Tiny Core Linux
General TC => General TC Talk => Topic started by: candinico on July 18, 2013, 04:17:25 AM
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Hi,
how to mount tinycore in a filesystem not supported from the official iso ? e.g it's possible to flash a new installation with jffs2 or ZFS in a hard drive
Thanks in advance
Nico
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For this purpose, you need to change TinyCore's ramfs. See here for an example:
http://yeti.selfip.net/cms/index.php/post/2013/05/12/NTFS-and-modular-boot-for-TinyCore-Linux
This example is for adding support for booting TinyCore on NTFS (NTFS-3G).
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If you load the filesystems-3.0.21-tinycore extension, it contains jffs2, but not zfs.
As a general comment, you can use the "provides" function in the apps browser gui to search the extension repo.
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Also, for ZFS, you'll have to compile the ZFS kernel module for the exact version of TinyCore's kernel that you use, if you choose the kernel module solution. And you should: this version of ZFS is better than the Fuse-based one.
For documentation on how to compile the kernel module, you may want to look at Arch's Wiki.
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Also note that if you mean to boot from zfs or jffs2, not every common bootloader would just work out of the box.
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Upon further thinking, in order to boot from a ZFS partition, I think the ZFS "module" would have to be actually included into TinyCore's kernel, not be left as a separate module.
And tinypoodle is right: booting from "unusual" filesystems is not a given. The best bet would be Grub2, I guess; that's the bootloader I use, but I never looked into this topic…
[edit: Grub2 version 2.0 and up indeed have support for ZFS (http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2012-06/msg00093.html); apparently not JFFS2, though.]
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You need a remastered version with the necessary fs kernel driver added.
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in this moment , my focus is on a new installation with a jffs2 filesystem. The OS need to run ( and operate ) in a SD card or a DOM module.
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I think you'd need to remaster tinycore to do that.
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The OS always operates in rootfs (tmpfs), while extensions could optionally be mounted from a file system residing on persistent storage.
How you boot is exclusively a matter of bootloader, regardless of OS.
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That's right! I assumed the extensions would reside on the same partition where the boot files are, but tinypoodle is right: they need not be!
So:
1- Make sure your boot-loader has support for the kind of partition where the boot files are (core.gz and vmlinuz).
2- Make sure your kernel has support for the kind of partition where the extensions are.
Also, I think there's a directory inside the initramfs (don't remember where, though) where you can put extensions that will get pre-loaded before attempting to load "normal" extensions. IIRC, this pre-loading unfortunately happens before the /etc/fstab file is created.
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@theYinYeti: how to modify the script to import the jffs2 filesystem in tinycore? I talkin about the script that install tiny on a ntfs partition: it's not trivial , i think: caus tiny not provide the support for some filesystems ( i rember that have downloaded only the jfs-utils)
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@candinico: I can’t help you with the script you talk about because I don’t use it, nor any “official” install script. As you say, TC only supports a few filesystems, and that’s OK, since it has to be tiny. We’re just supposed to customize it, and that’s fine :)
In my first post, I gave you the link where I explain how to do things for NTFS-3G; just adapt it to your filesystem. Basically, there are two things to do:
1— incorporate the extension that brings this filesystem’s support to TC into the initramfs (core.gz);
2— check that the default filesystem “driver” for your filesystem is the right one.
Step 2 may very well be unnecessary for you. In my case, I had to do this because the default “driver” is the in-kernel “ntfs”, whereas I wanted “ntfs-3g” to be used. It’s rather rare that there are two “drivers” for the same filesystem.
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@theYinYeti ok , my question concerning the use of filrsystem utility to flash the installation and boot from the same filesystem: for example, make a new installation ON a filesystem type JFFS2 or NTFS. I runned the script , that's good , but dont'solve my problem. I think to recompile the kernel and perform more operation. My need is to launch Tiny on a SD with a JFFS2 filesystem.
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Why do you want to recompile kernel? Everything you need is already available. Just asking...
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@candinico: I'm not sure I understand your last post.
If I do, though, I think you miss the point (or part of it): your issue here is that your boot-loader must recognize the partition first…
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You still haven't clearly expressed what exactly you intend to store on a jffs2 fs.
Boot files? Personal persistent repository? Or both of those?
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ok. i'm clarify :) i'm esotheric sometimes :)
setup:
a) TinyCore 3.6 running on GEODE AMD ca 500MHZ RAM 256k
b) applications : a MySQL engine , among others, with data in a PERSISTENT path ( in fact , on the support)
The problem is to ensure a filesystem and a storage type ( already solved) to store safe and fast the data of our application
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First, I would drop TC 3.6 and move to current 4.7.7
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TC 3.6? Wow! I'm not even sure anything I've written before actually applies to this TC…
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Then search wiki for remastering with adding modules and add the jffs2 module.
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Still I'm not convinced that SD card use really verifies need of jffs2 and all extra work. Embedded systems, and Raspberry Pi is fine with ext3/ext4 on SD card.
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@bmarkus: I'm performing these days various benchmark about filesystems and SD and DOM on our systems, to discover the advantages of the different filesystems. I'm curious about your opinion on JFFS2 on SD cards: why the ext4/ext3 is best for you?
Do you have some "doc" to enforce this opinion?
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I'm curious about your opinion on JFFS2 on SD cards: why the ext4/ext3 is best for you?
Do you have some "doc" to enforce this opinion?
Looks like you yourself have provided all proof ever needed about the advantage of compatibility since start of this thread which now reached Reply #23...
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@tinypoodle for the number of post, seems to be a flame :) I'm really interesting on advantages of a certain filesystem respect to another one. Suggestion from experiences? Related to tiny?
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@tinypoodle for the number of post, seems to be a flame :) I'm really interesting on advantages of a certain filesystem respect to another one. Suggestion from experiences? Related to tiny?
There is nothing TC specific, TC is just a LINUX. There are plenty of good articles on the file systems, use Google to search. At that phase it has nothing to do with Tiny Core.
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candinico, you should read at least the first 4 answers in this page:
http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/faq/general.html
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candinico, you should read at least the first 4 answers in this page:
http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/faq/general.html
Quote from articel you are referring:
Please, do not be confused by USB stick, MMC, SD, CompactFlash and other popular removable devices. Although they are also called "flash", they are not MTD devices. They are out of MTD subsystem's scope. Please, read this FAQ entry.
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Then read this:
http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/faq/jffs2.html#L_hdd_jffs2
(@tinypoodle: one more post! see the efficiency: one link = one post :D :P )
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There is nothing to do with jffs2 when you have SD card, as it is the case here. Except very low end cards they have a built-in wear levelling mechanism, you do not need any special attention.
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thanks for your answers, i understand that a discussion on filesystems is out of scope of this forum.