DragonFly On-Line Manual Pages
LOADER.CONF(5) DragonFly File Formats Manual LOADER.CONF(5)
NAME
loader.conf -- system bootstrap configuration information
DESCRIPTION
The file loader.conf contains descriptive information on bootstrapping
the system. Through it you can specify the kernel to be booted, parame-
ters to be passed to it, and additional kernel modules to be loaded; and
generally set all variables described in loader(8).
A file dloader.rc must contain the following lines for loader.conf to be
automatically processed:
include defaults/loader.conf
optinclude loader.conf
optinclude loader.conf.local
If no /boot/dloader.rc exists at installworld time, one with the above
lines will be installed.
SYNTAX
Though loader.conf's format was defined explicitly to resemble
rc.conf(5), and can be sourced by sh(1), some settings are treated in a
special fashion. Also, the behavior of some settings is defined by the
setting's suffix; the prefix identifies which module the setting con-
trols.
The general parsing rules are:
* Spaces and empty lines are ignored.
* A `#' sign will mark the remainder of the line as a comment.
* Only one setting can be present on each line.
All settings have the following format:
variable="value"
This assigns value to a local variable. If variable is in a list of
known kernel environment variables or is a kernel tunable, it is also
assigned to the kernel environment variable of the given name.
The settings that receive special treatment are listed below. Settings
beginning with <module> below define the kernel modules to be loaded.
All such settings sharing a common prefix refer to the same module.
kernel Name of the kernel to be loaded. If no kernel name is set, no
additional modules will be loaded.
kernel_options
Flags to be passed to the kernel (see boot(8)).
verbose_loading
If set to ``YES'', module names will be displayed as they are
loaded.
<module>_load
If set to ``YES'', that kernel module will be loaded. If no
<module>_name is defined (see below), the module's name is taken
to be <module>.
<module>_name
Defines the name of the module.
<module>_type
Defines the module's type. If none is given, it defaults to a
kld(4) module.
<module>_flags
Flags and parameters to be passed to the module.
<module>_before
Commands to be executed before the module is loaded. Use of this
setting should be avoided.
<module>_after
Commands to be executed after the module is loaded. Use of this
setting should be avoided.
<module>_error
Commands to be executed if the loading of a module fails. Except
for the special value ``abort'', which aborts the bootstrap
process, use of this setting should be avoided.
DEFAULT SETTINGS
See /boot/defaults/loader.conf for loader.conf's default settings. The
few of them which are important or useful are:
bitmap_load
(``NO'') If set to ``YES'', a bitmap will be loaded to be dis-
played on screen while booting.
bitmap_name
(``splash.bmp'') Name of the bitmap to be loaded. Any other name
can be used.
boot_verbose
(``NO'') Set to ``YES'' to enable verbose booting.
console
(``vidconsole'') ``comconsole'' selects serial console,
``vidconsole'' selects the video console, and ``nullconsole''
selects a mute console (useful for systems with neither a video
console nor a serial port).
When using a comconsole the kernel defaults to allowing a console
on sio0. To change this to sio1 you must specify sio0.flags=0
and sio1.flags=0x10 in addition to setting the console to the
comconsole.
If you want the boot code to be available on COM2 at 57600 baud
instead of COM1, for example, you must set the variables
BOOT_COMCONSOLE_PORT=0x2f8 and BOOT_COMCONSOLE_SPEED=57600 in
/etc/make.conf and recompile and install the boot code at
/usr/src/sys/boot, then install the bootcode to the partition via
disklabel(8).
Note that in comconsole mode the kernel will pick up the baud
rate from the boot loader, so no kernel recompile is needed.
fred_disable
(``NO'') Shows a monochrome version of Fred, the official
DragonFly mascot, when the boot menu appears. To make his life a
bit more colorful, consider setting loader_color to ``YES''.
fred_on_left
(``NO'') Shows Fred on the left side of the menu rather than the
right side.
kernel (``kernel'').
loader_color
(``NO'') If set to ``YES'', you'll meet Fred, the official
DragonFly mascot, in technicolor when the boot menu appears
(remember to set fred_disable to ``NO'' for this to work.)
splash_bmp_load
(``NO'') If set to ``YES'', will load the splash screen module,
making it possible to display a bmp image on the screen while
booting.
splash_pcx_load
(``NO'') If set to ``YES'', will load the splash screen module,
making it possible to display a pcx image on the screen while
booting.
userconfig_script_load
(``NO'') If set to ``YES'', will load the userconfig data.
vesa_load
(``NO'') If set to ``YES'', the vesa module will be loaded,
enabling bitmaps above VGA resolution to be displayed.
IPMI
Generally speaking machines with IPMI capabilities are capable of redi-
recting the BIOS POST to a fake serial port controlled by the BMC. It is
then possible to use ipmitool(1) from pkgsrc to access the console.
DragonFly kernels adjust the video mode in a way that the BMC cannot usu-
ally redirect, so your best bet is to set the boot loader AND the kernel
up to use a serial port via the console=comconsole feature described
above. Often the IPMI controller, called the BMC, is not sitting on COM1
so DragonFly's default console parameters and baud rate will not work.
FILES
/boot/defaults/dloader.menu default settings for menu setup -- do not
change this file.
/boot/defaults/loader.conf default settings -- do not change this file.
/boot/dloader.menu defines the commands used by loader to setup
menus.
/boot/loader.conf user defined settings.
/boot/loader.conf.local machine-specific settings for sites with a
common loader.conf.
/boot/dloader.rc contains the instructions to automatically
process.
SEE ALSO
boot(8), loader(8)
HISTORY
The file loader.conf first appeared in FreeBSD 3.2.
AUTHORS
This manual page was written by Daniel C. Sobral <dcs@FreeBSD.org>.
DragonFly 3.5 October 6, 2010 DragonFly 3.5