BootIt Bare Metal vs Petitboot
BootIt Bare Metal
terabyteunlimited.comPetitboot
open-power.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | BootIt Bare Metal | Petitboot |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Boot Manager Software | 8.3 (#4) | 7.4 (#18) |
| Purpose | BootIt Bare Metal manages partitions, installs and boots multiple operating systems, and backs up or restores partitions and drives. | Petitboot is a kexec-based bootloader implemented by userspace programs in a small Linux image. |
Plans
In their own words
BootIt Bare Metal
BootIt Bare Metal has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Petitboot
Petitboot is a free, GPL-2.0-licensed bootloader implemented by userspace programs in a small Linux image. It discovers devices and bootable images, reads configurations such as GRUB, SYSLINUX, and Yaboot, then starts systems through Linux kexec. Its primary interface is an ncurses menu for viewing boot choices and system information, changing settings, running plugins, and opening a shell. Operating-system images can be loaded over HTTP, HTTPS, NFS, SFTP, or TFTP. Basic functionality is available on platforms that support kexec, while documented platform implementations include POWER systems using OPAL firmware and ARM64 systems with efivarfs support. On supported systems, inband IPMI can report BMC information and alter boot behavior through boot-device overrides. Plugins package and run binaries and may be discovered locally or in PXE network files. The pb-discover server finds and configures devices, while user interfaces communicate through pb-protocol. The included pb-sos utility gathers diagnostic and crash information.