[LinuxBoot][13]is an Open Source[alternative][14]to Proprietary[UEFI][15]firmware. It was released last year and is now being increasingly preferred by leading hardware manufacturers as default firmware. Last year, LinuxBoot was warmly[welcomed][16]into the Open Source family by The Linux Foundation.
This project was an initiative by Ron Minnich, author of LinuxBIOS and lead of [coreboot][17]at Google, in January 2017.
Google, Facebook,[Horizon Computing Solutions][18], and[Two Sigma][19]collaborated together to develop the[LinuxBoot project][20](formerly called[NERF][21]) for server machines based on Linux.
Its openness allows Server users to easily customize their own boot scripts, fix issues, build their own[runtimes][22]and[reflash their firmware][23]with their own keys. They do not need to wait for vendor updates.
Following is a video of[Ubuntu Xenial][24]booting for the first time with NERF BIOS:
[视频](https://youtu.be/HBkZAN3xkJg)
Let’s talk about some other advantages by comparing it to UEFI in terms of Server hardware.
### Advantages of LinuxBoot over UEFI
Here are some of the major advantages of LinuxBoot over UEFI:
### Significantly faster startup
It can boot up Server boards in less than twenty seconds, versus multiple minutes on UEFI.
### Significantly more flexible
LinuxBoot can make use of any devices, filesystems and protocols that Linux supports.
### Potentially more secure
Linux device drivers and filesystems have significantly more scrutiny than through UEFI.
We can argue that UEFI is partly open with[EDK II][25]and LinuxBoot is partly closed. But it has been[addressed][26]that even such EDK II code does not have the proper level of inspection and correctness as the[Linux Kernel][27]goes through, while there is a huge amount of other Closed Source components within UEFI development.
On the other hand, LinuxBoot has a significantly smaller amount of binaries with only a few hundred KB, compared to the 32 MB of UEFI binaries.
To be precise, LinuxBoot fits a whole lot better into the[Trusted Computing Base][28], unlike UEFI.
[Suggested readBest Free and Open Source Alternatives to Adobe Products for Linux][29]
LinuxBoot has a[kexec][30]based bootloader which does not support startup on Windows/non-Linux kernels, but that is insignificant since most clouds are Linux-based Servers.
### LinuxBoot adoption
In 2011, the[Open Compute Project][31]was started by[Facebook][32]who[open-sourced][33]designs of some of their Servers, built to make its datacenters more efficient. LinuxBoot has been tested on a few Open Compute Hardware listed as under:
* Winterfell
* Leopard
* Tioga Pass
More[OCP][34]hardware are described[here][35]in brief. The OCP Foundation runs a dedicated project on firmware through[Open System Firmware][36].
Some other devices that support LinuxBoot are:
* [QEMU][9]emulated[Q35][10]systems
* [Intel S2600wf][11]
* [Dell R630][12]
Last month end,[Equus Compute Solutions][37][announced][38]the release of its[WHITEBOX OPEN™][39]M2660 and M2760 Servers, as a part of their custom, cost-optimized Open-Hardware Servers and storage platforms. Both of them support LinuxBoot to customize the Server BIOS for flexibility, improved security, and create a blazingly fast booting experience.
### What do you think of LinuxBoot?
LinuxBoot is quite well documented[on GitHub][40]. Do you like the features that set it apart from UEFI? Would you prefer using LinuxBoot rather than UEFI for starting up Servers, owing to the former’s open-ended development and future? Let us know in the comments below.
