Public bug reported:
In the past, when booting Linux on non-(x84_64|i386) machines, it was a
requirement to configure and build Linux kernels tailored specifically
for a particular device. Now, after many efforts ("one image to rule
them all" and the like) to unify and consolidate vendor fragmentation,
it is now possible to boot Single Board Computers (SBCs) of similar core
architectures with one single binary image.
In order to make this possible Linux is provided with a description of
the hardware it is expected to operate on. There are currently two main
technologies which provide these functionality; Advanced Configuration
and Power Interface (ACPI) and Device Tree (DT). This report only deals
with Device Tree (DT).
In an ideal world firmware installed onto a device would be readily
upgradable and thus provide Linux with an up-to-date hardware
description that it can work with. However, there are some devices which
do not contain either capable or upgradable (or both) firmware, so this
information has to be sought from elsewhere.
The kernel packages provided by the Ubuntu build system do contain pre-
compiled Device Tree Binaries (DTBs) for currently supported hardware,
however these do not make it into the Ubuntu Installers. Instead only a
single kernel binary exists which expects to be informed of platform
specifics via ACPI tables provided by the platform's firmware. This
means that many devices which could easily be supported by the Ubuntu
Installer, are not.
There are a couple of ideas which we'd like to put forward to start the
conversation off:
1. Place all supported DTBs into the installer
2. Allow for a small writable partition on the install media for a user to
place a DTB
3. Enable Grub to be able to pick a DTB from a menu at boot time
At worst case, as long as the DTBs find their way into the installer a
user can manually add a 'devicetree' (similar to 'linux' and 'initrd')
entry to the Grub menuentry, which would also achieve the aim.
Any help to boot such devices would be gratefully received.
** Affects: debian-installer (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1819443
Title:
Cannot boot installer on platforms requiring Device Tree
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