[pocket-linux] System Architecture Guide

[GuineaPig]

David Horton wrote:

> Broeisi Rast wrote:
>
>> Well, I suggest a blank CD-RW disk.
>>
>> That way we can make a whole linux system on the disk and use it as
>> either a live linux cd or install it on a harddisk if we wanted.
>>
>> That way we create some flexibility for it's use.
>> But again that's my vision.
>> Hope you guys have some other idea if this one doesn't suite.
>>
>> Broeisi
>>
>
> I agree with the flexibility aspect.  The CD-ROM version and the hard 
> disk version have many of the same components so it should be 
> relatively easy to do both.  The only constraint on the CD-ROM is to 
> keep it under 650M and capable of being mounted as read-only.  I know 
> that it's possible to build a system that mounts /usr as read-only, so 
> the only trick is to figure out what to do about / and /var.  I think 
> devfs is often used to solve the read-only root fs or maybe ramdisk.  
> We'll have to play around and see what works.
>
Don't know if all of you are familiar with the Knoppix live cd-distro 
but it uses cloop-utils.  This makes it possible to access files from a 
compressed filesystem on the fly  
(http://build.lnx-bbc.org/packages/kernel/cloop.html).  This way you're 
not limited to the 650 MB of the classic CD-RW.  If I'm not mistaken, 
knoppix has about 1GB worth of files on the cd.  They also use ramdisk.  
Talking about ramdisk, the question is: are you gonna put a limit on 
it.  I mean, do you want a system that everybody can use, even people 
with a 486 with only 4 MB of ram ?  You need to set minimum and maximum 
limits somewhere...  Or maybe you can have the OS query this through 
scripting so it can adapt itself to the pc it's working on.  (Ex: If ram 
< 64MB then no X-system...).  Maybe the cloop-utils can be used on 
ramdisk too to make more space?  Don't know the details about that...

Just a few thoughts I had, I'm no expert at all so forgive me if I'm on 
the wrong track...  (I'm no expert in the English language either, but 
you've probably allready noticed that :-)   )

Greets,

Tom Van den Brandt