Re: powerpc d-i daily builds reactivated, use 2.6.12 kernels, including 64bit kernels, miboot floppies dropped for now.

[Rick Thomas <rbthomas55@pobox.com>]

On Aug 20, 2005, at 4:14 AM, Sven Luther wrote:

> The plan is that in the year or so upto the etch release, we will trim  
> down
> the 2.6 kernel to miboot-size, free miboot or find a better solution,  
> and fix
> the miboot+2.6 worked once in oldenbourg 2004 and never since problem.
>
> Removing the legacy stuff will only encourage us to work on the real  
> fix :)

Good luck on that.

Keep in mind that the *next* kernel will be even bigger.  Sooner or  
later, even the fully modularized minimum configuration isn't going fit  
on a single floppy.

If you plan to rewrite miboot in the next 12 months, maybe that would  
be a good time to think about an architecture that eliminates the need  
for having the latest kernel on the floppy.  Perhaps the first-stage  
boot-loader loads a second-stage boot-loader from the floppy in the  
form of a sub-miniature OS -- It really just needs to be capable of  
communicating with the console.  Then use the console to ask the user  
where to get the full kernel-plus-modules from.  The sub-min OS will  
need to have available driver-modules for  
CD/network/zip-disk/hard-disk/thumb-drive/tape/anything-you-can- 
imaging-loading-a-kernel-from, but those driver-modules don't have to  
be on the original boot floppy.  Some kind of embedded-Linux would seem  
to be a good starting place.

I'm sad to say that I don't have the time to help with this.

I'm on the cusp myself.  As a working sysadmin, I've just about decided  
that the OldWorld architecture is not worth supporting any more.  Over  
time I'm planning to replace all my production OldWorld machines either  
with more modern (NewWorld) G3 and G4 desksides, retreaded as servers,  
or with Mac minis in applications that don't require the expandability  
of a PCI slot.

I've enjoyed working with you on sarge, and I'd like to continue to  
help out where I can make a contribution.  I'll probably hang onto a  
couple of OldWorld machines so I can help out with testing the etch  
stuff, but I don't plan on using it (etch on OldWorld) in production.   
I'll be fully converted to NewWorld before etch is ready.

Rick