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INITRD(4)

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NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

       initrd - boot loader initialized RAM disk

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

       The  special  file  /dev/initrd	is  a  read-only block device.	Device
       /dev/initrd is a RAM disk that is initialized (e.g. loaded) by the boot
       loader  before  the kernel is started.  The kernel then can use the the
       block device /dev/initrd's contents for a two phased system boot-up.

       In the first boot-up phase, the kernel starts up and mounts an  initial
       root  file-system  from the contents of /dev/initrd (e.g. RAM disk initialized
 by the boot loader).  In the second phase, additional  drivers
       or  other  modules  are loaded from the initial root device's contents.
       After loading the additional modules, a new root file system (i.e.  the
       normal root file system) is mounted from a different device.

BOOT-UP OPERATION    [Toc]    [Back]

       When booting up with initrd, the system boots as follows:

	 1.  The  boot	loader loads the kernel program and /dev/initrd's contents
 into memory.

	 2. On kernel startup, the kernel uncompresses and copies the contents
	 of  the  device  /dev/initrd onto device /dev/ram0 and then frees the
	 memory used by /dev/initrd.

	 3. The kernel then read-write mounts device /dev/ram0 as the  initial
	 root file system.

	 4.  If the indicated normal root file system is also the initial root
	 file-system (e.g.  /dev/ram0 ) then the kernel skips to the last step
	 for the usual boot sequence.

	 5.  If  the  executable  file /linuxrc is present in the initial root
	 file-system, /linuxrc is executed with uid  0.   (The	file  /linuxrc
	 must  have executable permission.  The file /linuxrc can be any valid
	 executable, including a shell script.)

	 6. If /linuxrc is not executed or when /linuxrc terminates, the  normal
  root  file system is mounted.  (If /linuxrc exits with any filesystems
 mounted on the initial root file-system, then the behavior of
	 the  kernel  is  UNSPECIFIED.	 See the NOTES section for the current
	 kernel behavior.)

	 7. If the normal root file has directory /initrd, device /dev/ram0 is
	 moved	from  /  to  /initrd.  Otherwise if directory /initrd does not
	 exist device /dev/ram0 is unmounted.  (When moved from / to  /initrd,
	 /dev/ram0 is not unmounted and therefore processes can remain running
	 from /dev/ram0.  If directory /initrd does not exist  on  the	normal
	 root file-system and any processes remain running from /dev/ram0 when
	 /linuxrc exits, the behavior of the kernel is UNSPECIFIED.   See  the
	 NOTES section for the current kernel behavior.)

	 8.  The  usual  boot sequence (e.g. invocation of /sbin/init) is performed
 on the normal root file system.

OPTIONS    [Toc]    [Back]

       The following boot loader options when used  with  initrd,  affect  the
       kernel's boot-up operation:

       initrd=filename
	      Specifies  the file to load as the contents of /dev/initrd.  For
	      LOADLIN this is a command line option.  For LILO you have to use
	      this  command  in  the LILO configuration file /etc/lilo.config.
	      The filename specified with this	option	will  typically  be  a
	      gzipped file-system image.

       noinitrd
	      This  boot time option disables the two phase boot-up operation.
	      The kernel performs the usual boot sequence  as  if  /dev/initrd
	      was   not  initialized.	With  this  option,  any  contents  of
	      /dev/initrd loaded into memory by the boot loader  contents  are
	      preserved.   This  option permits the contents of /dev/initrd to
	      be any data and need not be limited  to  a  file	system	image.
	      However,	device	/dev/initrd  is read-only and can be read only
	      one time after system startup.

       root=device-name
	      Specifies the device to be used as the normal root file  system.
	      For  LOADLIN  this is a command line option.  For LILO this is a
	      boot time option or can be used as an option line  in  the  LILO
	      configuration  file  /etc/lilo.config.   The device specified by
	      the this option must be a mountable  device  having  a  suitable
	      root file-system.

CHANGING THE NORMAL ROOT FILE SYSTEM    [Toc]    [Back]

       By  default,  the  kernel's  settings (e.g. set in the kernel file with
       rdev or compiled into the kernel file), or the boot loader option  setting
  is used for the normal root file systems.	For a NFS-mounted normal
  root  file	system,  one  has  to  use   the   nfs_root_name   and
       nfs_root_addrs  boot options to give the NFS settings.  For more information
 on NFS-mounted root  see	the  kernel  documentation  file  nfs-
       root.txt.   For	more  information on setting the root file system also
       see the LILO and LOADLIN documentation.

       It is also possible for the /linuxrc executable to  change  the	normal
       root device.  For /linuxrc to change the normal root device, /proc must
       be mounted.  After mounting /proc, /linuxrc  changes  the  normal  root
       device  by  writing into the proc files /proc/sys/kernel/real-root-dev,
       /proc/sys/kernel/nfs-root-name,	and   /proc/sys/kernel/nfs-root-addrs.
       For  a physical root device, the root device is changed by having /lin-
       uxrc write the new root file system device number  into	/proc/sys/ker-
       nel/real-root-dev.   For  a  NFS  root  file system, the root device is
       changed	by  having  /linuxrc  write  the  NFS	setting   into	 files
       /proc/sys/kernel/nfs-root-name  and /proc/sys/kernel/nfs-root-addrs and
       then  writing  0xff  (e.g.  the	pseudo-NFS-device  number)  into  file
       /proc/sys/kernel/real-root-dev.	 For example, the following shell command
 line would change the normal root device to /dev/hdb1:
	       echo 0x365 >/proc/sys/kernel/real-root-dev
       For a NFS example, the following shell command lines would  change  the
       normal  root  device  to the NFS directory /var/nfsroot on a local networked
 NFS server with IP number 193.8.232.7 for a system with IP  number
 193.8.232.7 and named 'idefix':
	    echo /var/nfsroot >/proc/sys/kernel/nfs-root-name
	    echo 193.8.232.2:193.8.232.7::255.255.255.0:idefix \
	      >/proc/sys/kernel/nfs-root-addrs
	    echo 255 >/proc/sys/kernel/real-root-dev

USAGE    [Toc]    [Back]

       The  main  motivation  for implementing initrd was to allow for modular
       kernel configuration at system installation.

