[Xorp-users] Announcement: End-of-life on Windows support in XORP community branch

[Bruce Simpson]

Hi all,

This is just to announce that Windows support will be cut from the next 
community release of XORP, effective immediately.

    There are no free [1] toolchains available for systems-level C/C++ 
development on the Windows platform at the moment, apart from MinGW. 
This is a big factor in this decision.

    Unfortunately, whilst I've personally raised the issue with both the 
SUA/Interix community, and the Microsoft technical leads for Windows 
Networking, I have received no replies from either of them. See here:
    http://www.suacommunity.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=16790
    http://www.suacommunity.com/forum/Default.aspx
    
http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=BTQe0euUEEB40X_2fdXg5mOtRGmb_2bcU2sVnn6cLg44Qxk_3d

An official announcement about this matter from Microsoft is still pending.

    Whilst we chose MinGW as the toolchain for delivering XORP on 
Windows, and succesfully demonstrated it in Redmond handling a full BGP 
route feed on Windows Server 2003, way back in 2005, we have to ship 
toolchain patches with every XORP release, making it difficult for users 
to build from source.
    Maintaining binary releases requires engineering resource, which is 
probably best found within host organisations actually using this code 
-- one of the trade-offs of the open source model.

    The Windows port of XORP was experimental in nature, and was never 
fully integrated with the Windows Networking stack due to a lack of 
easily available and open information about how such integration might 
be performed. This is a great shame as I am sure you will all agree.

    Should we hear from someone within the XORP community who is willing 
to step up as developer and maintainer going forward, it will be 
possible to resurrect the Win32 port.
    However -- radical change will be necessary to meet users' present 
and future needs in the community, and for the time being, Windows 
support will not be possible to maintain during this time of radical change.
    The hope is that these changes will make it easier for future 
volunteers to maintain Win32 as a tier 1 platform.

Once again, thanks for your ongoing support of XORP.

best wishes,
BMS

[1] definition of free in this instance: freely redistributable, and 
patent and license unencumbered, with sufficient platform API support 
for networking/routing.