| When booting Plan 9 on a PC, the bootstrap programs described
    in 9boot(8) first read, via TFTP or a FAT filesystem on the boot
    disk, a file containing configuration information. This file,
    /cfg/pxe/hex–digits (TFTP; see 9boot(8)) or plan9.ini (FAT), looks
    like a shell script containing lines of the form
    
    
    each of which defines a kernel or device parameter. 
    Blank lines and Carriage Returns (\r) are ignored. # comments
    are ignored, but are only recognised if # appears at the start
    of a line.   
    For devices, the generic format of value is
 specifying the controller type, the base I/O port of the interface,
    its interrupt level, the physical starting address of any mapped
    memory, the length in bytes of that memory, the DMA channel, and
    for Ethernets an override of the physical network address. Not
    all elements are relevant to all devices; the relevant values
    and their defaults are defined below in the description of each
    device.|  |  |  | type=TYPE [port=N] [irq=N] [mem=N] [size=N] [dma=N] [ea=N] 
 
        
     | 
 
    The file is used by the bootstrap programs and the kernel to configure
    the hardware available, although nowadays the kernel can usually
    detect the attached hardware by itself. The information it contains
    is also passed to the boot process, and subsequently other programs,
    as environment variables (see boot(8)).
    However, values whose names begin with an asterisk * are used
    by the kernel and are stored in #ec rather than #e.   
    The following sections describe how variables are used.
 ETHERNET     
 etherX=value     This defines an Ethernet interface. X, a unique monotonically
    increasing number beginning at 0, identifies an Ethernet card
    to be probed at system boot. Probing stops when a card is found
    or there is no line for etherX+1. After probing as directed by
    the etherX lines, any remaining Ethernet cards that can be
    automatically detected are added. Almost all cards can be automatically
    detected. For debugging purposes, automatic probing can be disabled
    by specifying the line *noetherprobe=.
 
    Many cards are software configurable and do not require all options.
    Unspecified options default to the factory defaults.   
    Known TYPEs areigbe     The Intel 8254X Gigabit Ethernet controllers, as found on
    the Intel PRO/1000 adapters for copper (not fiber). Completely
    configurable.
 igbepcie
 
 rtl8169The Realtek 8169 Gigabit Ethernet controller. Completely
    configurable.|  |  |  | |  |  |  | The Intel 8256[36], 8257[12], and 82573[ev] Gigabit Ethernet PCI–Express
            controllers. Completely configurable. 
 | 
 | 
 ga620    Netgear GA620 and GA620T Gigabit Ethernet cards, and other
    cards using the Alteon Acenic chip such as the Alteon Acenic fiber
    and copper cards, the DEC DEGPA–SA and the SGI Acenic. Completely
    configurable.
 dp83820National Semiconductor DP83820–based Gigabit Ethernet adapters,
    notably the D–Link DGE–500T. Completely configurable.
 vgbe     The VIA Velocity Gigabit Ethernet controller. Known to drive
    the VIA8237 (ABIT AV8), but at 100Mb/s full–duplex only.
 m10g     The Myricom 10–Gigabit Ethernet 10G–PCIE–8A controller. Completely
    configurable.
 i82598   The Intel 8259[89] 10–Gigabit Ethernet PCI–Express controllers.
    Completely configurable.
 i82557   Cards using the Intel 8255[789] Fast Ethernet PCI Bus LAN
    Controller such as the Intel EtherExpress PRO/100B. Completely
    configurable, no options need be given. If you need to force the
    media, specify one of the options (no value) 10BASE–T, 10BASE–2,
    10BASE–5, 100BASE–TX, 10BASE–TFD,
 2114x    Cards using the Digital Equipment (now Intel) 2114x PCI Fast
    Ethernet Adapter Controller, for example the Netgear FA310. Completely
    configurable, no options need be given. Media can be specified
    the same was as for the i82557. Some cards using the PNIC and
    PNIC2 near–clone chips may also work.
    83815    National Semiconductor DP83815–based adapters, notably the
    Netgear FA311, Netgear FA312, and various SiS built–in controllers
    such as the SiS900. On the SiS controllers, the Ethernet address
    is not detected properly; specify it with an ea= attribute. Completely
    configurable.
    rtl8139The Realtek 8139 Fast Ethernet controller. Completely configurable.|  |  |  | |  |  |  | 100BASE–TXFD, 100BASE–T4, 100BASE–FX, or 100BASE–FXFD. Completely
            configurable. 
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 | 
 vt6102   The VIA VT6102 Fast Ethernet Controller (Rhine II).
 vt6105mThe VIA VT6105M Fast Ethernet Controller (Rhine III).
 smc91cxx
 
