kboot is a proof-of-concept implementation of a Linux boot loader
based on kexec. kboot uses a boot loader like LILO or GRUB to
load a regular Linux kernel as its first stage. Then, the full
capabilities of the kernel can be used to locate and to access the
kernel to be booted.
kboot integrates the
various components needed for a fully featured boot loader, and demonstrates
their use. While the main focus is on basic technical functionality, kboot
can serve as a starting point for customized boot environments offering
additional features.
kboot is currently only tested on the ia32 (i386) platform. Some of its
features include:
- supports most file systems and device drivers the Linux kernel
supports
- transparent navigation in the file system of the booted system,
including auto-mounting guided by /etc/fstab
- network configuration is either manual or with DHCP, including name
resolution via /etc/hosts and DNS
- access to file systems via NFS
- access to files via HTTP, FTP, and TFTP
- inbound and outbound SSH (to and from the boot loader)
Besides that, it's easy to add more features. The most important missing
features are:
- no pretty user interface yet
- no integration of RAID, LVM, etc.
- needs to support more platforms, in particular amd64
- file name completion only works for commands and kernels
- does not boot legacy operating systems yet
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