DRACUT(8)		    System Manager's Manual		     DRACUT(8)



NAME
       dracut - create initial ramdisk images for preloading modules

SYNOPSIS
       dracut [OPTION]... <image>  <kernel-version>


DESCRIPTION
       dracut  creates	an initial image used by the kernel for preloading the
       block device modules (such as IDE, SCSI or RAID) which  are  needed  to
       access the root filesystem.


   Options
       -f, --force
	      overwrite existing initramfs file.

       -m, --modules LIST
	      specify  a  space-separated  list of dracut modules to call when
	      building the initramfs.  Modules are located in  /usr/share/dra-
	      cut/modules.d.

       -o, --omit LIST
	      omit a space-separated list of dracut modules.

       -a, --add LIST
	      add a space-separated list of dracut modules.

       -d, --drivers LIST
	      specify  a space-separated list of kernel modules to exclusively
	      include in the initramfs.	 The kernel modules have to be	speci-
	      fied without the ".ko" suffix.

       --add-drivers LIST
	      specify  a  space-separated list of kernel modules to add to the
	      initramfs.  The kernel modules have to be specified without  the
	      ".ko" suffix.

       --omit-drivers LIST
	      specify  a  space-separated  list of kernel modules to omit from
	      the initramfs.  The kernel modules have to be specified  without
	      the  ".ko"  suffix.   Regular  expressions are also allowed like
	      ".*/fs/ocfs/.*".

	      If [LIST] has multiple arguments, then you have to put these  in
	      quotes.

	      example: # dracut --omit "module1 module2"  ...

       --filesystems LIST
	      specify  a  space-separated list of kernel filesystem modules to
	      exclusively include in the generic initramfs.

       -k, --kmoddir {DIR}
	      specify the directory, where to look for kernel modules

	--fwdir {DIR}
	      specify additional directory, where to look for firmwares

       --kernel-only
	      only install kernel drivers and firmware files

       --no-kernel
	      do not install kernel drivers and firmware files

       --mdadmconf
	      include local /etc/mdadm.conf

       --nomdadmconf
	      do not include local /etc/mdadm.conf

       --strip
	      strip binaries in the initramfs (default)

       --nostrip
	      do not strip binaries in the initramfs

       -h, --help
	      display help text and exit.

       --debug
	      output debug information of the build process

       -v, --verbose
	      verbose output during the build process

       -c, --conf FILE
	      specify configuration file to use.  Default: /etc/dracut.conf

       --confdir DIR
	      specify configuration  directory	to  use.   Default:  /etc/dra-
	      cut.conf.d

       -l, --local
	      local  mode.  Use	 modules  from	the  current working directory
	      instead of the system-wide installed  in	/usr/share/dracut/mod-
	      ules.d.  Useful when running dracut from a git checkout.

       -H, --hostonly
	      Host-Only	 mode:	Install	 only  what  is needed for booting the
	      local host instead of a generic host.

       -i, --include SOURCE TARGET
	      include the files in the SOURCE directory into the target direc-
	      tory in the final initramfs.

       -I, --install LIST
	      install the space separated list of files into the initramfs.


KERNEL COMMAND LINE
       The root filesystem used by the kernel is specified in the boot config-
       uration file, as always. The traditional	 root=/dev/hda1	 style	device
       specification is allowed. If a label is used, as in root=LABEL=rootPart
       the initrd will search all  available  devices  for  an	ext2  or  ext3
       filesystem  with	 the  appropriate  label, and mount that device as the
       root filesystem.	 root=UUID=uuidnumber will mount  the  partition  with
       that UUID as the root filesystem.


   Standard
       init=<path to real init>

       root=<path to blockdevice>
	      specify blockdevice to use as root filesystem.
	       e.g.
		root=/dev/sda1
		root=/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:1f.1-scsi-0:0:1:0-part1

       rootfstype=<filesystem type>
	      "auto" if not specified, e.g. rootfstype=ext3

       rootflags=<mount options>
	      specify additional mount options for the root filesystem. If not
	      set, /etc/fstab of the real root	will  be  parsed  for  special
	      mount options and mounted accordingly.

       rootfallback=<path to blockdevice>
	      specify  the  block device to use as the root filesystem, if the
	      normal root cannot be found. This can only  be  a	 simple	 block
	      device  with  a  simple  file  system,  for which the filesystem
	      driver  is  either  compiled  in,	 or  added  manually  to   the
	      initramfs. This parameter can be specified multiple times.

       rd_NO_FSTAB
	      do not honor special mount options for the root filesystem found
	      in /etc/fstab of the real root.


