Subject: Re: SGI / Linux

From: [email-masked] (Ariel Faigon)
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 13:31:42 -0800 (PST)

Paul,

[Ccing the Linux mailing list]

Thanks for offering to help. 

If you can get your hands on an experimental Indy and write
a good HOWTO on how to get Linux running on it it'll be
a long way to make what we have usable for many more people.

In order to do that you should:

	1) Subscribe to our mailing list:
		To: [email-masked]
		Body:
		subscribe linux [email-masked]

	2) Grep the archive for multiple relevant postings
		http://reality.sgi.com/ariel/linux.gz

There are two ways to boot:

	1) Remotely (bootp) all filesystem remote
	   (relatively easy, but slow)

	2) Create local efs or e2fs filesystems and boot
	   from local disk. This is preferred but currently
	   requires some bootstrapping complex steps
	   (and completing the efs linux support by Mike Shaver)

1) Is partly (and possibly inaccurately) documented
2) Is black art, never documented

Ideally we would like to tell people:
"To boot Linux on your Indy all you need is a spare SCSI disk
 (so you can keep all your IRIX stuff) and here's the HOWTO"

In short a dual boot system (IRIX/Linux) that is easy to setup.

www.linux.sgi.com still doesn't have a really easy HOWTO
on how to get there.

Lastly: if your organization is a big SGI customer and is in
interested in seeing Linux work, we'll be happy to hear more
details (e.g why?).

--
Peace, Ariel

:
:*Documentation: complete and easy to understand SGI/Linux HOWTOs
:*A lot more userland porting - get to a bona-fide Red Hat like 
:distribution. 
:
:* Tell a little about yourself, your expertise, and projects you've worked
:on in the past.
:
:Paul Prawdiuk / Network Engineer. I work on networks on a large scale.
:Projects have all been network related.
:
:* What would you like to work on?  
:I am sure I could work on documentation for this project.
:I might also be able to port a few applications. I am not a programmer by
:trade but do have some programming skills.
:
:* How much time can you invest in it (per day/week)? 
:Not sure, it is to be determined.
:
:* How long do you think it would take you to complete? 
:See above.
:
:* What help would you need from us 
:Not much. My company uses a ton of SGI stuff including lots of O2 and Indy
:machines. 
:
:* notes
:I should be able to get an Indy to work on. 
:I would really love to see this for O2 boxes.
:
:PS. Is their plans for the new portable file system?
:

-- 
Peace, Ariel

---

From: [email-masked] (Alan Cox)
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 22:29:40 +0000 (GMT)

> 	   (and completing the efs linux support by Mike Shaver)

	3) Alan's semi-mythical and slightly buggy ext2installer tool

	This is the one that should ideally get documented - and debugged 8)

	I'll put some bits up soon, but because the tools have to work
	with file definitions different to the host OS, its a horrible
	horrible hack.

On other points anyone currently working on merging to 2.1.63, and the
status on the dynamic link bugs and X11 - Any chance of a serverless
XFree86 build set for the SGI yet - that'll let me build most of the
remaining RPMs

Alan

---

From: Alex deVries <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 17:59:27 -0500 (EST)

> 	3) Alan's semi-mythical and slightly buggy ext2installer tool

Where can I get a copy of the semi-real portion of this?

- A

---

From: [email-masked] (Alan Cox)
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 23:26:02 +0000 (GMT)

> Where can I get a copy of the semi-real portion of this?

I'll put one up tomorrow so long as everyone promises not to be rude about
the code. Its based on the Mac68K linux installer.

Alan

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 00:31:04 +0100

> XFree86 build set for the SGI yet - that'll let me build most of the

Miguel has done some work on X.  The problem with X is that the dynamic
linker as currently in the CVS on Linus won't work with X.  There are a
couple more of features in the dynamic linker that want to be fixed; I
have a kind of semifixes for them.

I'm going to merge things upto 2.1.63 when I've fixed some other things.
During the semester holidays I fixed a large number of bugs in the MIPS
code but broke support for another machine, my favorite testing box ...

  Ralf

---

From: Alex deVries <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 17:41:40 -0500 (EST)

> the code. Its based on the Mac68K linux installer.

We promise.

Uh, how would this fit in with RPM?  Would it be possible to run the Irix
version of RPM to pre-load the packages on an ext2 disk?

- Alex

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 00:29:34 +0100

> version of RPM to pre-load the packages on an ext2 disk?

Only with limitations as RPM may try to run Linux batches and programs.

  Ralf

---

From: [email-masked] (Alan Cox)
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 00:02:44 +0000 (GMT)

> version of RPM to pre-load the packages on an ext2 disk?

The cpio code Im using is actually from Erik's RPM 2.4.8. Conceptually
there is no problem installing RPM's with it. However there are good reasons
why not to - notably the libe2fs code doesnt not have the fragmentation
evasion stuff the real ext2 does.

No I see the install as a variant of that program so something like

fdisk /dev/whatever
mke2fs /dev/dsk/whatever
mklinuxswap /dev/dsk/swapdisk
installer
load some basic cpio's

boot linux - add the rpms.

Alan

---

From: [email-masked] (Alan Cox)
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 00:03:07 +0000 (GMT)

> We promise.

ftp://ftp.uk.linux.org/pub/linux/SGI

---

From: Shrijeet Mukherjee <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 12:16:52 -0800 (PST)

Hi all, 

I just wanted to make something certain, b4 I went and banged my head all
the way, about linux ports for SGI h/w.

I have recently acquired a 100Mhz R4K indigo .. would mips/linux work on
this, as this is a r4k machine .. ( I would presume the kernel should
work, while the device drivers may not ) ..

if yes, is there something else I need to do to make that happen .. if not
can I hack my way into making that happen.

If hacking is possible, then could somebody send me some pointers .. since
what I want to work on, is the Xserver ..

Thanx

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shrijeet Mukherjee,    			Member of Technical Staff (MTS)
					Advanced Graphics Division 
                     			Silicon Graphics Computer Systems

http://reality.sgi.com/shm_engr     	phone: 650-933-5312
email: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember, life is not about what happens to you but what you make of what 
happens to you. Everyone dies, but not everyone fully lives.

---

From: "William J. Earl" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 13:00:34 -0800

> what I want to work on, is the Xserver ..
...

       Most of the chips are similar, but not identical, to those in
the Indy, except for graphics, which is considerably different.  The
memory controller is the same, but many of the I/O parts are earlier
generations.  I don't believe I can readily locate the hardware
documentation for the parts which differ from Indy.  (I was able to
provide documentation for Indy, with management permission.)