The developers of Opensuse recently announced the integration of support for the systemd-boot bootloader in Opensuse Tumbleweed, a distribution known for its rolling-release update system. This move aims to improve boot speed and enhance boot process security compared to the traditional GRUB bootloader. While systemd-boot support is currently offered as an option, GRUB remains the default bootloader for Opensuse Tumbleweed, except for QMU assemblies where systemd-boot will be included by default along with full-disc encoding.
The primary objective of incorporating systemd-boot support in Opensuse is to simplify and optimize full-disc encryption processes. With GRUB, full-disc encryption configuration requires encryption code to be embedded in the bootloader code to decrypt data and retrieve a key, leading to increased code complexity. However, systemd-boot shifts these operations to the Linux kernel and the user space processor, streamlining the process.
Furthermore, Opensuse Tumbleweed and MicroOS utilize the BTRFS file system, which complicates the boot process due to snapshot management. Systemd-boot integrates snapshot control, facilitating booting from individual snapshots and improving kernel organization efficiency through the SDBOOTUTIL utility.