People are definitely beginning to understand the power of using linux as your bootloader ...
From the article:
"The new Technologic Systems Bootloader is totally Linux-based, enabling much more control over the system through all the standard Linux utility commands from inside the bootloader itself. Meanwhile, it delivers fast bootup time, as short as 1.1 seconds, and small footprint, not only meeting the requirements of the real-world embedded systems, but delivering additional flexibility and power instead. After all, it is Linux booting Linux.
The "bootload" facility may be useful for kernel developers, since they now have a faster way to test their new kernels without rebooting the whole system. In case a fast bootup solution is not being used, developers benefit from the use of the "bootload" program given that the time spent with firmware loading will be saved.
Also, the new Bootloader solution allows the use of standard shell scripts for the programmatic selection of appropriate kernels, Linux initrd's, and kernel command line arguments for maximum flexibility. Click on the link below and find out how the TS-7400 takes advantage of these features in order to provide multiple booting options via Linux shell scripts:" ron
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Jan 10, 2007 9:21 AM Subject: 1.1 sec from power on to Linux shell (busybox) prompt To: ron minnich rminnich@gmail.com
I know these guys provided the lunchbox boards you described in your Linux Journal article. I like how they accelerated flash boot by implementing HW ECC in the CPLD. Nice work. This would have been nice in OLPC.
not very clear. Some kind of kexec?
YH
On 1/10/07, yhlu yinghailu@gmail.com wrote:
not very clear. Some kind of kexec?
yes indeed, their own implementation. They may not even know about kexec.
but their linux is in flash, then can boot a linux.
ron