M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers 91-SR-005-10-7L, DiskOnChip User Manual
Installation Manual
IM-DOC-021
Using the DiskOnChip®
with Linux OS
DEC-99
91-SR-005-10-7L REV . 2.0
Using the DiskOnChip with Linux OS
LIMITED WARRANTY
(a) M-Systems warrants that the Licensed Software — prior to modification and adaptation by
Licensee — will conform to the documentation provided by M-Systems. M-Systems does not warrant that
the Licensed Software will meet the needs of the Licensee or of any particular customer of Licensee, nor
does it make any representations whatsoever about Licensed Software that has been modified or adapted
by Licensee.
(b) Subsection (a) above sets forth Licensee’s sole and exclusive remedies with regard to the Licensed
Software.
M-SYSTEMS MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO
THE LICENSED SOFTWARE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THERE ARE NO OTHER
WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE LICENSED SOFTWARE ARISING FROM ANY
COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE OR OTHERWISE.
IN NO EVENT SHALL M-SYSTEMS BE LIABLE TO LICENSEE FOR LOST PROFITS OR
OTHER INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER UNDER THIS
AGREEMENT, IN TORT OR OTHERWISE.
(c) Licensee shall not make any promise, representation, warranty or guaranty on behalf of MSystems with respect to the Licensed Software except as expressly set forth herein.
Please note: The Licensed Software is not warranted to operate without failure. Accordingly, in any use of
the Licensed Software in life support systems or other applications where failure could cause injury or loss of
life, the Licensed Software should only be incorporated in systems designed with appropriate and sufficient
redundancy or back-up features.
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Contents
1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................4
2 Hardware Requirements for the DiskOnChip ..........................................................................4
3 Requirements for Installation of the DiskOnChip into Linux.................................................5
3.1 Utilities Diskette Content.........................................................................................................5
3.2 Linux Driver for DiskOnChip...................................................................................................6
4 Installing the DiskOnChip as an Additional Drive....................................................................7
4.1 Updating the Firmware............................................................................................................7
4.2 Integrating the TrueFFS driver into Linux................................................................................7
5 Booting Linux from the DiskOnChip........................................................................................13
5.1 Creating a Root File System.................................................................................................13
6 Troubleshooting.........................................................................................................................16
7 Additional Information and Tools .............................................................................................18
Appendix I: Making a Root File System ...........................................................................................19
Appendix II: Booting from a HDD when the DiskOnChip Firmware is Active ............................22
Appendix III: Applying a Patch Manually..........................................................................................23
How to Contact Us.............................................................................................................................25
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1 Introduction
M-Systems’ DiskOnChip is a family of flash disks. It contains built-in firmware that provides full hard disk
emulation and allows the DiskOnChip to operate as a boot device.
When used under Linux, the DiskOnChip is managed by a device driver, based on M-Systems’ TrueFFS
(True Flash File System) technology. The TrueFFS driver is attached to the standard Linux file system
[ext2].
M-Systems provides two different TrueFFS drivers for Linux. One driver supports kernel versions 2.0.##
and the other driver supports kernel versions 2.2.##. This Installation Manual can be used for both drivers.
When there are differences in the installation, it will be pointed out in the text.
This Installation Manual note is intended for system integrators designing with the DiskOnChip 2000 or
DiskOnChip Millennium and describes how the DiskOnChip can be installed as an additional disk or as a
boot device under Linux.
It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the Operating System in use.
While the hardware requirements of the DiskOnChip will be briefly discussed, the main part of this
installation manual is related to software installation. This will include basic driver installation and boot issues.
2 Hardware Requirements for the DiskOnChip
Originally designed for PC environments, the DiskOnChip can also be used in different hardware
environments. The minimum requirements are a 12-bit address bus, an 8-bit data bus, and three active low
control signals (CE#, OE#, WR#). Following is a drawing of the DiskOnChip and its pins. For more
detailed information of the DiskOnChip hardware environment, refer to the various DiskOnChip Datasheets
or to the following Application Notes:
• AP-DOC-10 “Designing with the DiskOnChip”
• AP-DOC-30 “Designing with the DiskOnChip Millennium in a RISC Environment”
• AP-DOC-31 “Designing with the DiskOnChip Millennium in a PC Environment”
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3
25
A12 A11 A10 A9
A8
A7 A6
8
A5 A4
A3
A2 A1 A0
17
D1
D6
SA8
SA3
SD1
SD6
Active Low Chip Enable
Active Low Output Enable
Active Low Write
CE
WR
30
1
SA12
SA11
SA10
SA9
SA7
SA6
SA5
SA4
SA2
SA1
SA0
NC
2
NC (A16)
NC (A15)
29
NC (A14)
28
NC (A13)
4
23
26
27
DiskOnChip
5
6
7
9
10
11
12
22
24
31
OE
VCC
GND
D0
D2
D3
D4
D5
D7
32
16
13
14
15
18
19
20
21
5V
0.1
SD0
SD2
SD3
SD4
SD5
SD7
Figure 1: DiskOnChip Pins
3 Requirements for Installation of the DiskOnChip into Linux
In order to prepare the DiskOnChip to boot Linux, the following software programs and tools are required:
• Linux should be installed on your HDD. It is possible to check the kernel version by typing the command
uname -r.
• The Linux kernel sources should be installed in Linux (if you don’t have them, refer to kernel-HOWTO at
http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/ ).
If you are about to install Linux, make sure that you also install the kernel sources package and that it is
possible to pass a full compilation of your sources.
• A DOS boot diskette or a HDD that boots DOS.
• M-Systems’ DiskOnChip DOS utilities diskette.
• M-Systems’ TrueFFS driver for Linux.
