On Tue, 29.01.13 10:07, Stephen Gallagher (sgallagh(a)redhat.com) wrote:
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On Tue 29 Jan 2013 09:45:34 AM EST, Jaroslav Reznik wrote:
> = Features/DracutHostOnly =
>
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/DracutHostOnly
>
> Feature owner(s): Harald Hoyer <harald(a)redhat.com>
>
> Only create "host-only" initramfs images. A generic fallback image should
be
> installed by anaconda on installation/update and never ever be removed.
>
> == Detailed description ==
> Current initramfs images contain most of the kernel drivers to boot from any
> hardware. This results in a very big initramfs, which takes a long time to
> load on system start and a long time to create on kernel updates. Switching to
> host-only will improve the situation. To cope with hardware change, a boot
> entry "Rescue System" should be installed with a full fledged initramfs
also
> containing debug tools. This boot entry can then be used to recover from
> hardware changes and also from unforseen software failure after updates.
This makes me nervous. Can we get some details on what comprises a
"hardware change" necessitating that the user use the Rescue System
mode?
One shouldn't overestimate this really.
The kernel nowadays comes with built-in support for the vast majority of
all common storage hardware anyway, because AHCI is pretty universally
established. Outside of servers non-AHCI controllers practically don't
exist anymore.
This effectively means that it's really hard changing your laptop's or
deskop's hardware enough to make a host-only initrd not boot anymore.
And even on servers, replacing the storage controllers so that they
require a completely different drivers is not really something that
happens very frequently.
So, yes, host-only initrd makes things a bit less universal, but to
actually run into problems with it, is really hard...
Lennart
--
Lennart Poettering - Red Hat, Inc.