   Misc
       hostname=<hostname>
	      set the initial hostname

       rdblacklist=<drivername>
	      do not load kernel module <drivername>  This  parameter  can  be
	      specified multiple times.

       rdloaddriver=<drivername>
	      force  loading  kernel module <drivername> This parameter can be
	      specified multiple times.

       rd_retry=<seconds>
	      wait <seconds> until dracut tries to force assemble LVM or  RAID
	      volumes. If the root device is not found within <seconds>*2 then
	      dracut fails and either drops to a shell, if rdshell is  on  the
	      kernel  command  line,  or exits with 1, which normally causes a
	      kernel panic.

	      Default: rd_retry=40


   Debug
       rdinfo print informational output though "quiet" is set

       rdshell
	      allow dropping to a shell, if root mounting fails

       rdinitdebug
	      set -x for the dracut shell  and	logs  to  dmesg,  console  and
	      /init.log

       rdbreak
	      drop to a shell at the end

       rdbreak={cmdline|pre-udev|pre-trigger|initqueue|pre-mount|mount
       |pre-pivot}
	      drop to a shell on defined breakpoint

       rdudevinfo
	      set udev to loglevel info

       rdudevdebug
	      set udev to loglevel debug


   I18N
	e.g.
	 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
	 SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16
	 KEYTABLE=de-latin1-nodeadkeys

       KEYBOARDTYPE=sun|pc
	      will be written to /etc/sysconfig/keyboard in the initramfs

       KEYTABLE=<keytable filename>
	      will be written to /etc/sysconfig/keyboard in the initramfs

       SYSFONT=Console font
	      will be written to /etc/sysconfig/i18n in the initramfs

       SYSFONTACM=Unicode font map
	      will be written to /etc/sysconfig/i18n in the initramfs

       UNIMAP=Unicode font map
	      will be written to /etc/sysconfig/i18n in the initramfs

       LANG=<locale>
	      will be written to /etc/sysconfig/i18n in the initramfs


   LVM
       rd_NO_LVM
	      disable LVM detection

       rd_LVM_VG=<volume group name>
	      only activate the volume groups with the	given  name  rd_LVM_VG
	      can be specified multiple times on the kernel command line.

       rd_LVM_LV=<logical volume name>
	      only  activate the logical volumes with the given name rd_LVM_LV
	      can be specified multiple times on the kernel command line.

       rd_NO_LVMCONF
	      remove any /etc/lvm/lvm.conf, which may exist in the initramfs


   crypto LUKS
       rd_NO_LUKS
	      disable crypto LUKS detection

       rd_LUKS_UUID=<luks uuid>
	      only activate the	 LUKS  partitions  with	 the  given  UUID  Any
	      "luks-"  of  the	LUKS UUID is removed before comparing to <luks
	      uuid>.  The comparisons also matches, if <luks uuid> is only the
	      beginning	 of  the  LUKS	UUID, so you don't have to specify the
	      full UUID.  This parameter can be specified multiple times.

       rd_NO_CRYPTTAB
	      do not check, if LUKS partition is in /etc/crypttab


   MD
       rd_NO_MD
	      disable MD RAID detection

       rd_NO_MDIMSM
	      no MD RAID for imsm/isw raids, use dmraid instead

       rd_NO_MDADMCONF
	      ignore mdadm.conf included in initramfs

       rd_MD_UUID=<md uuid>
	      only activate the raid sets with the given UUID.	This parameter
	      can be specified multiple times.


   DMRAID
       rd_NO_DM
	      disable DM RAID detection

       rd_DM_UUID=<dmraid uuid>
	      only activate the raid sets with the given UUID.	This parameter
	      can be specified multiple times.


   MULTIPATH
       rd_NO_MULTIPATH
	      disable multipath in the initramfs


   FIPS
       fips=1 enable FIPS

       boot=<bootdevice>
	      specify the device, where /boot is located
	       e.g.
		boot=/dev/sda1
		boot=/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:1f.1-scsi-0:0:1:0-part1
		boot=UUID=<uuid>
		boot=LABEL=<label>

	      If the root device is encrypted, the /boot partition must reside
	      on a seperate partition and has to be specified.