 elnk3    The 3COM Etherlink III series of cards including the 5x9,
    59x, and 905 and 905B. Completely configurable, no options need
    be given. The media may be specified by setting media= to the
    value 10BaseT, 10Base2, 100BaseTX, 100BaseFX, aui, and mii. If
    you need to force full duplex, because|  |  |  | |  |  |  | SMC 91cXX chip–based PCMCIA adapters, notably the SMC EtherEZ card. 
 | 
 | 
 3c589    The 3COM 3C589 series PCMCIA cards, including the 3C562 and
    the 589E. There is no support for the modem on the 3C562. Completely
    configurable, no options need be given. Defaults are|  |  |  | |  |  |  | for example the Ethernet switch does not negotiate correctly,
            just name the word (no value) fullduplex or 100BASE–TXFD. Similarly,
            to force 100Mbit operation, specify force100. Port 0x110 is used
            for the little ISA configuration dance. 
 | 
 | 
 
 ec2t     The Linksys Combo PCMCIA EthernetCard (EC2T), EtherFast 10/100
    PCMCIA cards (PCMPC100) and integrated controllers (PCM100), the
    Netgear FA410TX 10/100 PCMCIA card and the Accton EtherPair–PCMCIA
    (EN2216). Completely configurable, no options need be given. Defaults
    are|  |  |  | |  |  |  | port=0x240 irq=10 The media may be specified as media=10BaseT or media=10Base2.
 
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 | 
 ne2000   Not software configurable iff ISA; PCI clones or supersets
    are software configurable; includes the Realtek 8029 clone used
    by Parallels. 16–bit card. Defaults are|  |  |  | |  |  |  | port=0x300 irq=9 These cards are NE2000 clones. Other NE2000 compatible PCMCIA
            cards may be tried with the option
 id=string
 where string is a unique identifier string contained in the attribute
            memory of the card (see pcmcia(8)); unlike most options in plan9.ini,
            this string is case–sensitive. The option dummyrr=[01] can be used
            to turn off (0) or on (1) a dummy remote read in the driver in
            such cases, depending on how
            NE2000 compatible they are.
 
 | 
 | 
 
 amd79c970|  |  |  | |  |  |  | port=0x300 irq=2 mem=0x04000 size=0x4000 The option (no value) nodummyrr is needed on some (near) clones
            to turn off a dummy remote read in the driver.
 
 | 
 | 
 
 wd8003   Includes WD8013 and SMC Elite and Elite Ultra cards. There
    are varying degrees of software configurability. Cards may be
    in either 8–bit or 16–bit slots. Defaults are|  |  |  | |  |  |  | The AMD PCnet PCI Ethernet Adapter (AM79C970). (This is the Ethernet
            adapter used by VMware.) Completely configurable, no options need
            be given. 
 | 
 | 
 
 sink     A /dev/null for Ethernet packets -- the interface discards sent
    packets and never receives any. This is used to provide a test
    bed for some experimental Ethernet bridging software.|  |  |  | |  |  |  | port=0x280 irq=3 mem=0xD0000 size=0x2000 BUG: On many machines only the 16 bit card works.
 
 | 
 | 
 wavelanLucent Wavelan (Orinoco) IEEE 802.11b and compatible PCMCIA
    cards. Compatible cards include the Dell TrueMobile 1150 and the
    Linksys Instant Wireless Network PC Card. Port and IRQ defaults
    are 0x180 and 3 respectively.
 
