It is now possible to specify which bootloader needs to be installed and it is possible to specify sections and more bootloader options.

If the bootloader resource is not configured at all, the system will propose a configuration based on the partitioning scheme. If no global variables are configured, the system will propose a configuration for the global variables based on the partitioning scheme. Similarly, if no sections are configured, the system will propose a section configuration. No changes or additions will be made to existing global variables or existing sections. Only for the grub bootloader, missing standard values in the global variables will be filled with default values.

In some cases you must decide where to install the bootloader (the Master Boot Record or the first sector of the /boot partition) and must specify additional options for the bootloader to be installed correctly.

	Boot Partition on IA64 Systems
	The boot partition on IA64 is /boot/efi and is set to this value if only /boot is configured in the control file.

Additionally, you can configure special kernel and boot parameters, Kernel parameters can be configured using the kernel_parameters property.

  <?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE profile>
<profile xmlns="http://www.suse.com/1.0/yast2ns" xmlns:config="http://www.suse.com/1.0/configns">
    <bootloader>
      <global config:type="list">
        <global_entry>
          <key>prompt</key>
          <value config:type="boolean">false</value>
        </global_entry>
      </global>
      <loader_device></loader_device>
      <loader_type>lilo</loader_type>
      <location>mbr</location>
      <sections config:type="list"/>
    </bootloader>
</profile>

	

The global resource is used to configure additional boot loader options. Note that bootloaders can have different configurable options. Consult the documentation for the specific bootloader you want to use before adding any options.

For example, to configure the serial console with grub, you can add the following options:

  
    <bootloader>
      <global config:type="list">
        <global_entry>
          <key>serial</key>
          <value>--unit=1 --speed=115200</value>
        </global_entry>
        <global_entry>
          <key>terminal</key>
          <value>serial console</value>
        </global_entry>
      </global>
      <loader_type>grub</loader_type>
      <location></location>
    </bootloader>


	

	Tip
	The bootloader configuration interface offers more configuration options than one might need for a regular setup. The options described in the example above should be sufficient for most cases.

In the current version, bootloader configuration also supports different architectures and boards. The configuration of the bootloader can be done offline using AutoYaST. For example, the bootloader configuration for PPC has the following additional options:

  <?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE profile>
<profile xmlns="http://www.suse.com/1.0/yast2ns" xmlns:config="http://www.suse.com/1.0/configns">
    <bootloader>
      <board_type>iseries</board_type>
      <global config:type="list"/>
      <iseries_streamfile>/boot/suse_linux_bootfile</iseries_streamfile>
      <iseries_write_prepboot config:type="boolean">true</iseries_write_prepboot>
      <iseries_write_slot_a config:type="boolean">true</iseries_write_slot_a>
      <iseries_write_slot_b config:type="boolean">true</iseries_write_slot_b>
      <iseries_write_streamfile config:type="boolean">true</iseries_write_streamfile>
      <loader_device>B</loader_device>
      <loader_type>ppc</loader_type>
      <location></location>
      <prep_boot_partition>/dev/hda1</prep_boot_partition>
    </bootloader>
</profile>

	

Currently the following bootloaders can be configured offline using the AutoYaST interface:

Here are some important options for handling the content of the MBR:

If you want to disable the overwriting of the MBR set <boot_mbr> and <generic_mbr> to false:

<bootloader>
  ....
   <global>
      <activate>true</activate>
      <generic_mbr>false</generic_mbr>
      <boot_mbr>false</boot_mbr>
   </global>
  ....
</bootloader>

If <activate> is true the boot flag is changed to the boot or root partition. If the boot partition is missing and root partition is on a logical partition, the boot flag will be set to extended partition.