   Network
       ip={dhcp|on|any|dhcp6|auto6|ibft}
	      dhcp|on|any:  get	 ip  from  dhcp server from all interfaces. If
	      root=dhcp, loop sequentially through all interfaces (eth0, eth1,
	      ...) and use the first with a valid DHCP root-path.

	      auto6: IPv6 autoconfiguration

	      dhcp6: IPv6 DHCP

	      ibft: iBFT autoconfiguration


       ip=<interface>:{dhcp|on|any|dhcp6|auto6}
	      dhcp|on|any|dhcp6:  get ip from dhcp server on a specific inter-
	      face auto6: do IPv6  autoconfiguration  This  parameter  can  be
	      specified multiple times.


       ip=<client-IP>:[<server-id>]:<gateway-IP>:<netmask>:<clienthostname>
       :<interface>:{none|off}
	      explicit network configuration. If you want  do  define  a  IPv6
	      address,	put it in brackets (e.g. [2001:DB8::1]).  This parame-
	      ter can be specified multiple times.

       ifname=<interface>:<MAC>
	      Assign network device name <interface> (ie eth0) to the NIC with
	      MAC <MAC>.  Note that if you use this option you must specify an
	      ifname= argument for all interfaces used in ip= or  fcoe=	 argu-
	      ments This parameter can be specified multiple times.

       bootdev=<interface>
	      specify network interface to use routing and netroot information
	      from.  Required if multiple ip= lines are used.

       nameserver=<IP> [nameserver=<IP> ...]
	      specify nameserver(s) to use

       vlan=<vlanname>:<phydevice>
	      Setup vlan device named <vlanname> on <phydeivce>.
	       We  support  the	 four  styles  of  vlan	 names:	 VLAN_PLUS_VID
	      (vlan0005),     VLAN_PLUS_VID_NO_PAD    (vlan5),	  DEV_PLUS_VID
	      (eth0.0005), DEV_PLUS_VID_NO_PAD (eth0.5) This parameter can  be
	      specified multiple times.

       bridge=<bridgename>:<ethnames>
	      Setup  bridge  <bridgename>  with	 <ethnames>.  <ethnames>  is a
	      comma-separated list of physical (ethernet)  interfaces.	Bridge
	      without parameters assumes bridge=br0:eth0

       bond=<bondname>[:<bondslaves>:[:<options>]]
	      Setup  bonding  device <bondname> on top of <bondslaves>. <bond-
	      slaves> is a comma-separated list of physical (ethernet)	inter-
	      faces.  <options>	 is  a comma-separated list on bonding options
	      (modinfo	bonding	 for  details)	in  format   compatible	  with
	      initscripts.  If	<options>  includes multi-valued arp_ip_target
	      option, then its values should be separated by  semicolon.  Bond
	      without parameters assumes bond=bond0:eth0,eth1:mode=balance-rr

       biosdevname={0|1]}
	      turn off/on biosdevname network interface renaming

   NFS
       root=[<server-ip>:]<root-dir>[:<nfs-options>]
	      mount nfs share from <server-ip>:/<root-dir>, if no server-ip is
	      given, use dhcp next_server. if server-ip is an IPv6 address  it
	      has  to be put in brackets, e.g. [2001:DB8::1].  NFS options can
	      be appended with the prefix ":" or "," and are seperated by ",".

       root=nfs:[<server-ip>:]<root-dir>[:<nfs-options>]

       root=nfs4:[<server-ip>:]<root-dir>[:<nfs-options>]

       root=dhcp|dhcp6
	      root=dhcp alone directs initrd to look  at  the  DHCP  root-path
	      where NFS options can be specified.
		  root-path=<server-ip>:<root-dir>[,<nfs-options>]
		  root-path=nfs:<server-ip>:<root-dir>[,<nfs-options>]
		  root-path=nfs4:<server-ip>:<root-dir>[,<nfs-options>]

       root=/dev/nfs nfsroot=[<server-ip>:]<root-dir>[,<nfs-options>]
	      Deprecated! kernel Documentation/filesystems/nfsroot.txt defines
	      this method.  This is supported by dracut but not recommended.

       rd_NFS_DOMAIN=<NFSv4 domain name>
	      Set the NFSv4  domain  name.  Will  overwrite  the  settings  in
	      /etc/idmap.conf.


   iSCSI
       root=iscsi:[username:password[:reverse:password]@][<servername>]
       :[<protocol>]:[<port>][:[<iscsi_iface_name>]:[<netdev_name>]]:[<LUN>]
       :<targetname>
	      protocol defaults to "6", LUN defaults to "0".

	      If  the  "servername"  field  is provided by BOOTP or DHCP, then
	      that field is used in conjunction with other  associated	fields
	      to  contact the boot server in the Boot stage (Section 7).  How-
	      ever, if the "servername" field is not provided, then the	 "tar-
	      getname"	field  is  then used in the Discovery Service stage in
	      conjunction with other associated fields.

	      http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4173


       root=iscsi:[username:password[:reverse:password]@][<servername>]
       :[<protocol>]:[<port>][:[<iscsi_iface_name>]:[<netdev_name>]]:[<LUN>]
       :<targetname>
	      e.g. root=iscsi:192.168.50.1::::iqn.2009-06.dracut:target0

