Re: [RFC] klibc requirements

H. Peter Anvin
2002-01-09T07:27:20Z

Followup to: <20020109060951.GA18024@kroah.com>
By author: Greg KH <greg@kroah.com>
In newsgroup: linux.dev.kernel
>
> On Tue, Jan 08, 2002 at 09:01:16PM -0800, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> >
> > Why should it be included in the kernel image? That's not the current
> > plan, as far as I know. It should be a separate file or set of files
> > loaded by the bootloader (using an enhanced initrd protocol backward
> > compatible with old bootloaders.)
>
> Hm, missed those messages. I remember talk of adding the initramfs
> image to the kernel image itself, which keeps from having to change any
> bootloaders. But if this has changed, that's ok with me.
>
> Is any of this written down all in one place?
>

This is a *draft* of the specification; I was hoping to get Viro to
comment on it before releasing it publically -- there still may need
to be some tightening of the definition especially with respect to the
definition of alignment, but the "big picture" should be correct:

initramfs buffer format
-----------------------

Al Viro, H. Peter Anvin
Last revision: 2002-01-03

** DRAFT ** DRAFT ** DRAFT ** DRAFT ** DRAFT ** DRAFT ** DRAFT **

Starting with kernel 2.5.x, the old "initial ramdisk" protocol is
getting {replaced/complemented} with the new "initial ramfs"
(initramfs) protocol. The initramfs contents is passed using the same
memory buffer protocol used by the initrd protocol, but the contents
is different. The initramfs buffer contains an archive which is
expanded into a ramfs filesystem; this document details the format of
the initramfs buffer format.

The initramfs buffer format is based around the "newc" CPIO format,
and can be created with the cpio(1) utility. The cpio archive can be
compressed using gzip(1). The simplest form of the initramfs buffer
is thus a single .cpio.gz file.

The full format of the initramfs buffer is defined by the following
grammar, where:
* is used to indicate "0 or more occurrences of"
(|) indicates alternatives
+ indicates concatenation
GZIP() indicates the gzip(1) of the operand
PAD(n) means padding with null bytes to an n-byte boundary
[QUESTION: is the padding relative to the start of the
previous header, or is it an absolute address? Is it at all
legal to have a header start on a non-multiple of 4?]

initramfs := ("\0" | cpio_archive | cpio_gzip_archive)*

cpio_gzip_archive := GZIP(cpio_archive)

cpio_archive := cpio_file* + (<nothing> | cpio_trailer)

cpio_file := cpio_header + filename + "\0" + PAD(4) + data + PAD(4)

cpio_trailer := cpio_header + "TRAILER!!!\0" + PAD(4)

In human terms, the initramfs buffer contains a collection of
compressed and/or uncompressed cpio archives (in the "newc" format);
arbitrary amounts zero bytes (for padding) can be added between
members.

The cpio "TRAILER!!!" entry (cpio end of file) is optional, but is not
ignored; see "handling of hard links" below.

The structure of the cpio_header is as follows (all 8-byte entries
contain 32-bit hexadecimal ASCII numbers):

Field name Field size Meaning
c_magic 6 bytes The string "070701" or "070702"
c_ino 8 bytes File inode number
c_mode 8 bytes File mode and permissions
c_uid 8 bytes File uid
c_gid 8 bytes File gid
c_nlink 8 bytes Number of links
c_mtime 8 bytes Modification time
c_filesize 8 bytes Size of data field
c_maj 8 bytes Major part of file device number
c_min 8 bytes Minor part of file device number
c_rmaj 8 bytes Major part of device node reference
c_rmin 8 bytes Minor part of device node reference
c_namesize 8 bytes Length of filename, including final \0
c_chksum 8 bytes CRC of data field if c_magic is 070702

The c_mode field matches the contents of st_mode returned by stat(2)
on Linux, and encodes the file type and file permissions.

The c_filesize should be zero for any non-regular file.

If the filename is "TRAILER!!!" this is actually an end-of-file
marker; the c_filesize for an end-of-file marker must be zero.

*** Handling of hard links

When a nondirectory with c_nlink > 1 is seen, the (c_maj,c_min,c_ino)
tuple is looked up in a tuple buffer. If not found, it is entered in
the tuple buffer and the entry is created as usual; if found, a hard
link rather than a second copy of the file is created. It is not
necessary (but permitted) to include a second copy of the file
contents; if the file contents is not included, the c_filesize field
should be set to zero to indicate no data section follows.

When a "TRAILER!!!" end-of-file marker is seen, the tuple buffer is
reset. This permits archives which are generated independently to be
concatenated.

To combine file data from different sources (without having to
regenerate the (c_maj,c_min,c_ino) fields), therefore, either one of
the following techniques can be used:

a) Separate the different file data sources with a "TRAILER!!!"
end-of-file marker, or

b) Make sure c_nlink == 1 for all nondirectory entries.

--
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"Unix gives you enough rope to shoot yourself in the foot."
http://www.zytor.com/~hpa/puzzle.txt <amsp@zytor.com>