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Subject: Re: Qlogic/FC firmware
To: jfbeam@bluetopia.net (Ricky Beam)
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 23:52:14 +0100 (BST)
Cc: riel@conectiva.com.br (Rik van Riel), davem@redhat.com (David S. Miller),
        alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.4.33.0108211828150.6389-100000@sweetums.bluetronic.net> from "Ricky Beam" at Aug 21, 2001 06:45:02 PM
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From: Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk>
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> Were's the initrd going to get the firmware?  It's not in the freakin' tree
> anymore.  If I have to go download a firmware image and stick it in an
> initrd, why the hell wouldn't I just plug it directly into the kernel?
> It's *my* kernel.

Well initrd is _user_ space so it probably gets them from user space tools.

> Oh for the love of God, will you people stop drooling over the fucking GPL?
> It's *firmware*... it's just a bunch of bits.  It's *not* a program the
> kernel executes.  It's just data. (__init_data to be exact.)

Look, if its not distributable then its no good to anyone.

> a lot of company.  Ask yourself, will you miss 128_K_ in a machine with a
> fiber channel card in it?  It "bloats" the kernel for people using that
> hardware -- machines that don't need it can release it.

Well maybe, and whats the right way to do that, oh my god I do believe its
an initrd.

Well well well

Alan