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Using the DiskOnChip with Linux OS
91-SR-005-10-7L REV. 2.0 4
1 Introduction
M-Systems’ DiskOnChip
is a family of flash disks. It contains built-in firmware that provides full hard disk
emulation and allows the DiskOnChip to operate as a boot device.
When used under Linux, the DiskOnChip is managed by a device driver, based on M-Systems’ TrueFFS
(True Flash File System) technology. The TrueFFS driver is attached to the standard Linux file system
[ext2].
M-Systems provides two different TrueFFS drivers for Linux. One driver supports kernel versions 2.0.##
and the other driver supports kernel versions 2.2.##. This Installation Manual can be used for both drivers.
When there are differences in the installation, it will be pointed out in the text.
This Installation Manual note is intended for system integrators designing with the DiskOnChip 2000 or
DiskOnChip Millennium and describes how the DiskOnChip can be installed as an additional disk or as a
boot device under Linux.
It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the Operating System in use.
While the hardware requirements of the DiskOnChip will be briefly discussed, the main part of this
installation manual is related to software installation. This will include basic driver installation and boot issues.
2 Hardware Requirements for the DiskOnChip
Originally designed for PC environments, the DiskOnChip can also be used in different hardware
environments. The minimum requirements are a 12-bit address bus, an 8-bit data bus, and three active low
control signals (CE#, OE#, WR#). Following is a drawing of the DiskOnChip and its pins. For more
detailed information of the DiskOnChip hardware environment, refer to the various DiskOnChip Datasheets
or to the following Application Notes:
• AP-DOC-10 “Designing with the DiskOnChip”
• AP-DOC-30 “Designing with the DiskOnChip Millennium in a RISC Environment”
• AP-DOC-31 “Designing with the DiskOnChip Millennium in a PC Environment”