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.TH vmelilo.conf 5 "__DATE__" "Version __VERSION__"
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.SH NAME
vmelilo.conf \- configuration file for vmelilo
.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
.B /etc/vmelilo.conf
is an ASCII file which defines the configuration for
.I vmelilo.
The file is divided into sections, a global options section and one or more
boot record sections.
.sp
The global options section extends from the start of the
file to the first boot record. While the start of each boot record
is marked with a line containing the text
.I [boot] 
and extends to the start of the next section or the end of the file, whichever
appears first.  Versions of
.B vmelilo
prior to version 1.2.0 required that the start of the global options be marked
with a line containing the text
.I [options].
This is no longer required but is
accepted for backwards compatability.
.sp
Blank lines and lines beginning with a '#' are ignored and may be used to
improve readability and add comments. A backslash at the end of a non-comment
line indicates that the next line is a continuation of the current line. All
white space characters between the last non-white character before the
backslash and the first non-white character of the following line are replaced
with single space character. A backslash at the end of a comment line is
ignored.
.sp
Each configuration parameter is specified using the following syntax:
.sp
.RS
.nf
option = value
.fi
.RE
.sp
Where 'option' is the name of the configuration parameter and 'value' is
what it is set to. Each configuration parameter must begin on a new
line. The value of each option can be one of 4 possible types:
.sp
.TP
.B 1.
Numeric values are used to specify timeouts, delays and memory sizes. By
default they are interpreted as decimal but they can be specified in binary,
octal and hexadecimal by prefixing them with 0b, 0 and 0x respectively.
Additionally by suffixing the number with a 'K' or an 'M' they are multiplied
by 1024 or 1024*1024 respectively.
.TP
.B 2.
Boolean flag values are used to turn an option on or off and are specified as
either "Yes", "No", "True", "False" or a number that is either zero (false) or
non-zero (true). A boolean option may be given without a value in which case
it is taken to be true.
.TP
.B 3.
A pathlist to a file.
.TP
.B 4.
Strings which are arbitrary sequences of characters used to
specify labels and command line parameters.
.sp
Valid global options are:
.TP
.B boot = /dev/<device>
Block special device to install the boot block on. Currently ramdisk, loopback and
non-partition SCSI disk devices can have the boot block installed on them.
.TP
.B default = label
Label or alias name of default boot record.
If `default' is omitted,
the boot section appearing first in the configuration file is used.
.TP
.B message = message-file
Specifies a file containing a message that is displayed before
the boot prompt.
.B Vmelilo
must be rerun if the message file is changed or moved.
.TP
.B debug [= flag]
Enable loader debug mode. Flag should be either
.I true
or
.I false,
if not specified 'flag' is taken to be true.
.TP
.B prompt [= flag]
Forces entering the boot prompt without expecting any prior 
key-presses. Unattended reboots are impossible if `prompt' is set
and `timeout' isn't. Flag should be either
.I true
or
.I false,
if not specified 'flag' is taken to be true.
.TP
.B delay = secs
Specifies the number of seconds the boot loader should 
wait before booting the default image.
The boot loader doesn't wait if `delay' is omitted or is set to zero.
.TP
.B timeout = secs
Sets a timeout in seconds for keyboard 
input. If no key is pressed for the specified time, the default image is 
automatically booted. Similarly, password input is aborted if the user 
is idle for too long. The default timeout is zero (infinite).
.TP
.B cmdline = args
Specifies the default kernel command line to use.
The special token
.B {}
may be embedded in the command line and will be replaced by the string
configured in the boot ROMs (see NOTES).
This option may be overridden on a per image basis.
.TP
.B append = args
Specifies the default string that should always be appended to the kernel
command line. 
The special token
.B {}
may be embedded in the command line and will be replaced by the string
configured in the boot ROMs (see NOTES).
This option may be overridden on a per image basis.
.TP
.B root = root-device
Specifies the device that should be mounted as root.
May be overridden on a per image basis.
.TP
.B read-only [= flag]
If true specifies that the root device should be mounted read only.
May be overridden on a per image basis.
.TP
.B read-write [= flag]
If true specifies that the root device should be mounted read write.
May be overridden on a per image basis.
.TP
.B console = console-device[,optione]
Specifies the device the kernel sends the console output to.
May be overridden on a per image basis.
.TP
.B password = password
Specifies a password that is required to boot all images.
May be overridden on a per image basis.
.TP
.B restricted [= flag]
Specifies that the password is only required to enter kernel command
line parameters at boot time. May be overridden on a per image basis. If a
particular boot configuration is restricted but has no password defined
.B vmelilo
will reject any kernel command line parameters entered at boot time.
Flag should be either
.I true
or
.I false,
if not specified 'flag' is taken to be true.
.TP
.B image = kernel-image
.TP
.B kernel = kernel-image
Specifies a default kernel image file to be used if none is specified in the
boot section. The image should be in ELF format and may be compressed
with
.I gzip
if required.