       A possible system installation scenario is as follows:

	 1. The loader program boots from floppy or other media with a minimal
	 kernel  (e.g.	support  for /dev/ram, /dev/initrd, and the ext2 filesystem)
 and loads /dev/initrd with a gzipped version of  the  initial
	 file-system.

	 2. The executable /linuxrc determines what is needed to (1) mount the
	 normal root file-system (i.e. device type, device drivers, file  system)
  and  (2)  the  distribution  media (e.g. CD-ROM, network, tape,
	 ...). This can be done by asking the user,  by  auto-probing,	or  by
	 using a hybrid approach.

	 3.  The executable /linuxrc loads the necessary modules from the initial
 root file-system.

	 4. The executable /linuxrc creates and populates the root  file  system.
	(At this stage the normal root file system does not have to be
	 a completed system yet.)

	 5.  The  executable  /linuxrc	sets   /proc/sys/kernel/real-root-dev,
	 unmount /proc, the normal root file system and any other file systems
	 it has mounted, and then terminates.

	 6. The kernel then mounts the normal root file system.

	 7. Now that the file system is accessible and intact, the boot loader
	 can be installed.

	 8. The boot loader is configured to load into /dev/initrd a file system
 with the set of modules that was used to  bring  up  the  system.
	 (e.g.	Device /dev/ram0 can be modified, then unmounted, and finally,
	 the image is written from /dev/ram0 to a file.)

	 9. The system is now bootable and additional installation  tasks  can
	 be performed.

       The key role of /dev/initrd in the above is to re-use the configuration
       data during normal system operation without  requiring  initial	kernel
       selection, a large generic kernel or, recompiling the kernel.

       A second scenario is for installations where Linux runs on systems with
       different hardware configurations in a single  administrative  network.
       In  such  cases, it may be desirable to use only a small set of kernels
       (ideally only one) and to keep the system-specific part	of  configuration
  information  as small as possible.  In this case, create a common
       file with all needed modules.  Then, only the the /linuxrc  file  or  a
       file executed by /linuxrc would be different.

       A  third  scenario is more convenient recovery disks.  Because information
 like the location of the root file-system partition is not	needed
       at  boot  time,	the  system  loaded  from /dev/initrd can use a dialog
       and/or auto-detection followed by a possible sanity check.

       Last but not least, Linux distributions on CD-ROM may  use  initrd  for
       easy installation from the CD-ROM.  The distribution can use LOADLIN to
       directly load /dev/initrd from CD-ROM without the need of any floppies.
       The distribution could also use a LILO boot floppy and then bootstrap a
       bigger ram disk via /dev/initrd from the CD-ROM.

CONFIGURATION    [Toc]    [Back]

       The /dev/initrd is a read-only block device assigned major number 1 and
       minor  number  250.   Typically	/dev/initrd is owned by root.disk with
       mode 0400 (read access by root only).  If the  Linux  system  does  not
       have  /dev/initrd already created, it can be created with the following
       commands:

	       mknod -m 400 /dev/initrd b 1 250
	       chown root:disk /dev/initrd

       Also, support for both "RAM disk" and "Initial RAM  disk"  (e.g.   CON-
       FIG_BLK_DEV_RAM=y  and  CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD=y	) support must be compiled
 directly into the Linux kernel to use  /dev/initrd.   When  using
       /dev/initrd, the RAM disk driver cannot be loaded as a module.

FILES    [Toc]    [Back]

       /dev/initrd
       /dev/ram0
       /linuxrc
       /initrd

SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]

      
      
       chown(1),  mknod(1), /dev/ram(4), freeramdisk(8), rdev(8), The documentation
 file initrd.txt in the kernel source package, the LILO  documentation,
 the LOADLIN documentation, the SYSLINUX documentation.

NOTES    [Toc]    [Back]

       1.  With  the current kernel, any file systems that remain mounted when
       /dev/ram0 is moved from / to /initrd continue to be  accessible.   However,
 the /proc/mounts entries are not updated.

       2.  With  the current kernel, if directory /initrd does not exist, then
       /dev/ram0 will NOT be fully unmounted  if  /dev/ram0  is  used  by  any
       process	or  has  any  file-system  mounted on it.  If /dev/ram0 is NOT
       fully unmounted, then /dev/ram0 will remain in memory.

       3. Users of /dev/initrd should not depend on the behavior give  in  the
       above  notes.   The behavior may change in future versions of the Linux
       kernel.

AUTHOR    [Toc]    [Back]

       The kernel code for device initrd was  written  by  Werner  Almesberger
       <almesber@lrc.epfl.ch>  and  Hans  Lermen  <lermen@elserv.ffm.fgan.de>.
       The code for initrd was added to the baseline Linux kernel in  development
 version 1.3.73.



Linux 2.0			  1997-11-06			     INITRD(4)
[ Back ]
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