[clug] Mini-linux for multi-boot management

[Aaron Smith]

I recently got a bit excited by the noble intentions of the OpenBIOS
project. The idea of having the ability, at a low level, to boot from
all kinds of hardware (including the network) and perform diagnostics
sounds pretty neat.

This got me thinking that a small linux distribution may be able to do
all that I desire: provide a pretty boot menu and also allow open
firmware-like functionality before booting other OSes. Also, the ability
to ssh to a remote computer and change settings while it is waiting at a
boot-menu would be very cool.

Can a small linux image, perhaps running from only ram, be used to boot
another OS?

Does anyone know of a small linux distro designed to provide extended
(and/or remote) boot control?