Note: The latest Disk OnChip DOS utilites can be downloaded from M-System’ website: www.m -sys.com.
3.1 Utilities Diskette Content
The following files are needed from the DiskOnChip DOS utilities diskette:
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dformat
dupdate
docpmap
doc121.ex
b
doc2.fff
Note: The file doc2.fff can be found in the \AP012 directory when using DiskOnChip DOS utilities
version 1.21 or higher.
DiskOnChip formatting utility
Utility for updating DiskOnChip firmware
Utility to retrieve information about the DiskOnChip
DiskOnChip firmware image. “121” is the firmware version, the actual diskette might
contain higher versions of the firmware, e.g. doc122.exb, doc123.exb, etc.
Alternative firmware image for the DiskOnChip
3.2 Linux Driver for DiskOnChip
The compressed file driver.tgz contains the following files:
/usr/src/linux/drivers/block/flash_doc/flobj.obj TrueFFS device driver core object file
/usr/src/linux/drivers/block/flash_doc/fldrvlnx.c Source code for driver integration with
kernel
/usr/src/linux/drivers/block/flash_doc/makefile TrueFFS driver’s makefile
/tmp/doc-driver/lilo-patch Patch for Lilo to make pLilo
/tmp/doc-driver/plilo Linux loader, patched to use with the
DiskOnChip
/tmp/doc-driver/lilo.conf Lilo sample configuration file
/tmp/doc-driver/boot.b Boot loader, udpated to use with
DiskOnChip
/tmp/doc-driver/copy2doc Sample scripts, aid tool to create a root file
system
/tmp/doc-driver/pam.d/other File meant only for Redhat & Caldera,
defines permission access
/tmp/doc-driver/samplefs.txt Sample root file system listing
/tmp/doc-driver/doc-patch-2.0.## Patch for kernel sources 2.0.## (only
attached to TrueFFS driver for kernel
versions 2.0.##)
/tmp/doc-driver/doc-patch-example Example patch for kernel sources 2.2.##
(only attached to TrueFFS driver for kernel
versions 2.2.##)
Note: The included patch files are different for the two TrueFFS drivers. When using the TrueFFS driver for kernel
versions 2.2.##, the kernel needs to patched manually and only an example patch file (/tmp/doc-driver/doc-patch-example)
is provided. Refer to appendix III on how to manually patch your kernel.
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4 Installing the DiskOnChip as an Addit ional Drive
Before the DiskOnChip can be used as the boot disk for Linux (see Chapter 5), it first needs to be installed
as an additional disk in the system (Linux is booted from a HDD). This chapter describes how to prepare
the DiskOnChip and Linux to configure the DiskOnChip as an additional disk in the system. To achieve this,
the firmware on the DiskOnChip needs to be updated (par. 4.1) and then the TrueFFS device driver needs
to be integrated into Linux (par. 4.2). This is done as follows:
1. Configure Linux with the required devices (par. 4.2.1 Preparing Linux for Integration).
2. Add the TrueFFS driver to the kernel and recompile the kernel (par. 4.2.2 Adding the Driver to the
Kernel).
3. Boot the compiled kernel from your HDD (par. 4.2.3 Booting the Compiled Kernel from HDD).
4. Create a Linux partition on the DiskOnChip (par. 4.2.4 Creating a Linux Partition on the
DiskOnChip).
5. Create a native Linux file system on the DiskOnChip (par. 4.2.5 Creating a Native Linux File System
on the DiskOnChip).
4.1 Updating the Firmware
Before the DiskOnChip can be used as the boot disk or as an additional disk in Linux, it needs to be
formatted with the alternative firmware image.
1. Plug the DiskOnChip into its socket and boot DOS from your HDD.
2. Format the DiskOnChip with the alternative firmware:
dformat /win:d000 /s:doc2.fff /y
Note: If you receive the error: “No DiskOnChip 2000 (R) was found at D000:0”, then run the DOS command docpmap /i
to find out at which address the DiskOnChip is located.
4.2 Integrating the TrueFFS dri ver into Linux
4.2.1 Preparing Linux for Integration
To prepare Linux for integration of the driver, perform the following steps:
Note: To perform these steps, you must be logged in as the superuser (root).
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1. The floppy drive must be active. Verify this by typing:
# mount
If the /dev/fd0 doesn’t appear in the first column, type:
# mount/dev/fd0 /mnt
From this point, it is assumed that the diskette that contains the TrueFFS driver for Linux is mounted at
/mnt.
2. The kernel sources must be installed. To check this, type:
# ls /usr/src/linux
If this directory exists, then the kernel sources are installed. If not, refer to http://sunsite.unc.edu /LDP/ or
type:
zcat /usr/doc/HOWTO/Kernel-HOWTO.gz | more
3. Unzip and untar the file driver.tgz, located on your diskette, as follows:
# cd /tmp
# mkdir temp
# cd temp
# tar -zxvf /mnt/driver.tgz
# cp -rf . /
# cd ..
# rm -fr temp
# cd /usr/src/linux/
4. If you are installing the TrueFFS driver for kernel versions 2.0. ##, type the following command:
# patch -p0 < /tmp/doc-driver/doc-patch-2.0.##
This will patch the current kernel sources to include the TrueFFS driver for Linux (with ## = kernel
version). Notice that the patch for the kernel is working only on original kernel sources, and that the patch
is version specific. In case the utility patch is not available in your Linux environment, refer to Chapter 6
“Troubleshooting”.
Note: If you are installing the TrueFFS driver for kernel versions 2.2.##, the kernel sourced need to be patched manually
(see Appendix III "Applying a patch manually"). For your reference, an example patch file is included with the driver.
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