Various reformatting

This commit is contained in:
Michael Kerrisk 2007-06-15 19:32:07 +00:00
parent 35490a1f81
commit c4fd8ad8e5
1 changed files with 43 additions and 45 deletions

View File

@ -59,32 +59,31 @@ different device.
.\"
.\"
.\"
.SH "BOOT-UP OPERATION"
.SS "Boot-up Operation"
When booting up with
.BR initrd ", the system boots as follows:"
.RS 0.2i
.PP
1. The boot loader loads the kernel program and
.IP 1. 3
The boot loader loads the kernel program and
.IR /dev/initrd "'s contents into memory."
.PP
2. On kernel startup,
IP 2.
On kernel startup,
the kernel uncompresses and copies the contents of the device
.I /dev/initrd
onto device
.I /dev/ram0
and then frees the memory used by
.IR /dev/initrd "."
.PP
3. The kernel then read-write mounts device
.IP 3.
The kernel then read-write mounts device
.I /dev/ram0
as the initial root file system.
.PP
4. If the indicated normal root file system is also the initial root file-system
.IP 4.
If the indicated normal root file system is also the initial root file-system
(e.g.
.I /dev/ram0
) then the kernel skips to the last step for the usual boot sequence.
.PP
5. If the executable file
.IP 5.
If the executable file
.IR /linuxrc " is present in the initial root file-system, " /linuxrc
is executed with UID 0.
(The file
@ -93,8 +92,8 @@ must have executable permission.
The file
.I /linuxrc
can be any valid executable, including a shell script.)
.PP
6. If
.IP 6.
If
.I /linuxrc
is not executed or when
.I /linuxrc
@ -107,8 +106,8 @@ file-system, then the behavior of the kernel is
See the
.BR NOTES
section for the current kernel behavior.)
.PP
7. If the normal root file has directory
.IP 7.
If the normal root file has directory
.IR /initrd ", device"
.I /dev/ram0
is moved from
@ -129,14 +128,14 @@ exits, the behavior of the kernel is
See the
.BR NOTES
section for the current kernel behavior.)
.PP
8. The usual boot sequence (e.g. invocation of
.IP 8.
The usual boot sequence (e.g. invocation of
.IR /sbin/init )
is performed on the normal root file system.
.\"
.\"
.\"
.SH OPTIONS
.SS Options
The following boot loader options when used with
.BR initrd ", affect the kernel's boot-up operation:"
.TP
@ -182,7 +181,7 @@ device having a suitable root file-system.
.\"
.\"
.\"
.SH "CHANGING THE NORMAL ROOT FILE SYSTEM"
.SS "Changing the Normal Root File System"
By default,
the kernel's settings
(e.g. set in the kernel file with
@ -258,20 +257,19 @@ for information on the modern method of changing the root file system.
.\"
.\"
.\"
.SH USAGE
.SS Usage
The main motivation for implementing
.BR initrd
was to allow for modular kernel configuration at system installation.
.PP
A possible system installation scenario is as follows:
.RS 0.2i
.PP
1. The loader program boots from floppy or other media with a minimal kernel
.IP 1. 3
The loader program boots from floppy or other media with a minimal kernel
(e.g. support for
.IR /dev/ram ", " /dev/initrd ", and the ext2 file-system) and loads "
.IR /dev/initrd " with a gzipped version of the initial file-system.
.PP
2. The executable
.IP 2.
The executable
.IR /linuxrc
determines what is needed to (1) mount the normal root file-system
(i.e., device type, device drivers, file system) and (2) the
@ -279,18 +277,18 @@ 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.
.PP
3. The executable
.IP 3.
The executable
.IR /linuxrc
loads the necessary modules from the initial root file-system.
.PP
4. The executable
.IP 4.
The executable
.IR /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.)
.PP
5. The executable
.IP 5.
The executable
.IR /linuxrc " sets " /proc/sys/kernel/real-root-dev,
unmount
.IR /proc ", "
@ -298,11 +296,11 @@ the normal root file system and any other file
systems it has mounted, and then terminates.
.PP
6. The kernel then mounts the normal root file system.
.PP
7. Now that the file system is accessible and intact,
.IP 7.
Now that the file system is accessible and intact,
the boot loader can be installed.
.PP
8. The boot loader is configured to load into
.IP 8.
The boot loader is configured to load into
.IR /dev/initrd
a file system with the set of modules that was used to bring up the system.
(e.g. Device
@ -310,10 +308,9 @@ a file system with the set of modules that was used to bring up the system.
can be modified, then unmounted, and finally, the image is written from
.IR /dev/ram0
to a file.)
.PP
9. The system is now bootable and additional installation tasks can be
.IP 9.
The system is now bootable and additional installation tasks can be
performed.
.RE
.PP
The key role of
.IR /dev/initrd
@ -356,7 +353,7 @@ boot floppy and then bootstrap a bigger ram disk via
.\"
.\"
.\"
.SH CONFIGURATION
.SS Configuration
The
.I /dev/initrd
is a read-only block device assigned
@ -398,14 +395,15 @@ the RAM disk driver cannot be loaded as a module.
.\"
.\"
.SH NOTES
1. With the current kernel, any file systems that remain mounted when
.IP 1. 3
With the current kernel, any file systems that remain mounted when
.IR /dev/ram0 " is moved from " / " to " /initrd
continue to be accessible.
However, the
.IR /proc/mounts
entries are not updated.
.PP
2. With the current kernel, if directory
.IP 2.
With the current kernel, if directory
.IR /initrd " does not exist, then "
.I /dev/ram0
will NOT be fully unmounted if
@ -416,8 +414,8 @@ If
then
.IR /dev/ram0
will remain in memory.
.PP
3. Users of
.IP 3.
Users of
.IR /dev/initrd
should not depend on the behavior give in the above notes.
The behavior may change in future versions of the Linux kernel.