	      If servername is an IPv6 address, it has to be put in brackets.
	       e.g.
		root=iscsi:[2001:DB8::1]::::iqn.2009-06.dracut:target0

       root=??? netroot=iscsi:[username:password[:reverse:password]@]
       [<servername>]:[<protocol>]:[<port>][:[<iscsi_iface_name>]:[<net-
       dev_name>]]:[<LUN>]:<targetname> ...
	      multiple netroot options allow setting up multiple iscsi disks
	       e.g.
		root=UUID=12424547
		netroot=iscsi:192.168.50.1::::iqn.2009-06.dracut:target0
		netroot=iscsi:192.168.50.1::::iqn.2009-06.dracut:target1

	      If servername is an IPv6 address, it has to be put in brackets.
	       e.g.
		netroot=iscsi:[2001:DB8::1]::::iqn.2009-06.dracut:target0

       root=??? iscsi_initiator=<initiator> iscsi_target_name=<target name>
       iscsi_target_ip=<target ip> iscsi_target_port=<target port>
       iscsi_target_group=<target group> iscsi_username=<username>
       iscsi_password=<password> iscsi_in_username=<in username>
       iscsi_in_password=<in password>
	      manually	specify	 all   iscsistart   parameter	(see   iscsis-
	      tart --help)


       root=??? netroot=iscsi iscsi_firmware
	      will read the iscsi parameter from the BIOS firmware


       iscsi_param=<param>
	      <param> will be passed as "--param <param>" to iscsistart.  This
	      parameter can be specified multiple times.
	       e.g.:
		 "netroot=iscsi	     iscsi_firmware	 iscsi_param=node.ses-
	      sion.timeo.replacement_timeout=30"
		 will result in
		 iscsistart  -b	 --param  node.session.timeo.replacement_time-
	      out=30


   FCoE
       fcoe=<edd|interface|MAC>:<dcb|nodcb>
	      Try to connect to a  FCoE	 SAN  through  the  NIC	 specified  by
	      <interface>  or  <MAC>  or  EDD settings.	 This parameter can be
	      specified multiple times.


   NBD
       root=nbd:<server>:<port>[:<fstype>][:<mountopts>]
	      mount nbd share from <server>

       root=dhcp
	      with dhcp root-path=nbd:<server>:<port>[:<fstype>][:<mountopts>]
	      root=dhcp	 alone	directs	 initrd	 to look at the DHCP root-path
	      where NBD options can be specified.  This syntax is only	usable
	      in  cases	 where	you  are  directly  mounting the volume as the
	      rootfs.



   DASD
       rd_DASD_MOD=....
	      same syntax as the kernel module parameter (s390 only)


       rd_DASD=<dasd adaptor device bus ID>[,readonly=X][,use_diag=X]
       [,erplog=X][,failfast=X]
	      activate	DASD  device  with the given adaptor device bus ID and
	      setting the sysfs attributes to the specified values This param-
	      eter can be specified multiple times.


   ZFCP
       rd_ZFCP=<zfcp adaptor device bus ID>,<WWPN>,<FCPLUN>
	      rd_ZFCP  can  be	specified multiple times on the kernel command
	      line.

	      example: rd_ZFCP=0.0.4000,0x5005076300C213e9,0x5022000000000000

       rd_NO_ZFCPCONF
	      ignore zfcp.conf included in the initramfs


   ZNET
       rd_ZNET=<nettype>,<subchannels>,<options>
	      rd_ZNET can be specified multiple times on  the  kernel  command
	      line. Examples:
		  rd_ZNET=qeth,0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602,layer2=1,port-
	      name=foo
		  rd_ZNET=ctc,0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602,protocol=bar


   Plymouth Boot Splash
       rd_NO_PLYMOUTH
	      do not start plymouth. This will not work with encrypted	parti-
	      tions.


FILES
       /var/log/dracut.log

       /etc/dracut.conf
	      see dracut.conf(5)

   Configuration in the Initramfs
       /etc/conf.d/
	      Any files found in /etc/conf.d/ will be sourced in the initramfs
	      to set initial values. Command line options will override	 these
	      values set in the configuration files.

       /etc/cmdline
	      Can contain additional command line options.


AUTHORS
       Harald Hoyer <harald@redhat.com>
       Victor Lowther <victor.lowther@gmail.com>
       Warren Togami <wtogami@redhat.com>
       Jeremy Katz <katzj@redhat.com>
       Philippe Seewer <philippe.seewer@bfh.ch>
       David Dillow <dave@thedillows.org>

AVAILABILITY
       The  dracut command is part of the dracut package and is available from
       http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/dracut/wiki


SEE ALSO
       dracut.conf(5)



Linux				   June 2009			     DRACUT(8)