.TP
.B master-password = password
Specifies a password that is required to enter master mode at the boot prompt.
If this option is not specified no password is required. While in master mode
additional commands may be entered at the LILO Boot: prompt. Enter
.I su
at the boot prompt to switch to master mode. Then enter
.I exit
to leave. 
.PP
The
.B boot records
define the kernel images and configurations you can select at boot time.
Any number of boot sections can be specified. A
boot section looks like:
.sp
.RS
.nf
[boot]
option = value
    .
    .
    .
.fi
.RE
.sp
Valid boot section options are:
.TP
.B label = name
Specifies the name by which the boot loader identifies the boot
configuration. A label option must be specified for each boot section.
.TP
.B alias = name
An alternative name by which the boot loader can identify the boot section.
.TP
.B optional [= flag]
If true specifies that the configuration defined in this section can be ignored
if any of the required files are missing (i.e. kernel, ramdisk or symbols).
.TP
.B password = password
Specifies a password that is required to boot this configuration.
This password overrides the default password specified in the global options
section.
An empty password can be specified to remove the effect of a default password.
.TP
.B restricted [= flag]
Specifies that the password is only required to enter kernel command line
parameters at boot time. Overrides the restricted option specified in
the global options section.
Flag should be either
.I true
or
.I false,
if not specified 'flag' is taken to be true.
.TP
.B cmdline = args
Specifies the kernel command line.
The special token
.B {}
may be embedded in the command line and will be replaced by the string
configured in the boot ROMs (see NOTES).
Overrides the default kernel command line
specified in the global options section. If command line parameters are entered at boot
time they are appended after the parameters specified here.
.TP
.B append = args
Specifies extra kernel command line parameters that should always be appended to the
kernels command line.
The special token
.B {}
may be embedded in the command line and will be replaced by the string
configured in the boot ROMs (see NOTES).
Overrides the default value specified in the global options section.
.TP
.B root = root-device
Specifies the device that should be mounted as root. The root-device name can
be prefixed with /dev/ to indicate a device name or can be specified as a hexadecimal
number indicating the devices major/minor numbers.
Overrides the default value specified in the global options section.
.TP
.B read-only [= flag]
If true specifies that the root device should be mounted read only.
Overrides the default value specified in the global options section.
.TP
.B read-write [= flag]
If true specifies that the root device should be mounted read write.
Overrides the default value specified in the global options section.
.TP
.B console = console-device[,optione]
Specifies the device the kernel sends the console output to. Normally this would
be, ttyS0, the first serial port. If booting a 2.0.xx kernel this option is ignored
as the kernel is hard coded to use ttyS0 regardless.
Overrides the default value specified in the global options section.
.TP
.B memsize = size
Specifies the amount of system RAM in bytes that the kernel can use. If not specified
the boot loader will scan for and detect the amount of available memory.
.TP
.B ramdisk = ramdisk-file
Specifies the name of a file containing an initrd ramdisk image that is to
be loaded at boot time.
.TP
.B symbols = symbol-file
Specifies the name of a file containing symbol information to be loaded
into the BVMBug symbol table. The format of the symbol file is that
of the System.map file created when a kernel is compiled. Note: an unedited
System.map file will probably contain too many symbols to be loaded into the symbol
table at once.
.TP
.B image = kernel-image
.TP
.B kernel = kernel-image
Specifies the kernel image file to be used. If not specified the default
image specified in the global options section is used. The image should be
in ELF format and may be compressed with
.I gzip
if required.
.TP
.B callmonitor [= flag]
.TP
.B calldbg [= flag]
Causes the boot loader to call the resident ROM debug
monitor immediately prior to executing the loaded kernel.
Flag should be either
.I true
or
.I false,
if not specified 'flag' is taken to be true.
.sp
WARNING: Do
.B NOT
use this option if your boot ROMs are configured to use the
bottom 64K of memory for local storage. The Linux kernel is loaded over this
memory region and will probably cause the ROM code to crash when it
is called.
.SH NOTES
The
.B {}
token that can be placed in the
.I cmdline
and
.I append
configuration parameters is substituted with a string that can be set using
one of the boot ROM configuration commands.
.P
In the case of the BVME6000 this is the
.B rc
command and is set under the heading 'Boot arguments'. This option
is only available on revision F or later BVME6000s with revision G or later
boot ROMs. On earlier revision hardware the
.B {}
token will be replaced with an empty string.
.P
On Motorola hardware the argument string configuration depends on the firmware
revision you have. It may be configured using the
.B ENV
command under the heading 'Auto Boot Default String' alternatively it may be
an option of the
.B AB
command. Additionally, when booting manually using the
.B BO
command the
.B {}
substitution string can be passed as the last parameter after the controller
and device LUNs.
.SH FILES
.TP
.B /etc/vmelilo.conf
.SH SEE ALSO
.br
vmelilo(8)
.br
gzip(1)
.br
/usr/share/doc/vmelilo/examples/vmelilo.conf
.SH BUGS
The option to load symbols is ignored by the MVME boot loader.