PLoP Cardbus enabler as independent Driver/ROM for use with gPXE

[raijinzrael]

Hi guys/devs:

As everyone knows, gPXE/iPXE doesn't have any Cardbus drivers included with their ROM software, so we can't use Ethernet PCCards to boot from PXE... but some time ago i heard that gPXE/iPXE sometimes worked out of the box with some PCCards in some laptop configurations. Reading in internet I found that some laptops, specially some Toshiba models, can initialize PCCards at boot time, and that once enabled, Cardbus PCCards behave like a standard PCI Devices, so gPXE standard drivers worked in those configurations.

Recently i discovered PLoP and its amazing ability as CardBus enabler for USB devices, and the fact that the devices stay initialized so DOS USB drivers can use them... So i want to ask if is possible make the PLoP cardbus enabler driver a standalone boot program/ROM so we can use it together with gPXE/iPXE, using the PLoP Cardbus driver  to initialize the bridges (just like BIOS does in those special Toshiba bios configurations, and your driver does so Cardbus USB cards can be used by DOS drivers), and then use gPXE/iPXE to drive the card (Should work because the majority of cheap Ethernet PCCards are just a Realtek/Davicom/VIA devices with the Cardbus logic, and iPXE/gPXE already have drivers for these chips).

I heard that this card uses a similar tech as your cardbus/usb approach

http://argontechnology.com/PXE-Network-Adapters/10/100-Cardbus-Fast-Ethernet-Notebook-Card-with-PXE.html

Greetings.

[Elmar]

hi,
i see the problem that both roms (gpxe and the pccard enabler) have to be in the bios. the pccard enabler has to start gpxe after the pccard is enabled. but 2 option roms has to be replaced for that, or maybe gpxe is doing the adding to the bios in a different way. personally, i never used gpxe.

however, during writing, i got the idea that i could mix both roms to one. but on the other hand, wouldn't it be easier and more comfortable to add the pccard functionality into gpxe?

best regards
elmar

[raijinzrael]

Hi Elmar:

I was thinking more in the "standalone boot program" approach: A test plpbt.bin program with just the Cardbus enabler, that can boot from a standard floppy/cdrom, initializes the ethernet pccard and then load GPXE and passes the control to it. This should work because PLoP already can boot directly linux kernels like syslinux, and gPXE have the option to be compiled intro a standard boot image that can be loaded with a "kernel" option, just like memdisk/memtest programs.

I'm saying this because the ROM approach in laptops is difficult... not only for you, the dev, but for users as well, because laptop ROMs are non standard and really difficult to modify, and pccards are external devices... so for test purposes, i think that a cardbus enabler floppy/cd boot version is better ;-).

As for gPXE getting the required support, well... i lost my hopes in the gPXE/iPXE team, they stay saying that is a difficult thing (you showed that isn't for a talented dev ;-)) and they are focused in other things...

Greetings

[Elmar]

.. This should work because PLoP already can boot directly linux kernels like syslinux, ...

the plop boot manager cannot boot linux kernels directly. plopKexec can do that.

that gpxe don't has to be in the bios makes things easier.