Re: devfs

david parsons (o.r.c@p.e.l.l.p.o.r.t.l.a.n.d.o.r.u.s)
9 Jan 1998 16:21:02 -0800

In article <linux.kernel.199801092347.SAA00329@dcl.mit.edu>,
Theodore Y. Ts'o <tytso@MIT.EDU> wrote:
>
> I want to run a MSDOS filesystem as a root filesystem; it's a cheaper
> filesystem for a floppy than ext2 is, and the kernels I build only
> have support for MSDOS, iso9660, and ext2 in them. (And, even with
> ext2, having a devfs (with major and minor numbers, of course; a devfs
> without those is, I'm afraid, useless for me.) means I don't have to
> carry around nearly as many devices in /dev for booting a install/
> recovery floppy.)
>
>You can do this already, but you have to use the umsdos filesystem when
>you mount the MSDOS filesystem under Linux. This will emulate symbolic
>links, device files, etc. as MS-DOS files.

I wouldn't use Umsdos anywhere else (I like to have install floppies
where, after you've loaded the software, it just runs without needing
to reboot or anything, plus it's simpler for me to have the install
kernel be the same as the production kernel, so I don't have to shuffle
around multiple kernel images a'la Slackware) and I don't really need
any of those features except for /dev for an install floppy. Plus
it's a whole bunch cooler to have a install arrangement where you can
tell someone to just unzip this really large IO.SYS (or MS-DOS.SYS; I
keep forgetting which one is loaded by the bootloader) and related
friends onto a floppy.

____
david parsons \bi/ I've been pointed at a BIOS hd.c interface now, so
\/ I'm almost set.