diff --git a/kernel/Makefile b/kernel/Makefile
index 62015c3d8d91ce5fb5e8c7059c10b68c4e60a565..8885627ea02138d58901d6c7d5d1cbda07883ccb 100644
--- a/kernel/Makefile
+++ b/kernel/Makefile
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ obj-$(CONFIG_KALLSYMS) += kallsyms.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_PM) += power/
 obj-$(CONFIG_BSD_PROCESS_ACCT) += acct.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_KEXEC) += kexec.o
+obj-$(CONFIG_BACKTRACE_SELF_TEST) += backtracetest.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_COMPAT) += compat.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_CGROUPS) += cgroup.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_CGROUP_DEBUG) += cgroup_debug.o
diff --git a/kernel/backtracetest.c b/kernel/backtracetest.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d1a7605c5b8fe01368e7290f2d215512d646cc32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kernel/backtracetest.c
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*
+ * Simple stack backtrace regression test module
+ *
+ * (C) Copyright 2008 Intel Corporation
+ * Author: Arjan van de Ven <arjan@linux.intel.com>
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2
+ * of the License.
+ */
+
+#include <linux/module.h>
+#include <linux/sched.h>
+#include <linux/delay.h>
+
+static struct timer_list backtrace_timer;
+
+static void backtrace_test_timer(unsigned long data)
+{
+	printk("Testing a backtrace from irq context.\n");
+	printk("The following trace is a kernel self test and not a bug!\n");
+	dump_stack();
+}
+static int backtrace_regression_test(void)
+{
+	printk("====[ backtrace testing ]===========\n");
+	printk("Testing a backtrace from process context.\n");
+	printk("The following trace is a kernel self test and not a bug!\n");
+	dump_stack();
+
+	init_timer(&backtrace_timer);
+	backtrace_timer.function = backtrace_test_timer;
+	mod_timer(&backtrace_timer, jiffies + 10);
+
+	msleep(10);
+	printk("====[ end of backtrace testing ]====\n");
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void exitf(void)
+{
+}
+
+module_init(backtrace_regression_test);
+module_exit(exitf);
+MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
+MODULE_AUTHOR("Arjan van de Ven <arjan@linux.intel.com>");
diff --git a/lib/Kconfig.debug b/lib/Kconfig.debug
index f535b9b5eb008046c8c22fe06d3dded436a81d84..aa56e631580d6a2ca2104ca1ca0a43fb1cdf8f60 100644
--- a/lib/Kconfig.debug
+++ b/lib/Kconfig.debug
@@ -506,6 +506,18 @@ config KPROBES_SANITY_TEST
 
 	  Say N if you are unsure.
 
+config BACKTRACE_SELF_TEST
+	tristate "Self test for the backtrace code"
+	depends on DEBUG_KERNEL
+	default n
+	help
+	  This option provides a kernel module that can be used to test
+	  the kernel stack backtrace code. This option is not useful
+	  for distributions or general kernels, but only for kernel
+	  developers working on architecture code.
+
+	  Say N if you are unsure.
+
 config LKDTM
 	tristate "Linux Kernel Dump Test Tool Module"
 	depends on DEBUG_KERNEL