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What is RedBoot?

RedBoot, the Red Hat Embedded Debug and Bootstrap firmware, is a complete bootstrap environment for embedded systems. Based on the eCos RTOS Hardware Abstraction Layer, RedBoot inherits eCos' qualities of reliability, compactness, configurability, and portability.

RedBoot allows download and execution of embedded applications via serial or ethernet, including embedded Linux and eCos applications. It can be used for both product development (debug support) and in deplayed products in the field (Flash update and network booting).

Ethernet download and debug support is included, allowing RedBoot to retrieve its IP parameters via BOOTP or DHCP, and program images to be downloaded using TFTP. Images can also be downloaded over serial, using X- or Y-modem.

RedBoot can be used to communicate with GDB (the GNU Debugger) to debug applications via serial or ethernet, including the ability to interrupt a running application started by GDB.

An interactive command-line interface is provided to allow management of the Flash images, image download, RedBoot configuration, etc., accessible via serial or ethernet. For unattended or automated startup, boot scripts can be stored in Flash allowing for example loading of images from Flash or a TFTP server.

RedBoot was originally developed by Red Hat, but is now developed and maintained on the net alongside eCos as an open source project. All sources and documentation for RedBoot, and the eCos operating system on which it is based, are freely available without license or royalties.

For more details about RedBoot, please visit the RedBoot site.