Differences between revisions 1 and 12 (spanning 11 versions)
Revision 1 as of 2014-04-01 16:33:24
Size: 2828
Editor: BrenoLeitao
Comment:
Revision 12 as of 2014-04-30 18:59:21
Size: 3952
Editor: BrenoLeitao
Comment:
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
Line 2: Line 2:
Line 11: Line 10:
   Not yet. The machines used for development/bootstrap are pre-GA (General Availability). Meanwhile, we are going to make a porter box available to the Debian project.
Line 14: Line 13:
   Yes. The full stack is open source.
 * Kernel support is already upstream
 * Toolchain (GCC, glibc, gdb, binutils) support is already upstream
Line 16: Line 19:
   Yes; it's related to the ppc64 and powerpc ports, but with a different/newer ABI (ELFv2), and running in little endian mode.

 A multi-arch arrangement with the other ports is not feasible, since the kernel doesn't support bi-endianness.
Line 20: Line 27:
 * Breno Leitao <BrenoLeitao>
 * Erwan Prioul (ErwanPrioul)
 * Francisco Silva Donalisio (FranciscoDonalisio)
 * Frederic Bonnard (FredericBonnard)
 * Mauricio Faria de Oliveira (MauricioOliveira)
 * Paulo Flabiano Smorigo (PauloSmorigo)
Line 24: Line 37:
 Servers. Initially, the port runs in qemu/kvm guests.
Line 27: Line 41:
 Yes, there are users -- at this moment, only developers from IBM and its business partners are able to use this port due to hardware availability (exception: the porter box). In the future (i.e., after hardware general availability) anyone may be able to use it.
Line 29: Line 44:
=== Is there kernel and toolchain support? At what level? Are the latest versions supported, or are legacy releases required for compatability with some hardware? === === Is there kernel and toolchain support? At what level? Are the latest versions supported, or are legacy releases required for compatibility with some hardware? ===

 Yes. The architecture support started with these versions, which are recent:
 * Linux kernel: 3.13
 * GCC: 4.8
 * glibc: 2.18
 * binutils: 2.24
Line 34: Line 55:
 Yes. The ABI is stable, and supported with the GNU toolchain (binutils, glibc, GCC).

 The ABI document is available at https://wiki.debian.org/ppc64el.
Line 37: Line 61:
Currently, running debootstrap from another port/architecture and running debootstrap second-stage from the port.

https://wiki.debian.org/ppc64el
Line 41: Line 68:
 Yes. Around 8k architecture-dependent source packages were built, and are available for download.
Line 42: Line 70:
 Check it at https://wiki.debian.org/ppc64el
Line 45: Line 74:
 The servers on which this port runs -- they are sufficiently fast for building packages.
Line 48: Line 78:
 Not at the moment. A process to create a porter box is in place.
Line 51: Line 82:
   == Further questions for OSes ==

=== Are there existing comprehensive free distributions of this OS? If so, why is a Debian distribution useful? ===



=== What demonstrable benefits does this OS have over existing Debian OSes? ===



=== Does this system have a standard Unix API? ===

  .

=== Does the OS support modern glibc and gcc? ===



=== What is the license on the kernel and core libraries? Is the license free? Is the license GPL compatible? (Note that if it's not free, distributing the software violates the Social Contract; and if it's not GPL compatible, GPL software such as dpkg can't be linked to it) ===


=== Does the OS build largely without source changes? If so, what proportion of the archive has built? ===

  Check [[http://buildd.debian.org/stats/|stats]].
  Initially, the port runs in qemu/kvm guests.

ppc64el: archive qualification page

Contents

  1. ppc64el: archive qualification page
    1. Questions for new architectures
      1. Are machines available to buy for the general public?
      2. Is full source available?
      3. Is this architecture related to other architectures already in the archive, or that also should be considered, either now or in the future? Can the related architectures be supported in a single architecture (eg, with a biarch arrangement)?
      4. Are there 3 or more developers (or NMs) actively maintaining the port? Who are they?
      5. What sort of architecture is this? Desktop/workstation? Mainframe/supercomputer? Embedded? Something else?
      6. Does it have any users? If a desktop system, are there Debian admins who run Debian systems on the arch? If an embedded system are there real systems shipping that a Debian port will be useful for? If a mainframe system are there real systems with many users that a Debian port will be useful for? Who are they?
      7. Is there kernel and toolchain support? At what level? Are the latest versions supported, or are legacy releases required for compatibility with some hardware?
      8. Has the ABI stabilised, or are there major ABI changes coming up? Is the ABI stable enough to ensure users will be able just "apt-get dist-upgrade" from one version to the next?
      9. How do you install a system? (URL to a HOWTO)
      10. Has a buildd been setup? How much of the archive has been built (count by source package, builds of old versions are fine for this case)?
      11. What hardware is potentially available as a fast buildd?
      12. Is there an example box developers can login to to see if it works?
      13. It's also worth considering whether the port has any special requirements. If the port is mainly for embedded systems, it may be appropriate to have different installation or release arrangements compared to normal desktop/workstation architectures.

Questions for new architectures

Are machines available to buy for the general public?

  • Not yet. The machines used for development/bootstrap are pre-GA (General Availability). Meanwhile, we are going to make a porter box available to the Debian project.

Is full source available?

  • Yes. The full stack is open source.
  • Kernel support is already upstream
  • Toolchain (GCC, glibc, gdb, binutils) support is already upstream

  • Yes; it's related to the ppc64 and powerpc ports, but with a different/newer ABI (ELFv2), and running in little endian mode. A multi-arch arrangement with the other ports is not feasible, since the kernel doesn't support bi-endianness.

Are there 3 or more developers (or NMs) actively maintaining the port? Who are they?

What sort of architecture is this? Desktop/workstation? Mainframe/supercomputer? Embedded? Something else?

  • Servers. Initially, the port runs in qemu/kvm guests.

Does it have any users? If a desktop system, are there Debian admins who run Debian systems on the arch? If an embedded system are there real systems shipping that a Debian port will be useful for? If a mainframe system are there real systems with many users that a Debian port will be useful for? Who are they?

  • Yes, there are users -- at this moment, only developers from IBM and its business partners are able to use this port due to hardware availability (exception: the porter box). In the future (i.e., after hardware general availability) anyone may be able to use it.

Is there kernel and toolchain support? At what level? Are the latest versions supported, or are legacy releases required for compatibility with some hardware?

  • Yes. The architecture support started with these versions, which are recent:
  • Linux kernel: 3.13
  • GCC: 4.8
  • glibc: 2.18
  • binutils: 2.24

Has the ABI stabilised, or are there major ABI changes coming up? Is the ABI stable enough to ensure users will be able just "apt-get dist-upgrade" from one version to the next?

How do you install a system? (URL to a HOWTO)

Currently, running debootstrap from another port/architecture and running debootstrap second-stage from the port.

https://wiki.debian.org/ppc64el

Has a buildd been setup? How much of the archive has been built (count by source package, builds of old versions are fine for this case)?

What hardware is potentially available as a fast buildd?

  • The servers on which this port runs -- they are sufficiently fast for building packages.

Is there an example box developers can login to to see if it works?

  • Not at the moment. A process to create a porter box is in place.

It's also worth considering whether the port has any special requirements. If the port is mainly for embedded systems, it may be appropriate to have different installation or release arrangements compared to normal desktop/workstation architectures.

  • Initially, the port runs in qemu/kvm guests.