Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 20:12:54 -0500 From: Eric McCorkle <eric@metricspace.net> To: freebsd-arch@freebsd.org Subject: Re: loader.efi architecture for replacing boot1.efi Message-ID: <6fd13d0e-8c00-034f-02b9-a2f7d32e81ba@metricspace.net> In-Reply-To: <20171217001752.GA98200@jodi.ci.com.au> References: <1fa7edde-6ac0-1d4f-e75a-503b23a5d4dc@metricspace.net> <CANCZdfpJm9MjxvO4dPy7qZ4jjot44yAMj7NhaY_MQ5z7WVbd9A@mail.gmail.com> <46af04dd-8f74-b9dc-3d3a-343f022129ed@metricspace.net> <CANCZdfrpi3JTDxo17RBiLdZ=UjdPF3FgpqwmBepZ=8k5-P0F2g@mail.gmail.com> <CANCZdfr0=WzVkUb85o2aUT3eA7EAAx4MCnQy6gk8XdeJvb9tsA@mail.gmail.com> <ef64c1b9-024d-dce9-d620-c47ab7921fd6@metricspace.net> <CANCZdfo3Q_z1%2BO=VqUNcvPnyL%2BMFDnzzv5GWKbPdu8O-ZsQPyQ@mail.gmail.com> <23c05735-4046-a41f-676c-877d9f07d5f8@metricspace.net> <CANCZdfqYXcJVTmb2OmRyzZau9NNb519mXY2Gi0JP%2BOAue4ZtBw@mail.gmail.com> <20171217001752.GA98200@jodi.ci.com.au>
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On 12/16/2017 19:17, Richard Perini wrote: >> No. It doesn't. You're assuming that if we fail, the system won't boot. >> That's false. If we fail to boot device X, it's our job to fail so that if >> there's a Y or a Z it can be next. We have no knowledge of whether the user >> would prefer Y or Z as the next one to try, but the boot manager that runs >> inside every single UEFI firmware does and it will go to the next one. Y >> might be a recovery disk or copy of a freebsd memory stick release and Z >> might be a redundant copy of X to use in cases where X fails. Or vice >> versa. Do we want to boot to the installer? Not as a first choice, but >> maybe as a last resort. But we should let UEFI orchestrate the retries. >> Trying to second guess is fundamentally wrong, especially in UEFI where the >> boot order and boot recovery stuff is so extensively and particularly >> defined. Having fought the "oh, I'm going to guess" code in boot1.efi for >> over a year and after having it consistently pick the wrong thing to boot >> on some tiny fraction of the hundreds of systems I've had deployed give me >> strong empirical data that shows the guessing too hard bit is actually >> actively harmful. I've thought about this a lot. I've thought through all >> the supported scenarios. I've written up documents and solicited feedback. >> Nobody to date has said "oh no! I really want the random installed system >> roulette! I love it! Don't kill it." >> >> Warner >> _______________________________________________ >> freebsd-arch@freebsd.org mailing list >> https://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-arch >> To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-arch-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" > > To add support to Warner, as an administrator of 50+ FreeBSD systems on > a variety of hardware and disk configs, I totally support Warner's arguments. > Having the loader trying to guess in the case of unusual setups when it > can't find a kernel __on the same device as the loader__ causes grief. If > you want to have your thing boot that way, then configure it to do so, or > present a menu of boot options. > Ok, I've updated my review, simplifying the search code. The option to search all devices is only enabled by a preprocessor macro at this point. I have a mostly-complete follow-on, which adds parsing of args from the boot.config files. Anyway, the state of my review at this point is enough that I'm unblocked on the GELI work.home | help
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