 wavelanpci|  |  |  | |  |  |  | These cards take a number of unique options to aid in identifying
            the card correctly on the 802.11b network. The network may be
            ad hoc or managed (i.e. use an access point): mode=[adhoc, managed]
 and defaults to managed. The 802.11b network to attach to (managed
            mode) or identify as (ad hoc mode), is specified by
 essid=string
 and defaults to a null string. The card station name is given
            by
 station=string
 and defaults to Plan 9 STA. The channel to use is given by
 channel=number
 where number lies in the range 1 to 16 inclusive; the channel
            is normally negotiated automatically.
 If the card is capable of encryption, the following options may
            be used:
 crypt=[off, on]
 and defaults to on.
 keyN=string
 sets the encryption key N (where N is in the range 1 to 4 inclusive)
            to string; this will also set the transmit key to N (see below).
            There are two formats for string which depend on the length of
            the string. If it is exactly 5 or 13 characters long it is assumed
            to be an alphanumeric key; if it is exactly 10 or 26
            characters long the key is assumed to be in hex format (without
            a leading 0x). The lengths are checked, as is the format of a
            hex key.
 txkey=number
 sets the transmit key to use to be number in the range 1 to 4
            inclusive. If it is desired to exclude or include unencrypted
            packets
 clear=[off, on]
 configures reception and defaults to inclusion.
 The defaults are intended to match the common case of a managed
            network with encryption and a typical entry would only require,
            for example
 essid=left–armpit key1=afish key2=calledraawaru
 if the port and IRQ defaults are used. These options may be set
            after boot by writing to the device's ctl file using a space as
            the separator between option and value, e.g.
 echo 'key2 1d8f65c9a52d83c8e4b43f94af' >/net/ether0/0/ctl
 Card–specific power management may be enabled/disabled by
 pm=[on, off]
 
 | 
 | 
 
 |  |  |  | |  |  |  | PCI Ethernet adapters that use the same Wavelan programming interface.
            Currently the only tested cards are those based on the Intersil
            Prism 2.5 chipset. 
 | 
 | 
 DISKS, TAPES    (S)ATA controllers are autodetected.
 
 usbX=type=uhci     
 usbX=type=ohci     
 usbX=type=ehci     This specifies the settings for a USB UHCI, OHCI or EHCI controller.
    Like the Ethernet controllers, USB controllers are autodetected
    after scanning for the ones listed in plan9.ini. Thus, most systems
    will not need a usbX line. Also like the Ethernet controllers,
    USB autoprobing can be disabled by specifying the line
    *nousbprobe=.
 
 scsiX=value     This defines a SCSI interface which cannot be automatically detected
    by the kernel.
 
    Known TYPEs areaha1542
 
 NCR/Symbios/LSI–Logic 53c8xx–based adapters and Mylex MultiMaster
    (Buslogic BT–*) adapters are automatically detected and need no
    entries.|  |  |  | Adaptec 154x series of controllers (and clones). Almost completely
        configurable, only the option need be given.
 
        
     | 
 
    By default, the NCR 53c8xx driver searches for up to 32 controllers.
    This can be changed by setting the variable *maxsd53c8xx.   
    By default the Mylex driver resets SCSI cards by using both the
    hard reset and SCSI bus reset flags in the driver interface. If
    a variable *noscsireset is defined, the SCSI bus reset flag is
    omitted.
 aoeif=list     This specifies a space–separated list of Ethernet interfaces to
    be bound at boot to the ATA–over–Ethernet driver, aoe(3). For example,
    aoeif=ether0 ether1. Only interfaces on this list will initially
    be accessible via AoE.
 
 aoedev=e!#æ/aoe/shelf.slot     This specifies an ATA–over–Ethernet device accessible via the interfaces
    named in aoeif on AoE shelf and slot to use as a root device for
    bootstrapping.
 
 AUDIO     
 audioX=value     This defines a pre–USB sound interface.
 
    Known types aresb16      Sound Blaster 16.
 ess1688   A Sound Blaster clone.
 
    The DMA channel may be any of 5, 6, or 7. The defaults are
 Uarts     This is typically done in order to reuse the IRQ for another device.Plan 9 automatically configures COM1 and COM2, if found, as eia0
    (port 0x3F8, IRQ4) and eia1 (port 0x2F8, IRQ3) respectively. These
    devices can be disabled by adding a line:
 
 
    Plan 9 used to support various serial concentrators, including
    the TTC 8 serial line card and various models in the Star Gate
    Avanstar series of intelligent serial boards. These are no longer
    supported; the much simpler Perle PCI–Fast4, PCI–Fast8, and PCI–Fast16
    controllers have taken their places. These latter cards are
    automatically detected and need no configuration lines.   
    The line serial=type=com can be used to specify settings for a
    PCMCIA modem.
 mouseport=value     This specifies where the mouse is attached. Value can be
 ps2   the PS2 mouse/keyboard port. The BIOS setup procedure should
    be used to configure the machine appropriately.
 ps2intellimouse
 
