[Arm-dev] ?==?utf-8?q? supported 64bit hardware

Tue Dec 6 09:15:36 UTC 2016
Jacco Ligthart <jacco at redsleeve.org>

Hi,

I previously build and packaged an aarch64 kernel for the C2 based on their kernel source on github. If there is interest in that, I could share that.

The building was a bit troublesome, as it did not work with the standard gcc in CentOS7. So I also rebuild a newer gcc from SCL.

Jacco

 
On Sunday, 04 December, 2016 15:27 CET, Nick Hardiman <nick at internetmachines.co.uk> wrote: 
 
> I was on the verge of buying a couple small SBCs back in September, to install CentOS on. But then I stopped to concentrate on my RHCE exam. Now I’m trying to pick up where I left off.
> 
> I remember Uli Middleburg said Odroid C2 was not far off having all device drivers in the mainline kernel. 
> 
> How’s kernel support for the LeMaker HiKey? Have things moved on since Jim Perrin wrote these build instructions? 
> https://people.centos.org/jperrin/hikey/ReadMe.txt <https://people.centos.org/jperrin/hikey/ReadMe.txt>
> 
> 
> 
> > On 19 Sep 2016, at 18:25, Nick Hardiman <nick at internetmachines.co.uk> wrote:
> > 
> > 
> >> On 18 Sep 2016, at 18:55, Jeffrey Walton <noloader at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> 
> >> There are four small ARMv8 dev-boards I am aware. I have all of them
> >> for testing software. They are:
> >> 
> >> * LeMaker HiKey (Aarch64, ASIMD, CRC, Crypto)
> >> * Pine64 (Aarch64, ASIMD, CRC, Crypto)
> >> * ODROID-C2 (Aarch64, ASIMD, CRC)
> >> * Raspberry Pi-3 (Armhf (not even Aarch32))
> > 
> > Good summary, thanks.
> > 
> >> I would avoid the RPI3. Its in a crummy configuration, and mine died
> >> after about 2 weeks.
> > 
> > That’s a shocker. I will strike the RPi from my list of possibles - seems a shame. I wonder how durable the others are.
> > 
> > What I want to do here is find out if these are useful for offloading simple services - maybe one per board. I don’t know the advantages of a set of small, physically discrete, devices running a set of services, and I’d like to find out. I know they’d be a trainwreck for a customer-facing dynamically generated website. But what about NTP? True randomness maybe? How would they handle generating Kerberos tickets, or providing service discovery? Does XEN slow them down to a crawl? Can they generate synthetic load, and monitor the results? No idea.
> > 
> > I may be barking up the wrong tree here. If UEFI is the way forward, I don’t imagine a distro-maintained kernel package will ever be supplied for any of these consumer-size boards. So there’s no avoiding u-boot tinkering, /boot/ copying or kernel compiling when dealing with consumer boards like these. Does that sound right?
> > 
> >> At the higher end, there are two servers I am aware. I believe the
> >> Applied Micro X-gene is the Mustang board.
> >> 
> >> * Mustang board (early ones lack CRC and Crypto)
> >> * Overdrive 1000 (AMD ARMv8 processor)
> > 
> > I searched for the Gigabyte MP30-AR0 after Gordan described it. It’s not right for my pet project here, but I can see the appeal for the day job. And if this 32 core X-Gene3 appears, maybe that will be a lot of bang for your buck.
> > 
> >> The Overdrive never arrived (more
> >> correctly, it never shipped), and I'm trying to get a refund on the
> >> purchase.
> > 
> > Sorry to hear that. Sounds like there are more of these bigger boards on the way - Lenovator Cello maybe?
> > 
> > I don’t know about Cavium, and AMD's Seattle chipsets.
> > 
> > Thanks for the help. I am enlightened.
> > Nick
> > 
>