[Udpcast] Getting info from ACPI - need to make kernel

[Donald Teed]

I was doing this like the conventional way of compiling my kernel
and modules, and copying my modules to the place under /mod
within the initrd image.

I notice that in your config file there are modules.

What is the suggested way to merge the modules within
the udpcast-o-matic initrd and the modules created
by make modules? 

I had thought that I would just remove everything I found
under /mod/lib/modules/2.4.26-udpcast (inside the initrd)
and copy my own /lib/modules/2.4.26-udpcast content in
there after a make modules_install .  (I'm using
genromfs to create a new initrd afterward.)

Perhaps I've just added too much to the kernel.  If I just
add the ethernet modules and ACPI support then
this will be closer to what you normally have.

Regards,

--Donald Teed

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004, Alain Knaff wrote:

> begin  Friday 30 April 2004 16:41, Donald Teed quote:
> > During imaging, I am going to be grabbing information for our
> > database such as BIOS service tag from Dell, MAC address, etc.
> >
> > I may be asked if I can also supply the battery pack serial number.
> > I've noticed that I can get part of the battery info from under
> > /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/info .  The 2.4.26 kernel linked on the
> > udpcast website doesn't include ACPI support, so I'm trying to
> > compile my own kernel.  I've had limited success.  I've done
> > this sort of thing before, just not for a PXE boot environment.
> 
> If you need to compile your own kernel, it's actually quite easy: just
> download the .config file from
> http://udpcast.linux.lu/current/udpc-config26.txt and copy it to
> /usr/src/linux/.config (or whereever you compile your kernel)
> 
> The udpc-config26.txt is for 2.6 kernels, whereas udpc-config.txt is
> for 2.4 kernels.
> 
> Then do "make oldconfig" to activate this config file.
> Then do "make config" to add any features that may be needed in
> addition to those that udpcast needs.
> 
> > I need to be able to support the ipappend 1 option in default,
> 
> This is an option that is supplied by pxelinux. No need to change
> anything in the kernel options for this.
> The ipappend system works as follows:
> 
>  - pxelinux adds an ip= boot parameter which contains the information
> it got grom PXE (which includes IP, netmask, etc.)
>  - the udpcast boot loader then reads it from its environment using
> getenv
> 
> The kernel does not really get involved by itself, except to copy it
> over from the boot command line to the application's environment (just
> like it does with any other boot command line option).
> 
> > and this requires the config option "IP: kernel level autoconfiguration"
> > and DHCP/BOOTP under it.
> 
> This is not needed. What this option would be for is if you had a
> kernel without initrd which mounted its root filesystem from NFS. In
> that case, the kernel would use the contents of ip= to autoconfigure
> itself and automatically mount the root fs. In order to use this, you
> would also need to compile all other needed functionality (network
> module, NFS filesystem support, etc) into the kernel, rather than as a
> module.
> 
> In UDPcast's case, we do use an initrd, an everything happens in
> application space.
> 
> >  I'm not sure what network file
> > system options must be provided.
> 
> None. The current version of udpcast does not use NFS (although an
> older version did).
> 
> >  I don't really need
> > to mount anything on NCP/NFS, etc, but just a normal
> > PXE boot using initrd.  I saw the sample config file for
> > floppy based boot, but it was not close enough for what
> > one needs in a PXE boot.
> >
> > --Donald Teed
> 
> The kernel config file is the same for all scenarios: floppy, CD, PXE,
> etherboot (although there is a different file for 2.4.x kernels than
> for 2.6.x)
> 
> [There is a different busybox config file though for floppy and the
> other boot methods: .config.mini for floppy and .config.maxi for
> everything else]
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Alain
> 
>