Re: armel disk image

[Rod Whitby <rod@whitby.id.au>]

jeff@jab.org wrote:
> Is there a free software ethernet
> driver in works, and if so what is its status?

There is actually two (but the author of the first one which is
currently in the Debian kernel suggests using the second, and the second
one is much more likely to go upstream), but they both still require the
Intel proprietary microcode for the on-chip NPE engines.

So you can have a DFSG-compliant kernel and rootfs, but you need a
separate partition in your MTD internal flash chip to store the
proprietary microcode (which is loaded by the kernel at boot with no
need for interaction by the user or distro).  At least that is the way
that the nslu2-linux project prefers to do it (and we provide kernel
patches to do that).

The Debian kernel still uses a hotplug firmware file in the rootfs for
the proprietary microcode - a decision which causes you the hassle of
click-through for your 150MB rootfs tarball.

I'm hoping that can be changed.

-- Rod