[PATCH 0/3] alpha: self-extracting compressed kernel images
From: Matt Turner <mattst88@gmail.com>
Date: 2026-09-12 19:55:46
Also in:
lkml
Alpha is the last architecture whose boot loader decompresses the kernel
itself: aboot carries its own inflate code, so vmlinux.gz has always
been plain gzip, and adding a compression format meant writing a
decompressor for aboot as well as for the kernel.
Build a self-extracting image instead, a small ELF stub with the
compressed vmlinux linked in, which aboot loads and enters like any
other kernel. The compression format then becomes an ordinary kernel
Kconfig choice, and all seven formats become available: xz gives the
smallest image, 5547496 bytes against 7677280 for the equivalent gzip
one. The build now emits arch/alpha/boot/vmlinuz, since the image is no
longer gzip data.
The SRM netboot path (bootpz.c) has its own boot protocol and keeps
using gzip.
Signed-off-by: Matt Turner <mattst88@gmail.com>
---
Matt Turner (3):
xz: add arch-specific tuning for alpha
alpha: add self-extracting compressed kernel boot stub
alpha: support the remaining kernel compression formats
arch/alpha/Kconfig | 7 ++
arch/alpha/Makefile | 6 +-
arch/alpha/boot/.gitignore | 2 +
arch/alpha/boot/Makefile | 16 ++-
arch/alpha/boot/compressed/.gitignore | 3 +
arch/alpha/boot/compressed/Makefile | 63 ++++++++++
arch/alpha/boot/compressed/head.S | 36 ++++++
arch/alpha/boot/compressed/misc.c | 209 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
arch/alpha/boot/compressed/trampoline.S | 46 +++++++
arch/alpha/boot/compressed/vmlinux.lds.S | 83 ++++++++++++
arch/alpha/boot/compressed/vmlinux.scr | 10 ++
scripts/xz_wrap.sh | 5 +
12 files changed, 478 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
---
base-commit: 4407825b2f96b0e48a4bd08ab196b50a30eb3aef
change-id: 20260912-alpha-kernel-compression-2043f806fb75
Best regards,
--
Matt Turner [off-list ref]