James Knowles wrote:
> Do I understand correctly that with RAID compiled into the kernel and
> persistent superblocks used, that I can boot off of a RAID drive without
> initrd or anything else additional?
>
> If not, what is required to boot RAID?
You do have to do a couple of special things, but you don't need initrd. A.
James Lewis posted to the list in April with a "Linux root raid recipe" that
was helpful to me. You can see that posting here:
http://linuxhq.jimpick.com/lnxlists/linux-raid/lr_9904_04/msg00032.html
While we're on the subject, archives of the linux-raid mailing list can be
very helpful in trying to find answers to questions that aren't covered or
up to date in the HOWTO. It's a good thing for everybody out there to read
back a few months before they post to the list. You can browse the archives
of linux-raid at the same place:
http://linuxhq.jimpick.com/lnxlists/linux-raid/
Jakob Østergaard maintains a very good RAID HOWTO, and it's been updated
quite recently. I see from his note that it includes new information
Boot(root?) on RAID, so it is well worth reading too:
http://ostenfeld.dk/~jakob/Software-RAID.HOWTO/
Lastly, Martin Bene's failed-disk patch is helpful for making root raid work
if you don't have extra drives to serve as temporary holders. It can be
hard to find, so here's a link:
ftp://ftp.sime.com/pub/linux/raid-failed-disk.tar.gz
[Question: Is this planned for inclusion in the next raid patch? It's very
effective for root raid, and recovering RAID5, and otherwise has minimal
impact... I think we'd all like to see it in there]
This should get ya going.
Tom