 0     for COM1|  |  |  | an Intellimouse on the PS2 port. 
 | 
 1     for COM2
 
 modemport=value     Picks the UART line to call out on. This is used when connecting
    to a file server over an async line. Value is the number of the
    port.
 
 console=value params    would use COM1 at 19,200 baud with odd parity.This is used to specify the console device. The default value
    is cga; a number 0 or 1 specifies COM1 or COM2 respectively. A
    serial console is initially configured with the uart(3) configuration
    string b9600 l8 pn s1, specifying 9600 baud, 8 bit bytes, no parity,
    and one stop bit. If params is given, it will be used to
    further configure the uart. Notice that there is no = sign in
    the params syntax. For example,
 
 
 PC CARD     
 pccard0=disabled     Disable probing for and automatic configuration of PC card controllers.
 
 pcmciaX=type=XXX    irq=irq    If the default IRQ for the PCMCIA is correct, this entry can be
    omitted. The value of type is ignored.
 
 pcmcia0=disabled     Disable probing for and automatic configuration of PCMCIA controllers.
 
 NVRAM     
 nvram=file     
 nvrlen= length     
 nvroff= offset     This is used to specify an nvram device and optionally the length
    of the ram and read/write offset to use. These values are consulted
    by readnvram (see authsrv(2)). The most common use of the nvram
    is to hold a secstore(1) password for use by factotum(4).
 
 nvr=value     This is used by the WORM file server kernel to locate a file holding
    information to configure the file system. The file cannot live
    on a SCSI disk. The default is fd!0!plan9.nvr (sic), unless bootfile
    is set, in which case it is plan9.nvr on the same disk as bootfile.
    The syntax is either fd!unit!name or
    hd!unit!name where unit is the numeric unit id. This variant syntax
    is a vestige of the file server kernel's origins.
 
 BOOTING     
 bootfile=value     This is used to direct the actions of the bootstrap programs by
    naming the device and file from which to load the kernel.
 
 rootdir=dir     
 rootspec=spec     These are used by the bootstrap programs to identify the directory
    dir to make the root directory for the kernel, and the file system
    specifier spec (see mount in bind(2)) on which it can be found.
    These are usually used to test variant file systems for distributions,
    etc.
 
 bootargs=args     The value of this variable is passed to boot(8) by the kernel
    as the name of the root file system. It is typically used to specify
    additional arguments to pass to kfs(4) or ipconfig(8). For example,
    if the system is to run from a local kfs(4) partition, the definition
    might read bootargs=local!#S/sdC0/fs. See boot(8)
    for more.
 
 nobootprompt=root     Suppress the root from prompt and use root as the answer instead.
 
 user=user     Suppress the user prompt and use user as the answer instead.
 
 debugfactotum=     Causes boot(8) to start factotum with the –p option, so that it
    can be debugged.
 
 factotumopts=options     Causes boot(8) to start factotum with the given options, which
    must be a single word (i.e., contain no whitespace).
 
 venti=value     When booting from a local fossil server backed by a local or remote
    venti server, this variable specifies how to establish the connection
    to the venti server. See boot(8) for more.
 
 cfs=partition     This names the file holding the disk partition for the cache file
    system, cfs(4). Extending the bootargs example, one would write
    cfs=#S/sdC0/cache.
 
 bootdisk=value     This deprecated variable was used to specify the disk used by
    the cache file system and other disk–resident services. It is superseded
    by bootargs and cfs.
 
 partition=value     This defines the partition table 9load(8) will examine to find
    disk partitioning information. By default, a partition table in
    a Plan 9 partition is consulted; if no such table is found, an
    old–Plan 9 partition table on the next–to–last or last sector of
    the disk is consulted. A value of new consults only the first
    table, old only
    the second.
 
 readparts=     Causes boot(8) to look for MBR and Plan 9 partition tables on
    all sd(3) disks, even before factotum is started, so NVRAM, for
    example, may be found. On PCs, 9load (but not 9boot) normally
    does this and passes the partitions found in #ec/sdCnpart.
 
 fs=a.b.c.d     
 auth=a.b.c.d     These specify the IP address of the file and authentication server
    to use when mounting a network–provided root file system. They
    are used only if the addresses cannot be determined via DHCP.
 
 PROCESSOR     
 *norealmode=     The PC kernel switches the processor to 16–bit real mode to run
    BIOS interrupts, for example to find the memory map or to enable
    VESA. This variable disables such switches.
 
