LinuxBoot, a new initiative to replace UEFI with the Linux kernel

The Linux Foundation has announced a new project that aims to replace system firmware with the Linux kernel and its drivers. Called LinuxBoot, this project is already supported by the likes of Google and Facebook.

In-depth details on how the system works are not yet provided, but it seems that LinuxBoot makes use of some Coreboot components for system initialization. The Linux kernel then took care of practically booting, replacing the UEFI Driver Execution Environment (DXE) step.

This is an excerpt from the Linux Foundation announcement:

LinuxBoot replaces the often slow, often error-prone code and obscured that it performs these steps with the Linux kernel. The result is a system that starts in a fraction of the time of a typical system, and with better reliability. The LinuxBoot model brings key benefits to users across the landscape of embedded, mobile and server platforms. Taking advantage of the huge scale of Linux development in the boot process gives the user control and support that cannot be provided in any other way.

The technique of using Linux to boot Linux is common since the early 2000s in supercomputers, consumer electronics, military applications and many other systems. The LinuxBoot initiative will further refine this concept so that it can be developed and implemented more easily by a wider range of users, from individuals to the company that owns data center.

At present, only one server model seems to support: Dell R630. Support for other models will expand over the next few months, but there is still no information on where the development will move and if support for desktop machines will ever arrive.

Further information can be found at linuxboot.org.