Bug 10084

Summary:	RMC: Deploy central database file without dependency on EFI bootloader
Product:	[Build System, Metadata & Runtime] BSPs	Reporter:	Jianxun Zhang <jianxun.zhang>
Component:	bsps-meta-intel	Assignee:	Unassigned <unassigned>
Status:	RESOLVED OBSOLETE	QA Contact:
Severity:	enhancement
Priority:	Medium	CC:	bluelightning, richard.purdie, sgw, tim.orling, tom.zanussi
Version:	2.3
Target Milestone:	Future
Hardware:	x86
OS:	Multiple
Whiteboard:
OS type for building Yocto:	---	Type of Regression:	---
Verified:		Documentation change:	No (bug/feature does not impact docs)
Bug Depends on:	10073
Bug Blocks:	10089

Description Jianxun Zhang 2016-08-04 20:01:56 UTC

We haven't found another interface beside from a EFI_PROVIDER bbclass to deploy RMC central database onto ESP (FAT FS) on a hdd image in OE. What can be packed into that directory is dictated by bbclass for each EFI bootloader. Of course, only bootloader-specific data is cared.

We either find another existing interface or variable or refactor OE's image bbclass to let any SW to deploy bits on ESP. Then the RMC functionality in a bootloader is split from the deployment of a database file.

Comment 1 Tom Zanussi 2016-08-05 01:43:58 UTC

While this may capture implementation details, the bigger question is what is the proper user interface for this feature.

Right now what we have is:

EFI_PROVIDER="rmc-systemd-boot" combined with DISTRO_FEATURES += "rmc"

which is obviously redundant and seems to assume the existence of an actual bootloader named 'rmc-system-boot'.

Whereas what we conceptually have is a vanilla bootloader named 'systemd-boot' that may or may not have rmc support to enable or disable as needed by the client.

This would argue for something more like:

EFI_PROVIDER="systemd-boot" combined with DISTRO_FEATURES += "rmc"

This was actually implemented at one point, but the problem of what happens when the user specifies some other bootloader that doesn't support rmc - in this case the request was to warn the user at least, but this wasn't possible without some modifications to oe-core.

Please see the meta-intel mailing list for the complete discussion.

It may be that implementing the title of this bug directly may free us for an even better interface, but so far none other than the above has been proposed.

Comment 2 Jianxun Zhang 2016-10-31 19:46:39 UTC

This task depends on a wic plugin which can deploy non-bootloader-specific data to ESP, like a generic EFI wic plugin tracked in 10073

Comment 3 Tim Orling 2020-06-25 08:44:20 UTC

Work on RMC has been discontinued and it is no longer supported.