udev has caused and continues to cause issues for Funtoo. The main problem with udev is that it is very kernel-dependent and the boot process can break if you are using a kernel that is incompatible with the currently-installed version of udev.

Piotr Karbowski has done good work on replacing udev with mdev on Funtoo Linux systems, and this appears to be a very good solution for nearly all users, except those that use fancy desktop environments that require the new features added to udev.

To support both environments, I propose:

1) Making mdev an integral part of the boot process, along with scripts, and ensure that this system will work with ANY kernel version.

2) Make udev an optional desktop-support package, that is pulled in as a runtime dependency for things like GNOME, so that it can be started AFTER mdev has successfully booted the system.

This requires a mechanism to transition from mdev to udev on a running system, so that udev can get up and running prior to the DE starting.

Boot time speed is not a priority. It is a much higher priority to remove the fragility of udev from the Funtoo Linux boot process and isolate Funtoo Linux from potential problems from upstream udev changes.

Funtoo Linux servers can use mdev and not need to touch udev. This will be a significant improvement. Funtoo Linux users who want to use the latest desktop environment can still use udev, but not integrated as part of the boot process. This will allow us to regularly update the version of udev in Funtoo Linux without worrying about what problems it may cause in the boot process. This is a win for desktop users.