Viable PPC platform?

[Howard, Marc]

 > -----Original Message-----
> From: Eugene Surovegin [mailto:ebs at ebshome.net] 

> > > In message <20060509171520.GA10886 at gate.ebshome.net> you wrote:
> > > >
> > > > After many years of doing embedded Linux stuff I still don't 
> > > > understand why people are so fond of initrd.
> > > > 
> > One size does not fit all.  We have an application with a very large
> > file system.  It can't fit in the available flash, however 
> we do have a
> > ton of RAM (512MB).  NFS is not an option nor is it 
> desirable (latency
> > and availability issues).  Boot time is not an issue either 
> in this case
> > as it takes the equipment many minutes to calibrate and initialize.
> > 
> > initrd also solves another problem.  The combined uBoot multi-image
> > although huge (>32 MB) represents a complete system 
> firmware snapshot in
> > a single (huge) file.  By selecting the appropriate uImage 
> the host can
> > guarantee the linux build, device drivers, application 
> version and FPGA
> > firmware revs (the embedded board is rebooted to guarantee 
> a repeatable
> > starting state).  This makes revision control for the overall system
> > much easier, especially since the host system is running windoze.
> 
> This all is nice provided you use network for boot. IMHO this 
> is quite 
> _rare_ setup (especially Windows host!!!). For 99% of 
> embedded designs 
> this is obviously not a viable option.
> 
> -- 
> Eugene

Again, I agree.  I just wanted to show you at least one case where
initrd is the best solution, IMHO.

As for a linux board booting off of a windoze host I prefer to think of
it as an island of sanity in a sea of chaos.

Marc W. Howard