On Fri, 16 Nov 2018 20:01:30 +0000
Simon Hobson <linux@???> wrote:


> > (2) What is initramfs good for? Linux used to work just fine
> > without it.
>
> Yes, I remember the days of having to have either a) a huge kernel
> with everything including the kitchen sink linked in, or b) having to
> relink the kernel when the hardware changes.

Let's say your kernel has the ext4 driver mounted, and your /bin
directory contains statically compiled mount command, some sort of
static rude editor, and maybe a few other commands. Assuming your other
partitions are ext4, just mount them, and the second you do, you have
all necessary software and drivers to manage all your hardware.

Obviously this is for relatively simple cases. If you're running LVM
with RAID and encryption, yeah, you're better off with an initramfs.
But for the typical simple computer, your system would probably be
simpler and boot faster if you booted direct to disk.

SteveT

Steve Litt
November 2018 featured book: Manager's Guide to Technical
Troubleshooting Brand new, second edition
http://www.troubleshooters.com/mgr