Chapter Twelve - The Compactflash Boot Device

Abstract

This chapter discusses the details of creating a FreeBSD image that boots from CompactFlash. Using CompactFlash as a boot device makes the process of creating a boot image easier because the kernel does not need any special device drivers or configuration options. The CompactFlash device in conjunction with the TAPR CompactFlash adapter appears as an IDE disk. Depending on the application and product, there are other devices available as boot devices— such as PCCard memory and M Systems's DiskOnChip memory, which can be used with FreeBSD, but requires more configuration steps. The AMI StorTrends NAS is a networked attached-storage device that uses FreeBSD as its embedded operating system. The StorTrends NAS boots from a Flash device and provides access to storage via SMB/CIFS or NFS. Among other features are TCP/IE DHCP, DNS, NTP, SMTP and SNMP connectivity and configuration. The StorTrends NAS is managed and configured remotely via a web browser. The IBM InterJet II is another network appliance that uses FreeBSD as its embedded operating system. The InterJet II is a small network appliance, which includes: e-mail server, Apache, Firewall, FTP, DNS andDHCP services. The StorTrends NAS, the InterJet II is configured and managed using a web connection and web browser. Juniper Networks develops cable internet protocol services and systems. FreeBSD provides the foundation for the development of a next-generation routing architecture, as FreeBSD has the ability to scale and support the tremendous growth projections for the Internet. The commercial products demonstrate rich features and flexibility of FreeBSD.