Re: [PATCH 1/5] KERNEL: Support asynchronously-discovered bootdevices, v4 (resend)

[Andrew Morton]

On Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:19:34 -0400 (EDT)
Alan Stern <stern@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> > I wonder if we can think of something more new ad unique.  startupdev?  yuk.
> 
> Initdev?  Or does that mean something else also?

y:/usr/src/linux-2.6.30-rc4> grep -ril initdev . 
./drivers/scsi/mpt2sas/mpi/mpi2_ioc.h
./drivers/net/mac8390.c
./drivers/video/kyro/Makefile
./drivers/video/kyro/STG4000InitDevice.c
./drivers/message/fusion/lsi/mpi_ioc.h
./drivers/watchdog/i6300esb.c
./drivers/media/video/cx88/cx88-alsa.c
./drivers/media/video/cx88/cx88-video.c
./drivers/media/video/saa7134/saa7134-core.c
./drivers/media/video/cx23885/cx23885-core.c

initdev sounds good to me.  Given that we're adding a new and distinct
concept which will remain with us for a long time, we should name it
with care.

> Really, these are devices that we want to have working before starting
> up any userspace processes.  These would be the console device(s) (so
> that the first process has open files for its stdin, stdout, and
> stderr) and the block device containing the root filesystem (if the
> initramfs image doesn't make its own arrangements).

OK, so "initdev" could be viewed as meaning "a device which /sbin/init
needs"?  Even I can understand that.

But /sbin/init isn't the first userspace we run, is it?  There's
initramfs stuff, firmware loaders, etc.

What's the story here?  Do we intend that all initdevs be up and
running before _any_ userspace runs?  Or is /sbin/init the red line?
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