Download&rdquo; button beside the text that reads
 
&ldquo;Open Source Code for VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5 Update 2&rdquo;.</li>
 
&ldquo;Open source software accompanying ESXi&rdquo;.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Confirm that the SHA-1 hash matches the published one
 
  (d121634668a137ec808b63679fd941cef9a59715), found under &ldquo;Read
 
  (35811b981470abe8b606d8a7a97c9795ce570597), found under &ldquo;Read
 
  More&rdquo; on that web page.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Mount (or otherwise open) the
 
  downloaded <code>VMware-ESX-550U2-ODP.iso</code>.</li>
 
  downloaded <code>VMware-ESXI-600-ODP.iso</code>.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Extract <code>vmkdrivers/src_92/vmklinux_92/vmware/linux_pci.c</code>
 
  and <code>BLD/build/HEADERS/vmkapi-current-all-public/vmkernel64/release/device/vmkapi_pci_incompat.h</code>
 
  and <code>BLD/build/HEADERS/vmkapi-current-all-public/generic/release/hardware/vmkapi_pci_incompat.h</code>
 
  from <code>vmkdrivers-gpl/vmkdrivers-gpl.tgz</code> with tar and gzip.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Generate <code>vmklinux_9</code> by following the steps
...
 
@@ -511,11 +514,11 @@ previously-mentioned <code>linux_pci.c</code>,
 
  (Note: <code>vmklinux_9</code> is also available pre-built on a running
 
  ESXi system; <a href="#vmklinux">see below for instructions on how to access it</a>).</li>
 

	
 
<li>You may need the &ldquo;Supporting Toolchain packages for VMware
 
  vSphere ESXi 5.5.0 Update 2&rdquo; file from the above download page to
 
<li>You may need the &ldquo;Open source software disclosure package for
 
  toolchain&rdquo; file from the above download page to
 
  complete the build &mdash; upon downloading you will find it is named
 
  <code>VMware-TOOLCHAIN-550u2-ODP.iso</code> and has a SHA-1 hash of
 
  f679e81ffb2f92729917bbc64c2d541cf75b5b94.</li>
 
  <code>VMware-TOOLCHAIN-600-ODP.iso</code> and has a SHA-1 hash of
 
  9a68df4cbeb645c25002a02f11b1923f98d3d5b5.</li>
 

	
 
</ol>
 

	
...
 
@@ -527,7 +530,7 @@ previously-mentioned <code>linux_pci.c</code>,
 
<li>Click the &ldquo;Activate Now&rdquo; link in the follow-up email.  Enter
 
  the password used at registration time.  Click &ldquo;Continue&rdquo;.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Visit <a href="https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi5">https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi5</a>.</li>
 
<li>Visit <a href="https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi6">https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi6</a>.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Click &ldquo;Register&rdquo; (under the text that reads &ldquo;You have
 
  not registered for this product&rdquo;).</li>
...
 
@@ -535,16 +538,16 @@ previously-mentioned <code>linux_pci.c</code>,
 
<li>Enter the number of servers you plan to install on (e.g., 1).  Click
 
  &ldquo;Continue&rdquo;.</li>
 

	
 
<li>If the &ldquo;VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.5 Update 2 &ndash;
 
<li>If the &ldquo;VMware vSphere Hypervisor 6.0 &ndash;
 
  Binaries&rdquo; section is not expanded, click the plus sign next to it.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Click the &ldquo;Manually Download&rdquo; link that's beside &ldquo;ESXi
 
  5.5 Update 2 ISO image (Includes VMware Tools)&rdquo;.</li>
 
  ISO image (Includes VMware Tools)&rdquo;.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Confirm that the SHA-1 hash matches the published one (9475938b51cafc86c8b17d09f2493cb6b4fae927).</li>
 
<li>Confirm that the SHA-1 hash matches the published one (a38a9d37ea529329338de049679c1dd1687d3860).</li>
 

	
 
<li>Mount (or open via some other means) the
 
downloaded <code>VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0.update02-2068190.x86_64.iso</code>.</li>
 
downloaded <code>VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.0.0-2494585.x86_64.iso</code>.</li>
 

	
 
<li>Find the <code>k.b00</code> file in the root directory.  Extract it
 
using <code>zcat k.b00 &gt; vmvisor64-vmkernel</code> (or a similar command).