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Initrd
In Linux systems, initrd (''initial ramdisk'') is a scheme for loading a temporary root file system into memory, to be used as part of the Linux startup process. initrd and initramfs refer to two different methods of achieving this. Both are commonly used to make preparations before the real root file system can be mounted. Rationale Many Linux distributions ship a single, generic Linux kernel image one that the distribution's developers create specifically to boot on a wide variety of hardware. The device drivers for this generic kernel image are included as loadable kernel modules because statically compiling many drivers into one kernel causes the kernel image to be much larger, perhaps too large to boot on computers with limited memory, or in some cases to cause boot-time crashes or other problems due to probing for nonexistent or conflicting hardware. This static-compiled kernel approach also leaves modules in kernel memory which are no longer used or needed, and raises the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casper (persistency)
In Linux systems, initrd (''initial ramdisk'') is a scheme for loading a temporary root file system into memory, to be used as part of the Linux startup process. initrd and initramfs refer to two different methods of achieving this. Both are commonly used to make preparations before the real root file system can be mounted. Rationale Many Linux distributions ship a single, generic Linux kernel image one that the distribution's developers create specifically to boot on a wide variety of hardware. The device drivers for this generic kernel image are included as loadable kernel modules because statically compiling many drivers into one kernel causes the kernel image to be much larger, perhaps too large to boot on computers with limited memory, or in some cases to cause boot-time crashes or other problems due to probing for nonexistent or conflicting hardware. This static-compiled kernel approach also leaves modules in kernel memory which are no longer used or needed, and raises the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early User Space
The multi-stage booting process of Linux is in many ways similar to the BSD and other Unix-style boot processes, from which it derives. Booting a Linux installation involves multiple stages and software components, including firmware initialization, execution of a boot loader, loading and startup of a Linux kernel image, and execution of various startup scripts and daemons. For each of these stages and components there are different variations and approaches; for example, GRUB, coreboot or Das U-Boot can be used as boot loaders (historical examples are LILO, SYSLINUX or Loadlin), while the startup scripts can be either traditional init-style, or the system configuration can be performed through modern alternatives such as systemd or Upstart. Overview Early stages of the Linux startup process depend very much on the computer architecture. IBM PC compatible hardware is one architecture Linux is commonly used on; on these systems, the BIOS plays an important role, which might ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linux Startup Process
The multi-stage booting process of Linux is in many ways similar to the BSD and other Unix-style boot processes, from which it derives. Booting a Linux installation involves multiple stages and software components, including firmware initialization, execution of a boot loader, loading and startup of a Linux kernel image, and execution of various startup scripts and daemons. For each of these stages and components there are different variations and approaches; for example, GRUB, coreboot or Das U-Boot can be used as boot loaders (historical examples are LILO, SYSLINUX or Loadlin), while the startup scripts can be either traditional init-style, or the system configuration can be performed through modern alternatives such as systemd or Upstart. Overview Early stages of the Linux startup process depend very much on the computer architecture. IBM PC compatible hardware is one architecture Linux is commonly used on; on these systems, the BIOS plays an important role, which mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Block Device
In Unix-like operating systems, a device file or special file is an interface to a device driver that appears in a file system as if it were an ordinary file. There are also special files in DOS, OS/2, and Windows. These special files allow an application program to interact with a device by using its device driver via standard input/output system calls. Using standard system calls simplifies many programming tasks, and leads to consistent user-space I/O mechanisms regardless of device features and functions. Overview Device files usually provide simple interfaces to standard devices (such as printers and serial ports), but can also be used to access specific unique resources on those devices, such as disk partitions. Additionally, device files are useful for accessing system resources that have no connection with any actual device, such as data sinks and random number generators. There are two general kinds of device files in Unix-like operating systems, known as ''character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cramfs
The compressed ROM/RAM file system (or cramfs) is a Free software, free (GNU General Public License, GPL'ed) read-only Linux kernel, Linux file system designed for simplicity and space-efficiency. It is mainly used in embedded system, embedded and small-footprint systems. Unlike a compressed image of a conventional file system, a cramfs image can be used as it is, i.e. without first decompressing it. For this reason, some Linux distributions use cramfs for initrd images (Debian 3.1 in particular) and installation images (SUSE Linux in particular), where there are constraints on memory and image size. In 2013, Linux maintainers indicated that cramfs was made obsolete by squashfs, but the file system got rehabilitated in 2017 for use in low-memory devices where using squashfs may not be viable. Design Files on cramfs file systems are zlib-compressed one Page (computer memory), page at a time to allow random read access. The metadata is not compressed, but is expressed in a terse r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cpio
