[RFC] initoverlayfs - a scalable initial filesystem

[Eric Curtin]

On Sat, 9 Dec 2023 at 17:19, Luca Boccassi <bluca at debian.org> wrote:
>
> On Sat, 9 Dec 2023 at 15:08, Eric Curtin <ecurtin at redhat.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Sat, 9 Dec 2023 at 14:56, Andrei Borzenkov <arvidjaar at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On 09.12.2023 17:42, Eric Curtin wrote:
> > > > On Sat, 9 Dec 2023 at 12:46, Luca Boccassi <bluca at debian.org> wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> On Fri, 8 Dec 2023 at 19:00, Eric Curtin <ecurtin at redhat.com> wrote:
> > > >>>
> > > >>> We have been working on a new initial filesystem called initoverlayfs.
> > > >>> It is a new filesystem that provides a more scalable approach to
> > > >>> initial filesystems as opposed to just using initrds. We are writing
> > > >>> this RFC to the systemd and dracut mailing lists (feel free to forward
> > > >>> to UAPI group also) because although this solution works without
> > > >>> changing the code in these projects, it operates in the same area as
> > > >>> systemd, udev, dracut, etc. and uses these tools.
> > > >>
> > > >> It seems to me everything you described already exists? If you want to
> > > >> avoid having an initrd -> rootfs transition, you can already do that -
> > > >
> > > > You need a initrd -> rootfs transition for generic linux operating
> > > > systems right?
> > >
> > > No, you do not. Nothing stops you from running off initramfs (today you
> > > do not really have init*RAM Disk* - the content of initrd is unpacked
> > > into initramfs.
> >
> > Apologies if I am misinterpreting this response, I use terms initrd
> > and initramfs
> > interchangeably (not technically correct, but it's common to do this). The
> > point is to avoid unpacking as much as possible, because in many initrds
> > the majority of the software need not be unpacked, but is designed to work
> > with throwaway initial filesystems.
>
> sd-stub already supports having a small initrd shipped in the UKI,
> that is extended via sysexts, and systemd already supports running
> from it, without any transition to a final rootfs. What else do you
> need? What problem is this attempting to solve?

I must give sd-stub a try. The bootloader I most commonly work with (and is one
of the target platforms this is intended for) isn't UEFI, we need something more
portable.

Is mise le meas/Regards,

Eric Curtin

>