From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from smtp.nokia.com ([192.100.122.230] helo=mgw-mx03.nokia.com) by bombadil.infradead.org with esmtps (Exim 4.69 #1 (Red Hat Linux)) id 1NwAF0-0005lG-22 for linux-mtd@lists.infradead.org; Mon, 29 Mar 2010 08:22:38 +0000 Subject: Re: UBI bootloader support, any progress? From: Artem Bityutskiy To: Frank de Lange In-Reply-To: <4B7EB448.8090402@unternet.org> References: <4B7EB448.8090402@unternet.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:20:26 +0300 Message-ID: <1269850826.28259.3.camel@localhost> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Cc: linux-mtd@lists.infradead.org Reply-To: dedekind1@gmail.com List-Id: Linux MTD discussion mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , On Fri, 2010-02-19 at 16:54 +0100, Frank de Lange wrote: > Hiya, > > I'm in the process of reviving a piece of dot-bomb history in the form > of a Virgin WebPlayer [1]. The thing is based around a Geode GLlv@200MHz > + CS5530 and a 48 MB M-Systems DOC. When launched it ran a modified > Redhat Linux distribution. Video and sound were handled through > VSA-emulated drivers so performance was not super. > > This webplayer - one of four around here - has been used on a canoe > expedition over the Yukon [2], after that as a dialup server and for the > last 5 years as a file/print/web/mail server. This task has now been > taken over by something slightly more beefy so it is looking for a new > task. It will spend the foreseeable time as an NX terminal with some > local processing capability intended mainly for my 5 y old daughter. > > After a week of hacking the thing now runs a native framebuffer, native > X server and native audio and performs like it never did. It does still > run from a harddrive though, one of the first batch of 'magical pixie > dust' 20 GB travelstar drives which has been in continuous use for ten > years now. The plan is to move the salient bits to the DOC and get rid > of the drive. Moving the bits is easy but booting the thing will be > harder given that I plan to use UBIFS. > > The DOC was supported in LILO so it still runs a patched, ancient LILO > 21.7. Grub can be made to see the DOC with a bit of work so that would > also be an option. The problem lies in UBI and UBIFS... this is not > supported in either. Das U-Boot supports UBI but not this board. Porting > it to the board is feasible - especially since I ignore all VSA stuff - > but more work than I care for. > > The question then is whether there has been any progress in getting > bootloader support for UBI. I have searched the archives and looked at > the code but not found what I'm looking for: potential working > bootloader (grub/lilo/something similar) support for UBI on nand mtd > devices. Has anyone started implementing (read-only) UBI support in GRUB > or another similar BIOS-loaded bootloader? > > I have also considered Linuxbios/Coreboot. That might be an option for > the long term but short-term I'd like to use the existing BIOS and just > replace the harddrive with the DOC. So... any pointers? Hi, it looks like U-boot is the only option. You might as well just put the kernel to a separate partition any format supported by your boot-loader. Then you can load and run the kernel, and make the kernel mount the rest of your flash. -- Best Regards, Artem Bityutskiy (Артём Битюцкий)