Embedded Linux for Developers

Choosing a bootloader

Bootloaders come in all shapes and sizes. The kind of characteristics you want from a bootloader are that they be simple and customizable with lots of sample configurations for common development boards and devices. The following table shows a number of them that are in general use:

Name	Architectures
Das U-Boot	ARM, Blackfin, MIPS, PowerPC, SH
Barebox	ARM, Blackfin, MIPS, PowerPC
GRUB 2	X86, X86_64
RedBoot	ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, SH
CFE	Broadcom MIPS
YAMON	MIPS

We are going to focus on U-Boot because it supports a good number of processor architectures and a large number of individual boards and devices. It has been around for a long time and has a good community for support.

It may be that you received a bootloader ...