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Date:      Fri, 07 Mar 2003 11:48:45 -0800
From:      Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com>
To:        John Baldwin <jhb@FreeBSD.org>
Cc:        freebsd-chat@freebsd.org, Damien Tougas <damien@tougas.net>
Subject:   Re: A question about kernel modules
Message-ID:  <3E68F79D.817B46E6@mindspring.com>
References:  <XFMail.20030307143932.jhb@FreeBSD.org>

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John Baldwin wrote:
> > The GENERIC kernel is loaded from a CDROM controller BIOS faked-up
> > floppy drive, which is how CDROMs are able to boot.  Even if all
> > other issues were resolved, this floppy image would be unable to
> > contain all the necessary modules.  For the modules to be read off
> > the CDROM or other boot media, all the code in the module loading
> > path would have to be statically present (ISO9660 FS, ATA and SCSI
> > drivers, CDROM driver, etc., etc.).  By including all the drivers
> > in the GENERIC kernel, it makes it much more likely that you will
> > b able to actually install FreeBSD in the first place.
> 
> FreeBSD hasn't used the floppy-emulation mode of CD booting since
> 4.6.  See /usr/src/sys/boot/i386/cdboot/cdboot.s and an El Torito
> standard for more details.

Oops; I was looking at a 4.5 box, which is what I mostly use to
do scratch work.

The main point was that we get to load only one file, and have no
CDROM access after that, except through drivers which must be
present in the kernel.  I think that's still valid to say.

-- Terry

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