KLOADER(4) | Device Drivers Manual | KLOADER(4) |
kloader
—
options KLOADER
options
KLOADER_KERNEL_PATH="\"/netbsd\""
kloader
is the in-kernel bootloader for platforms
that do not have a proper firmware.
Some platforms supported by NetBSD do not
have a firmware that can boot the NetBSD kernel.
Examples are game consoles (dreamcast and playstation2 ports), and handhelds
(hpcarm, hpcmips, and hpcsh ports). On such platforms the bootloader is
usually a host program that runs under the native OS. This means that
rebooting NetBSD is a lengthy process of booting
into the native OS first, launching the bootloader program, and finally
booting NetBSD again. This problem is addressed by
kloader
, which allows the currently running kernel
to serve as a bootloader for the kernel being booted, thus avoiding the
burden of booting into the native OS first.
When kloader
is configured into the
kernel, a call to reboot(2)
causes the kloader
to load the new kernel into
memory, and arrange for control to be passed to the new kernel — just
like a standalone bootloader does. The new kernel then boots in the ordinary
manner.
kloader
first appeared in NetBSD
1.6.
kloader
ignores howto and
bootstr arguments passed to the
reboot(2) system call, and
reboots the system with the previous boot settings.
kloader
doesn't support booting compressed
kernels.
The hpcarm port doesn't support kloader
yet.
April 3, 2004 | NetBSD 9.4 |