Documentation ambiguity or contradiction regardubg kernel loading in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4

Solution Unverified - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4

Issue

  • In this link, it's mentioned the following.
"The boot loader then places one or more appropriate initramfs images into memory. Next, the kernel decompresses these images from memory to /boot/, a RAM-based virtual file system, via cpio."
  • While the next page says (Section 1.2.3. The Kernel)
"When the kernel is loaded, it immediately initializes and configures the computer's memory and configures the various hardware attached to the system, including all processors, I/O subsystems, and storage devices. It then looks for the compressed initramfs image(s) in a predetermined location in memory, decompresses it directly to /sysroot/, and loads all necessary drivers. ".
  • There is contradiction in terms of where this initrd.img (initramfs) images are decompressed, the first page says its decompressed to /boot while the next page says its decompressed to /sysroot/ .
  • Which one is correct?

Resolution

  • The first statement is correct.
"The boot loader then places one or more appropriate initramfs images into memory. Next, the kernel decompresses these images from memory to /boot/, a RAM-based virtual file system, via cpio."
  • There is a bug open for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 documentation regarding this. Contact Red Hat Technical Support team via Support Case in case of more details are required.

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