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> Doesn't Coreboot implement UEFI? No. Though I think there is some work to allow people to build a coreboot + upper layers of UEFI (presumably using the open
by jabl 9y ago
> Doesn't Coreboot implement UEFI?
No. Though I think there is some work to allow people to build a coreboot + upper layers of UEFI (presumably using the open source tianocore UEFI implementation) combination in order to boot operating systems that require UEFI. Just like it's possible to build a coreboot + seabios combination in order to boot OS's that require BIOS services (such as DOS).
> nonetheless, the idea of putting a full Linux kernel in the firmware (if I'm reading the article correctly), presumably just to boot another one in the actual OS, despite the openness, sounds like it would increase complexity even more.
UEFI is very complex. I.e. it contains a TCP/IP stack (v4 & v6), and whatnot. The Linux IP stack is certainly a lot more battle tested than the UEFI one. And further, the idea is to allow the owner of the hardware to update the boot Linux kernel and not be beholden to the whims of the Intel & the HW manufacturer, who may not have the owners interest as a primary concern.
- josteink 9y ago> UEFI is very complex. I.e. it contains a TCP/IP stack (v4 & v6), and whatnot. For better or worse. Most regular BIOSes contains IPv4 for PXE anyway. UEFI just allows you to do PXE a little more cleanly directly from firmware without needing a disk to bootstrap the process with other stuff like iPXE.
- jabl 9y ago> Most regular BIOSes contains IPv4 for PXE anyway. Indeed. But that's UDP only, not TCP which is a lot more complex. UEFI contains TCP as well (IIRC recent versions of UEFI support boot over HTTP, similar to iPXE). > UEFI just allows you to do PXE a little more cleanly directly from firmware without needing a disk to bootstrap the process with other stuff like iPXE. That's correct. OTOH when your firmware + bootloader stuff requires a TCP/IP stack, HTTP, support for booting from all kinds of software RAID setups, filesystem support in order to be able to find and load the kernel, and whatnot, replacing all of that with a minimal Linux kernel + userspace doesn't sound so crazy anymore.
- forapurpose 9y ago> Most regular BIOSes ... Can you still buy machines with non-UEFI BIOS from mainstream manufacturers?