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List:       linux-lvm
Subject:    Re: [linux-lvm] Booting
From:       Adrien Farkas <freddy () redneck ! sk ! oracle ! com>
Date:       1999-11-08 8:13:04
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Kent Overstreet (kent@kent.myip.org) wrote :

> I just subscribed to the list, so this may have been thought of, but I
> didn't see it in the archives.
> 
> From reading the archives, the biggest (long-term) problem with booting
> straight of the LVM is having lilo find the kernel. So how about this:
> dedicate the first extant or three for kernel images. Have regular block
> files in dev, maybe ex0 etc. When you install a new kernel, just dd the
> image to the extant. It would probably take minimal hacking for lilo to

this is the way e.g. Alpha boots from SRM loader. You have some part (preferrably in \
the beginning) of the disk dedicated for kernel and loader boots from there. But I'm \
definitely not sure whether this is a good idea. if you run 'file' on kernel image \
you find out that it's an x86 (e.g.) bootsector so taken pure theoretically you can \
boot from the disk if you change root device accordingly. But the problem is not \
kernel but root partition.

Two solutions appear in my mind (I guess it's official solutions for using LVM):
1) use initrd with minimal support (modules, LVM utils and basic libs)
2) use some small (20MB) partition with content as above.

Decide and read HOWTOs

> find it. Then, we just move the vgscan and vgchange stuff into the
> kernel. Besides, the idea of user-mode utilities being required to find
> partitions *REALLY* bugs me. I don't know how i.e. AIX does it, but it
> would probably have to have kernel level support for all the basic
> scanning stuff. This would also port well to platforms where the kernel
> is stored in flashrom or whatever it is (is alpha this way?). Also, we
> could keep a compressed root fs image on one of the extants, and use it
> like the slackware boot/root disks if something goes wrong (very
> useful). We might do something like 2 kernels to an extant (chop it in
> half), but it doesn't even really matter that much - 12 meg total out of
> an 18 gig drive isn't going to be missed. This also makes it easy to
> boot from any root fs you want to, provided a beginning of a pv is where
> the bios can get to it. Well, how does it sound? Can it be done? Is it
> worth it? This isn't my area of greatest expertise, but this sounds like
> it could be a great multi-purpose solution, especially once md and
> striping become common (make your root fs a raid 5!).

-- 
                                             freddy

----==-- _                      Adrien "freddy" Farkas
---==---(_)__  __ ____  __       freddy@sk.oracle.com
--==---/ / _ \/ // /\ \/ /  We all know Linux is great... It
-=====/_/_//_/\___/ /_/\_\  does infinite loops in 5 seconds


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