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References: <ea324e7d-01fe-46a1-b325-ece4162269fd@outstep.com> <20240221223251.GF3488@thinkpade.swiley.net>
In-Reply-To: <20240221223251.GF3488@thinkpade.swiley.net>
From: Kevin Daudt <kdaudt@alpinelinux.org>
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:27:17 +0100
Message-ID: <CAO54GHDqPxt_2Ut40=NM=PZD7CYrimXy3xqxZJvOBxf7qpsmAg@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Any type of HAL for Alpine?
To: Stephen Wiley <swiley@swiley.net>
Cc: ~alpine/devel@lists.alpinelinux.org
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On Wed, Feb 21, 2024 at 11:33=E2=80=AFPM Stephen Wiley <swiley@swiley.net> =
wrote:
>
> For drivers: Linux's built in hardware probing is already pretty good at =
this,
> You could build custom kernels for your devices but IME there's not a ton=
 of
> performance to be gained doing that. Maybe if you shrink the kernel down =
you
> might save a few seconds loading/decompressing it. I suppose if you're *v=
ery*
> short on RAM this could be a big deal. You can see which drivers you're
> actually using by booting a generic kernel on your hardware and checking =
the
> symlinks in sysfs.
>
> For firmware (which is probably what you were thinking about W.R.T. wirel=
ess):
> Alpine's firmware package is pretty large last I checked. If you know wha=
t
> hardware you have ahead of time you could build your own pruned version t=
o
> replace it. You can also statically link this into the kernel (although
> distributing that might be legally complicated) if you're building your o=
wn.
>
> I used to build custom kernels for odd hardware as part of a consulting s=
ervice
> I ran. If you'd like me to take a closer look feel free to send me an ema=
il
> with more details.
>
>
> --Stephen
>
> On Wed, Feb 21, 2024 at 05:19:38PM -0500, Dr. Lonnie Cumberland, PhD wrot=
e:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > The current project that I am working on will be a small footprint RAM =
based
> > system based upon Alpine Xen and will generally boot from a either a sm=
all
> > sized ISO or PXE booting.
> >
> > As this system will be meant to run on many different desktop systems, =
I am
> > wondering if there is any type of HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) so t=
hat
> > upon booting the system can be analyzed quickly and any needed drivers =
could
> > be loaded and persisted for subsequent boots.  This all comes from the
> > concerns in that some systems are desktops with wireless adapters or so=
me
> > particular graphics cards, for examples, that might be needed.
> >
> > I was thinking about how it might be best to try to be able to provide =
those
> > drives while at the same time keeping the total footprint and
> > ultra-lightweight as possible which is a key goal in this effort.
> >
> > Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Lonnie
> >
>

Note that by default, all firmware packages are installed, but if you
explicitly install just
some of them, the rest will not be installed (or removed). That means
if you know what
firmware you need, you can reduce the amount of storage required significan=
tly.