linux-kernel - Re: Co-existence of GPT and fixed partitions (Was: Re: [PATCH v6 5/6] block: add support for partition table defined in OF)

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Message-ID: <e3e7d5fc-ed5b-4292-bf60-4e536386f3b9@pengutronix.de>
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:15:04 +0200
From: Ahmad Fatoum <a.fatoum@...gutronix.de>
To: "Christian Marangi (Ansuel)" <ansuelsmth@...il.com>
Cc: Ulf Hansson <ulf.hansson@...aro.org>,
 Riyan Dhiman <riyandhiman14@...il.com>, linux-doc@...r.kernel.org,
 Linus Walleij <linus.walleij@...aro.org>,
 Dominique Martinet <dominique.martinet@...ark-techno.com>,
 Li Zhijian <lizhijian@...itsu.com>, Daniel Golle <daniel@...rotopia.org>,
 Miquel Raynal <miquel.raynal@...tlin.com>, Christoph Hellwig <hch@....de>,
 Rob Herring <robh@...nel.org>, Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>,
 Christoph Hellwig <hch@...radead.org>,
 Jorge Ramirez-Ortiz <jorge@...ndries.io>,
 Lorenzo Bianconi <lorenzo@...nel.org>, devicetree@...r.kernel.org,
 Conor Dooley <conor+dt@...nel.org>, Ming Lei <ming.lei@...hat.com>,
 linux-block@...r.kernel.org, Avri Altman <avri.altman@....com>,
 Christophe JAILLET <christophe.jaillet@...adoo.fr>,
 Al Viro <viro@...iv.linux.org.uk>, Li Lingfeng <lilingfeng3@...wei.com>,
 Jens Axboe <axboe@...nel.dk>, Christian Brauner <brauner@...nel.org>,
 INAGAKI Hiroshi <musashino.open@...il.com>, linux-mmc@...r.kernel.org,
 Adrian Hunter <adrian.hunter@...el.com>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
 Mikko Rapeli <mikko.rapeli@...aro.org>,
 Pengutronix Kernel Team <kernel@...gutronix.de>,
 Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzk+dt@...nel.org>, upstream@...oha.com,
 Christian Heusel <christian@...sel.eu>,
 Jens Wiklander <jens.wiklander@...aro.org>
Subject: Re: Co-existence of GPT and fixed partitions (Was: Re: [PATCH v6 5/6]
 block: add support for partition table defined in OF)

Hi,

On 12/5/24 13:12, Ahmad Fatoum wrote:
>> Or you are telling me you had a downstream patch that declares additional
>> partition in addition to a disk with a GPT partition table?
>> If that's the case, I'm confused of why the additional partition can't
>> be declared
>> directly in GPT.
> 
> Many of the older boards supported by barebox used to place the barebox image
> and the environment prior to the first partition in the unpartitioned area.
> 
> To still be able to access them, fixed partitions were used and the rest
> of the system was described by MBR/GPT partitions.
> 
> This was partially made necessary by BootROMs having strange expectations
> of where the bootloader needs to be placed, which partially overlapped
> the MBR/GPT itself, making it difficult to define a partition for the bootloader.
> 
> For newer boards, it's more common to place the bootloader in a GPT partition
> now. barebox has no DT binding for generically describing such a GPT partition
> though, so boards may create a fixed-partition "alias" and use that.

FTR, starting with barebox v2025.03.0, barebox' default is to fix up a
partitions container with a barebox,fixed-partition compatible for
everything that's not an MTD. This avoids clashing with the binding
added here for MMCs and possibly a future binding for partitioning EEPROMs.

Cheers,
Ahmad

> 
> Cheers,
> Ahmad 
> 

-- 
Pengutronix e.K.                  |                             |
Steuerwalder Str. 21              | http://www.pengutronix.de/  |
31137 Hildesheim, Germany         | Phone: +49-5121-206917-0    |
Amtsgericht Hildesheim, HRA 2686  | Fax:   +49-5121-206917-5555 |