From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Message-ID: <43C027B0.2070409@dlasys.net> Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2006 15:42:24 -0500 From: "David H. Lynch Jr." MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Grant Likely References: <20060106221601.78327.qmail@web33515.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <43BF4AB8.6030003@comcast.net> <43BF5302.4030602@secretlab.ca> In-Reply-To: <43BF5302.4030602@secretlab.ca> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Cc: Linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org Subject: Re: Booting from RAM Disk List-Id: Linux on Embedded PowerPC Developers Mail List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Grant Likely wrote: > David H. Lynch Jr. wrote: > >> initramfs does nto exist in 2.4, but despite a dearth of information it >>works extremely well in 2.6. >> >> Set CONFIG_INITRAMFS=path to directory tree to build into ramdisk, and >>the kernel building process will take care of most evrything else. >>Unlike initrd, there are not two separate files, that each have to be >>loaded. The initial ramdisk is part of the kernel image, gets >>uncompressed by the kernel, and is just generally painless - except for >>the scarcity of documentation. > > So... have are been able to use initramfs as a drop in replacement for > initrd, or did you have to jump through extra hoops? I attempted to use > initramfs a few months ago, but wasn't ever able to get it to run init. > > g. > I can't exactly answer that - While I have used both, The only one I have actually tried to put onto an embedded system is initramfs. I normallly use Debian which puts together an initrd for you fairly easily. I used Gentoo on a few systems and it uses initramfs - but it seems to use it in an odd configuration similair to initrd, where the Ramdisk image is a separate file. I have never tried to build an initrd system. I like initramfs - the only problem I had putting it together was finding the information to do it. In the instance of the E12 I needed something that was wrapped into a single file with the kernl. The E12 already had an elf loader, but all it did was load elf files. It did not handle ramdisk other images etc. INITRAMFS provided a means to start on the E12 without having to write another loader.