What is initramfs or initrd and benefits
Initramfs stands for Initial RAM File System.
Initrd stands for Initial RAM Disk
It is a temporary root file system loaded into memory during the boot process of a Linux system.
Purpose of initramfs/initrd
- Early
Boot Stage: initramfs/initrd is used early in the boot process
before the actual root file system is mounted.
- Hardware
Detection: It contains necessary drivers and tools to detect hardware
and mount the real root file system and scripts to handle tasks during the
early boot process.
- Kernel
Initialization: Helps the kernel initialize and prepare the system for
full operation.
How it works:
- Loaded
into Memory: Initramfs/Initrd is loaded into memory by the bootloader
(e.g., GRUB).
- Kernel
Execution: The kernel executes the init script within
Initramfs/Initrd .
- Mount
Root File System: The init script loads necessary modules and mounts
the real root file system.
- Switch
to Root: Control is handed over to the real root file system, and the
normal boot process continues.
initramfs - Initial RAM File System - Basically initramfs will be available in RHEL and CentOS Linux Flavor's
CentOS 7.x OS Initramfs
RHEL 8.x OS Initramfs
initrd - Initial RAM Disk -Basically initrd will be available in SUSE and Ubuntu Linux Flavor's
SUSE 15.x OS
The installation/re-generation will be different for each Flavor's of linux.
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