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ROMmable Linux?

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Uri Blumenthal

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Mar 2, 1994, 1:24:19 PM3/2/94
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Hi,
Some time ago there was a discussion here about
how possible it was to make embedded Linux...

Could somebody please e-mail me, what's the
chance/status of such project? Is it doable
now?

Thanks!
--
Regards,
Uri. u...@watson.ibm.com scifi!angmar!uri
------------
<Disclaimer>

Donald Jeff Dionne

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Mar 2, 1994, 6:12:08 PM3/2/94
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Uri Blumenthal (u...@watson.ibm.com) wrote:
: Hi,

: Some time ago there was a discussion here about
: how possible it was to make embedded Linux...

: Could somebody please e-mail me, what's the
: chance/status of such project? Is it doable
: now?

Well, I thought it would be a good thing to start, and asked if there was
any takers. I got one reply... be that person wanted to see MCA working
properly first.

: Thanks!


: --
: Regards,
: Uri. u...@watson.ibm.com scifi!angmar!uri
: ------------
: <Disclaimer>

Jeff#EE.Ryerson.CA

Andre Skarzynski

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Mar 10, 1994, 7:03:44 AM3/10/94
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Uri Blumenthal (u...@watson.ibm.com) wrote:
: Hi,

: Some time ago there was a discussion here about
: how possible it was to make embedded Linux...

Hi, I am also interested in getting involved in an embedded Linux.

--
Andre B. Skarzynski -- Information Technology, University of Stellenbosch --
a...@itu1.sun.ac.za ------- Tel: +27 21 8084293 Fax: +27 21 8084102 --------

Byron A Jeff

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Mar 10, 1994, 3:44:22 PM3/10/94
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In article <2ln2b0$h...@itu1.sun.ac.za>,

Andre Skarzynski <a...@cs.sun.ac.za> wrote:
>Uri Blumenthal (u...@watson.ibm.com) wrote:
>: Hi,
>: Some time ago there was a discussion here about
>: how possible it was to make embedded Linux...
>
>Hi, I am also interested in getting involved in an embedded Linux.

Saw this on the net a while ago. Might be of some interest. All the info
to get a BIOS based loader can be found in the Firmware Furnace column
of Circuit Cellar INK (issues from Feb 93 to Dec 93) including a card
and test program from embedded system EPROM loading.

Hope it helps,

BAJ

>We are evaluating the possibility to use linux as graphical workstations on
>a network (ethernet, tpc/ip).
>For both, for safety and for to have minimal work, we would use
>diskless pc's, wich were booted from a server (without floppy!).

>So my question:

>Is it possible to boot linux over a net (with an eprom on the
>ethernet card, where can i get such an eprom)?
>Has someone experiences with booting linux over the net?

>Does someone use linux only as an X-Terminal?

>I would appreciate your help

Boot code suitable for making into a prom for diskless workstations is now
available.

It is available on sunsite.unc.edu, under the directory
/pub/Linux/system/Linux-boot, filename netboot.zoo

Also available at sunsite (at the moment under Incoming, soon in the same
Linux-boot directory) is rampatch10.tgz, patches to the kernel to allow
net-loading of the ramdisk. This file also has a readme and a program for
creating a header suitable for the prom.

[This patch kit is faulty with respect to compressed kernels. Instead
use the uu encoded patches enclosed].


The features of this program are:

The network boot program allows the booting of PC's from
a host running TCP/IP protocols. This supports diskless
workstations and X terminals. It can also be used for
embedded controllers.

Two UDP/IP protocols are used: bootp and tftp.

The network boot program can be used in one of three ways:

- as a prom on a network adaptor card
- as the boot program on a floppy disk
- as an MSDOS program, run first thing after booting

This code implements my draft specification for network boot
images, which is in the above file. This defines a vendor independent
format for boot images.

The network boot program is able to load data into memory locations
above the 1 Meg barrier.

The code demonstrates how rom code can be generated from C.

The code is written without any library calls, that is, all string,
print etc. functions are included.


Requirements:

In order to use this program you will need to set up a server host
with the bootpd server and the tftpd server. This could also be a Linux
system.

You will need to have a suitable network adaptor. At the moment I have
only ported the WD Ethernet card code from the original NCSA suite of
programs. The original drivers are provided, you can use the WD
code as a template for your changes.

The bootpd server is available for Linux PL10 and later. Fred's
utilities include the bootpd server program. Pre-net-2 systems (PL < 10)
will not work properly.

Setting up:

There are two parts to setting up. One side, the booting PC, is the client.
The other side is the server.

Setting up the boot PC (the client) is described in the readme file in
netboot.zoo.

The notes as to how to set up a Linux _server_ to support
the booting PC are given in the file rampatch10.tgz. This file
also contains patches to the kernel to allow ramdisk loading at the
same time as the kernel. (There is an older rampatch.tgz, don't confuse).

The ramdisk is important, since it will be the root device for a diskless
workstation. From the ramdisk you can mount remote NFS file systems.

All this is BETA code. Don't expect a production system
straight away. Your use is part of the testing process, not
the end result.

At the moment my netboot only supports WD cards. In addition
I have only tested the floppy and DOS versions. The prom
version I have not tested, since I don't have a burner.
(Anyone in Sydney got a spare one they can lend for a while?)
I believe any bugs between the floppy version and the prom
version will be minor.

[Actually there is one minor bug! If anyone wants to build
a prom contact me for the fix. Basically the prom should hook
int 19h during scan, and then do the load, rather than trying
to load during the bios rom scan]


[Enclosed patches for compressed kernels]

------------------- End of included info ------------------------------

I deleted the patches. If there is interest I'll put them up on sunsite.

BAJ
---
Another random extraction from the mental bit stream of...
Byron A. Jeff - PhD student operating in parallel!
Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332 Internet: by...@cc.gatech.edu

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