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Christopher Head posted on Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:39:57 -0800 as excerpted: |
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> On Sun, 10 Feb 2013 14:49:03 -0800 Alec Warner <antarus@g.o> |
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> wrote: |
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> |
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>> Most external firmware is not needed to boot. If you need it to boot, |
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>> you will have to stow it in the initramfs. |
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> |
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> For those of us who prefer monolithic kernels, virtually all firmware is |
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> needed to boot. Even if a network interface doesn't need to be |
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> operational for boot, the kernel insists that the firmware be available |
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> right at boot or else it will fail and the interface will never appear. |
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I'm a monolithic kernel guy myself, and I simply build-in the firmware I |
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need (three radeon firmware files, IIRC, used to be tg3 as well until |
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that mobo died). Obviously there can be issues with distribution, but |
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purpose-built monolithic kernels aren't generally practical for |
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distribution anyway, and the GPL has always been clear that it doesn't |
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interfere with end-user rights in terms of build-combining whatever they |
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want, as long as there's no further distribution. |
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And FWIW, I didn't really know about linux-firmware either, but google |
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knew when I asked it about the files the kernel errors spit out. =:^) |
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And I didn't actually install it, either. I simply grabbed the tarball |
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and extracted the files I needed, placing them where the kernel could |
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find them. |
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-- |
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Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. |
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"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- |
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and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman |
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