cpio is a general file archiver utility and its associated file format. It is primarily installed on Unix-like computer operating systems. The software utility was originally intended as a tape archiving program as part of the Programmer's Workbench (PWB/UNIX), and has been a component of virtually every Unix operating system released thereafter. Its name is derived from the phrase ''copy in and out'', in close description of the program's use of standard input and standard output in its operation. All variants of Unix also support other backup and archiving programs, such as tar, which has become more widely recognized. The use of cpio by the RPM Package Manager, in the initramfs program of Linux kernel 2.6, and in Apple's Installer (pax) make cpio an important archiving tool. Since its original design, cpio and its archive file format have undergone several, sometimes incompatible, revisions. Most notable is the change, now an operational option, from the use of a binary forma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debian
Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of Debian (0.01) was released on September 15, 1993, and its first stable version (1.1) was released on June 17, 1996. The Debian Stable branch is the most popular edition for personal computers and servers. Debian is also the basis for many other distributions, most notably Ubuntu. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kernel. The project is coordinated over the Internet by a team of volunteers guided by the Debian Project Leader and three foundational documents: the Debian Social Contract, the Debian Constitution, and the Debian Free Software Guidelines. New distributions are updated continually, and the next candidate is released after a time-based freeze. Since its founding, Debian has been developed openly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3. Ethernet has since been refined to support higher bit rates, a greater number of nodes, and longer link distances, but retains much backward compatibility. Over time, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies such as Token Ring, FDDI and ARCNET. The original 10BASE5 Ethernet uses coaxial cable as a shared medium, while the newer Ethernet variants use twisted pair and fiber optic links in conjunction with switches. Over the course of its history, Ethernet data transfer rates have been increased from the original to the latest , with rates up to under development. The Ethernet standards include several wiring and signaling variants of the OSI physical layer. Systems communicating over Ethernet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trivial File Transfer Protocol
Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is a simple lockstep File Transfer Protocol which allows a client to get a file from or put a file onto a remote host. One of its primary uses is in the early stages of nodes booting from a local area network. TFTP has been used for this application because it is very simple to implement. TFTP was first standardized in 1981 and the current specification for the protocol can be found in . Overview Due to its simple design, TFTP can be easily implemented by code with a small memory footprint. It is therefore the protocol of choice for the initial stages of any network booting strategy like BOOTP, PXE, BSDP, etc., when targeting from highly resourced computers to very low resourced Single-board computers (SBC) and System on a Chip (SoC). It is also used to transfer firmware images and configuration files to network appliances like routers, firewalls, IP phones, etc. Today, TFTP is virtually unused for Internet transfers. TFTP's design was i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
File Allocation Table
File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers. Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices. It is often supported for compatibility reasons by current operating systems for personal computers and many mobile devices and embedded systems, allowing interchange of data between disparate systems. The increase in disk drives capacity required three major variants: FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32. The FAT standard has also been expanded in other ways while generally preserving backward compatibility with existing software. FAT is no longer the default file system for Microsoft Windows computers. FAT file systems are still commonly found on floppy disks, flash and other solid-state memory cards and modules (including USB flash drives), as well as many portable and embedded devices. FAT is the standard file system for digital cameras per the DCF specification. Overview Concepts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ext2
The ext2 or second extended file system is a file system for the Linux kernel. It was initially designed by French software developer Rémy Card as a replacement for the extended file system (ext). Having been designed according to the same principles as the Berkeley Fast File System from BSD, it was the first commercial-grade filesystem for Linux. The canonical implementation of ext2 is the "ext2fs" filesystem driver in the Linux kernel. Other implementations (of varying quality and completeness) exist in GNU Hurd, MINIX 3, some BSD kernels, in MiNT, Haiku and as third-party Microsoft Windows and macOS drivers. ext2 was the default filesystem in several Linux distributions, including Debian and Red Hat Linux, until supplanted by ext3, which is almost completely compatible with ext2 and is a journaling file system. ext2 is still the filesystem of choice for flash-based storage media (such as SD cards and USB flash drives) because its lack of a journal increases performance an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optical Disc
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. Its main uses are physical offline data distribution and long-term archival. Changes from pit to land or from land to pit correspond to a binary value of 1; while no change, regardless of whether in a land or a pit area, corresponds to a binary value of 0. Non-circular optical discs exist for fashion purposes; see shaped compact disc. Design and technology The encoding material sits atop a thicker substrate (usually polycarbonate) that makes up the bulk of the disc and forms a dust defocusing layer. The encoding pattern follows a continuous, spiral path covering the entire disc surface and extending from the innermost track to the outermost track. The data are stored on the disc with a laser or stamping machine, and can be accesse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
