[linux-dvb] Re: embedded DVB box?!

[Lars Bensmann <lars.bensmann@epost.de>]

Hello,

On Wed, Aug 22, 2001 at 06:23:00PM +0200, Rainer Zocholl wrote:
> >what's about running the whole system in RAM-disk by making a
> >filesystem in RAM  using initrd on startup and mounting the HDD on
> >demand? RAM is lots of cheaper than flash-ram at the moment.
> 
> Yes, It is very adviseable not to use the flash as regular
> disk: the number of writes to such a disk is limited.

Yes, but there is a filesystem especially for flash devices (jffs) that
minimizes writes to each block. That way you can use for flashram for a
REALLY long time.

> So the easiest way is:
> Boot from flash
> copy/expand from  flash the zipped image of "/" to a cheap DRAM-ramdisk
> continue booting from there.

You can even use cramfs which is a compressed ROM FS. This way you don't
need the RAM disk for /. You can even use XIP (execute in place) so that
programs and libraries don't have to be loaded in RAM to save even more.
(Although then these XIP marked libraries are not compressed)

> The flash is only "mounted" "read only", so it can't become "dirty".
> Because the RAMdisk as always made "fresh" no fschk ir required.

Do not use ext2 with a Flash disk. This is really a bad idea.

> This way could be gone too with a real harddisk of cause.
> (fchk is no problem of the discs hardware)

But flash is too expensive anyway :-)

Just boot of the net or just put a kernel on a floppy disk or harddisk and
get everything else from a NFS-server. You can spin down your harddisk
immediatly after booting.

cu,
Lars

-- 
Reporter (to Mahatma Gandhi): Mr Gandhi, what do you think of Western
        Civilization?
Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea.


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