 *noe820scan=     When available, the PC kernel uses the BIOS E820 memory map to
    size memory. This variable disables the scan.
 
 *maxmem=address     This defines the maximum physical address that the system will
    scan when sizing memory. By default the PC operating system will
    scan up to 3.75 gigabytes (0xF0000000, the base of kernel virtual
    address space), but setting *maxmem will limit the scan. *maxmem
    must be less than 3.75 gigabytes. This variable is
    not consulted if using the E820 memory map.
 
 *kernelpercent=percent     This defines the percentage of available memory reserved for the
    kernel allocation pool. The remainder is left for user processes.
    The default percent is 30 on CPU servers, 60 on terminals with
    less than 16MB of memory, and 40 on terminals with memories of
    16MB or more. Terminals use more kernel memory
    because draw(3) maintains its graphic images in kernel memory.
    This deprecated option is rarely necessary in newer kernels.
 
 *nomce=value     If machine check exceptions are supported by the processor, then
    they are enabled by default. Setting this variable to 1 causes
    them to be disabled even when available.
 
 *nomp=     A multiprocessor machine will enable all processors by default.
    Setting *nomp restricts the kernel to starting only one processor
    and using the traditional interrupt controller.
 
 *ncpu=cpus     Setting *ncpu restricts the kernel to starting at most cpus processors.
 
 *pcimaxbno=bno     Limits the maximum bus number probed on a PCI bus (default 7).
    For example, a bno of 1 should suffice on a 'standard' motherboard
    with an AGP slot. This, and *pcimaxdno below are rarely used and
    only on troublesome or suspect hardware.
 
 *pcimaxdno=dno     Limits the maximum device number probed on a PCI bus (default
    31).
 
 *nopcirouting=     Disable pci routing during boot. May solve interrupt routing problems
    on certain machines.
 
 *nodumpstack=     Disable printing a stack dump on panic. Useful if there is only
    a limited cga screen available, otherwise the textual information
    about the panic may scroll off.
 
 ioexclude=range     Specifies a list of ranges of I/O ports to exclude from use by
    drivers. Ranges are inclusive on both ends and separated by commas.
    For example:
 
 |  |  |  | ioexclude=0x330–0x337,0x430–0x43F 
 | 
 umbexclude= range     Specifies a list of ranges of UMB to exclude from use by drivers.
    Ranges are inclusive on both ends and separated by commas. For
    example:
 
 |  |  |  | umbexclude=0xD1800–0xD3FFF 
 | 
 apm0=     This enables the ``advanced power management'' interface as described
    in apm(3) and apm(8). The main feature of the interface is the
    ability to watch battery life (see stats(8)). It is not on by
    default because it causes problems on some laptops.
 
 VIDEO     
 monitor=monitor     
 vgasize=xxyxd     These are used not by the kernel but by termrc (see cpurc(8))
    when starting vga(8).
 
 *dpms=value     This is used to specify the screen blanking behavior of the MGA4xx
    video driver. Values are standby, suspend, and off. The first
    two specify differing levels of power saving; the third turns
    the monitor off completely.
 
 Multiple Configurations    
 
    A plan9.ini file may contain multiple configurations, each within
    a block beginning with a lineA special block with the tag menu gives a list of blocks from
    which the user may interactively select the contents of plan9.ini.
    There may also be multiple blocks with the tag common which will
    be included in all selections; if any lines appear in plan9.ini
    before the first block, they are treated as a common
    block.
 
    Within the menu block the following configuration lines are allowed:
 menuitem=tag[,    description]    The block identified by tag will appear in the presented menu.
    The menu entry will consist of the tag unless the optional description
    is given.
 
 menudefault=tag[,    timeout]    Identifies a default block to be given in the menu selection prompt.
    If the optional timeout is given (in seconds), the default block
    will be selected if there is no user input within the timeout
    period.
 
 menuconsole=value[,    baud]    Selects a serial console upon which to present the menu as no
    console or baud configuration information will have been processed
    yet (the plan9.ini contents are still to be decided...).
 
    In response to the menu being printed, the user is prompted to
    select a menu item from the list. If the numeric response is followed
    by a p, the selected configuration is printed and the menu presented
    again.   
    The lineis prefixed to the selected configuration as an aid to user–level
    initialization scripts.
 
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