Re: Syslinux update expected

[bruce@pixar.com (Bruce Perens)]

From: Christoph Lameter <clameter@waterf.org>
> I have made a package mkboot that just takes a kernel and a ramdisk
> image and generates the following boot possibilities generating one or
> no disks.
>
> - lilo from one fd
> - fdos+loadlin from one fd
> - loadlin from hd
> - kernel loader from one fd
> + syslinux when available

That sounds good. It should obsolete the bootdisk.sh script in the
boot-floppies package.

Now, please add the feature to add an "initrd" filesystem to the boot
disk and configure to boot from it. You can use one of the root floppy
images as an initrd filesystem for testing purposes. You should be able
to test it using LILO 18 and the latest version of LOADLIN, and then
SysLinux once you get the update. Please have it boot with the ram disk
as the _real_ root - there is an option to boot with a pseudo-root and
then set up the real root, but that will break the current root floppy
image.

You get extra points if you provide an argument to correctly size the
ramdisk in the kernel for the supplied image file. The default is 4MB,
I think.

This will eventually get run with three different RAM disk images:

1. About the same as the current ramdisk root, for low-memory systems.

2. Includes the kernel and all modules in compressed form as well as the
   above. Fits on a CD or hard disk, and is sufficient to bootstrap all
   devices without inserting another floppy. It should be able to get the
   base system from your CD or hard disk.

3. Includes all of the above and the base system in compressed form.
   Fits on a CD or hard disk. Does the entire base installation without
   any additional disk access.

	Thanks

	Bruce
--
Bruce Perens, Pixar Animation Studios
*** "Toy Story" video tape in U.S. stores October 30 ***
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