netboot-0.5.3

[gero@gkminix.han.de (Gero Kuhlmann)]

Hello,

I have just uploaded netboot-0.5.3 to sunsite's Linux incoming. As with
the previous 0.5.x-versions it's basically a bug fix release, but also
has these new features:

- The support for loading modes 0 and 1 has been removed. These modes
  allow loading boot images which have NOT been created using one of the
  mknbi programs. I therefore assume that nobody is using them. If you
  really want to use any one of these loading modes you will have to
  recompile the bootrom using the USE_MODES define.

- The compression algorithm for the bootrom has been changed from compress
  to freeze. While freeze still doesn't provide such high compression rates
  as gzip, it is much better than compress and easier (and smaller) to im-
  plement than gunzip. You should now be able to put a normal bootrom kernel
  into 16kB with the NE2000 and SMC_WD drivers. However, remember that the
  size of the actual bootrom still depends heavily on the size of the packet
  driver you are using. Of course you now need the freeze program for com-
  pressing the bootrom. If you don't have it get it from a public FTP archive
  near you. It has been posted to comp.sources.unix a long time ago. Otherwise
  you can still use the bootrom uncompressed.

- The bootrom configuration program can now use a setup file which contains
  descriptions for all programs involved in building a bootrom. Especially it
  allows specifying the arguments required by various packet drivers. If you
  are using a packet driver which is not included in the netboot package
  please send me a description of the command line arguments for your driver
  so that I can include it into the setup file.

- All utility programs for building a bootrom can now be installed into a
  central directory so you don't have to have the whole netboot source tree
  around if you want to create a new bootrom. Also the makerom script has been
  changed a bit to allow including it into Linux distributions without the
  whole source tree.

- The version numbers for all mknbi programs have been recycled to match the
  version number of the whole package. This different version numbering has
  led to much confusion in the past time. Now everything has the same version
  number, namely 0.5.3.

- Several bug fixes especially in mknbi-dos. Thanks to all of you who sent me
  bug reports and fixes.

The promised support for compiling the mknbi programs on a sun are not in yet
as I don't have the time to organize a sun to test and cleanup the patches
sent to me. It will go into the next release.

gero.

--
You look at your needs, at your competitors, at what you can afford, and you
cut your cloth accordingly.		- Ian Ross, AT&T Bell Laboratories
--
Gero Kuhlmann, Hannover     0511/6497525 (Voice)        gero@gkminix.han.de