Linux on a Compact Flash
 

Hello,

I am installing Mandrake 9.2 on a compact flash drive. Long ago I used a RedHat 6.2 system installed on a compact flash drive and it was configured to be a read-only files system. If my memory is correct that was because the compact flash only has a finite number of writes and the linux logging can quickly comsume those writes. Again I recall having to pass the 'ro' kernel parameter. Other than those recollections I have no idea of the specifics for creating the system.

QUESTION/S: Is my recollection antiquated? Does anyone have advice for creating developer linux installs on compact flash drives? If so I would really appreciate your input, otherwise I am proceding with the normal install and hoping for the best.

Thanks,

I don't know that "ro" is neccessary, but noatime (man fstab, man mount) sure is. Otherwise, every time a file is accessed, a write will be generated. What is your goal with this installation?

Matir,


Thanks for the quick reply. I am building a system that is going to be placed on an outdoor research robot. In being such I need the hardened aspects of the compact flash as well as the ability to develop code for robot control.

I guess the question then is this: will there be any need for data collection or storage? I don't think mounting the system ro is really neccessary, though I would NOT put any sort of swapping on compact flash :)

Matir,

No Data collection or storage on the robot. All information gets packaged and sent to the user interface via wireless serial radios or a cell phone.

I currently have a bear bones install on the compact flash drive.

My fstab set noatime for the / and /home partitions. It also has a swap partition. Should I change the swap partition to be on a ramdisk?

Yes, having swap on the flash drive would certainly cause a LOT of write activity. However, swap on a ram disk would rather defeat the point. :) I would just try to build a system with sufficient ram, or use a secondary drive for swap. (If a flash drive, it will probably need to be tested and/or replaced often).

DuckSew,

I am about to do basically the same thing you are working on now.. I am using a small, old desktop PC (basically just the motherboard/proc/ram) as a kind of "fake embedded" system.

My approach is to build a working system on a real hard drive partition until I get it down to the correct size (128MB) and with the correct read-only/ramdisk setup.

I am about to start the ramdisk part of the process... do you have any documentation or references on creating and using a ramdisk in this type of application?


Thanks,
RG

Don't you just love it when you ask a question, then 2 minutes later find the answer yourself? :D

http://silent.gumph.org/content/4/1/...nux-on-cf.html

That howto explains it very well...