This seems to imply I don't need a Disk-on-Chip unit, separate Flash chip, or Flash programmer (unless I goof up, in which case the Flash programmer can be used to restore the original BIOS). Is this correct?
That's right. DOC is not necessary, but would be a nice option to have. DOC not only reduces traffic, but also allows some fancy features, eg kexec.
I don't expect traffic or features to be a problem, as with OpenMOSIX the slave would be running almost nothing autonomously.
FWIW, I'm planning to use Gentoo Linux, which should say something about my proficiency level. IOW, I'm not averse to compiling things and generally fiddling around, but the existence of a nearly plug-and-play solution is encouraging (and likely to satisfy my supervisor more easily).
For fb support, you need sisfb_lite patch. If you don't need fb, stock kernel might work.
I probably don't need video at all, except to make sure the box boots properly. Even for that, I could probably get away with serial console, as I think the master will have two spare serial ports. :o)
I'll try your stock image first as a proof of concept, then build an OpenMOSIX kernel and image using the least number of patches necessary. Gentoo include an OpenMOSIX-patched kernel source tree, which is nice of them, so I only need to worry about the LinuxBIOS patches and hackery.
I'm guessing that if I use the vendor-supplied BIOS flash utility, I don't need to muck around with MTD drivers, right? Looking at the HOWTOs, that method seems to be extremely icky at the moment, requiring kernel source edits. I don't mind getting a single floppy drive, and moving it between slaves for this step.