Gentoo Linux/MIPS Frequently Asked QuestionsThis FAQ is intended to answer frequently asked questions about Gentoo/MIPS and Linux/MIPS that we receive from various users. It's aimed at both new users and experienced users alike. It has been split into a number of categories to make navigation easier. If you'd like to contribute to the FAQ or, having read this guide, you still have questions that are left unanswered, feel free to drop us a line. About the Gentoo/MIPS Project
MIPS Hardware FAQs
MIPS Software FAQs
Silicon Graphics Specific FAQs
Cobalt Specific FAQs 2. About the Gentoo/MIPS Project Gentoo/MIPS is a small project responsible for looking after the MIPS port of Gentoo Linux. Why install Gentoo Linux on MIPS? Okay, sure, some MIPS machines aren't the fastest boxes on the block these days. However, despite the age of some of these beasts, they still can make very functional, useful machines. A Cobalt Qube 2 could make a very nice broadband Internet router, capable of hosting websites, email, IRC and numerous other tasks. There are a number of reasons why you'd want to install Linux on this sort of hardware.
Why don't you port Gentoo to NetBSD/MIPS or IRIX? Hey, great idea. Unfortunately, a lot of the Gentoo/MIPS team already have their hands full looking after Linux/MIPS as well as other commitments. A project like this would fall under the umbrella of the Gentoo Prefix project. Some work has been done for IRIX, the remnants of which can be found in bugzilla. MIPS Technologies is a company that produce a number of RISC CPU cores which implement the MIPS Architecture. These processors appear in all sorts of hardware ranging from small embedded devices to large servers. It also happens to be an acronym; Millions of Instructions Per Second. What sort of hardware uses MIPS processors? In short... lots. MIPS Processors see use inside all sorts of machines, ranging from small PDAs (such as the early Windows CE powered Casio PDAs), X Terminals (e.g. Tektronix TekXPress XP330 series), through to workstations such as the Silicon Graphics Indy and O2 and even high end servers such as the Silicon Graphics Origin 2000. A comprehensive list can be found on the Linux/MIPS website ... and that's only scratching the surface. These machines are wide and varied. Many of them do not currently run Linux. Of those that do, we only support a handful, although you're welcome to port Gentoo/MIPS to any MIPS machine if you so wish. Some of these machines are also the focus of the Embedded Gentoo Project such as the Linksys WRT54G. For the first one an easy way to find out is to have a look at the Gentoo/MIPS requirements page. This will tell you if the system you've got can theoretically run Gentoo/MIPS. If you don't find your machine listed there, you may wish to have a look on the Linux/MIPS website to find it there. Installation won't be straightforward however, as the actual process of producing a kernel and suitable boot media for your hardware will have to be done largely by yourself. Naturally though, we'll try to help where we can. Why don't you support machine X If you've looked at the Gentoo/MIPS Hardware Requirements page, you've probably noticed there are a lot of machines we don't support. In the case of SGI hardware, very little is known about some of them, not enough to successfully port Linux to them. If you managed to get Linux working on a box currently listed as unsupported however, please tell us. We'd be interested to know. This will depend on the CPU type running in your system. The stage filename is named as follows:
For R4000-class CPUs, use a mips3 or mipsel3 stage tarball. For R5000-class or later CPUs, use a mips4 or mipsel4 stage tarball. I got an "Illegal Instruction" or "Cannot Execute Binary File" error message when chrooting. What did I do wrong? This is generally caused by using the wrong stage tarball. If you try to run a mips4 userland on a mips3 CPU, you'll get an illegal instruction error message. Likewise, if you have a Big Endian CPU and you try to run Little Endian code on it, you'll get cannot execute binary file. The fix is simple: clean out your partition, then unpack the correct tarball. 5. Silicon Graphics Specific FAQs Why doesn't my SGI machine netboot? This could be for any number of reasons, ranging from cabling issues, through to issues on the server. The best way to troubleshoot any problem is a step-by-step approach...
The machine downloads the kernel, but then "hangs" (using a monitor and keyboard – not serial console) Unfortunately, not all graphics frame buffers are supported under Linux yet. This doesn't mean you can't use the machine... it just means you'll need a null-modem serial cable to interact with it. It is quite possible that the machine is in fact running, however, the system is outputting to the serial console rather than the screen. Why won't my Cobalt machine boot? This could be for a number of reasons. Our easiest bet however is to run through a checklist and make sure everything is correct.
Why don't you support the Qube 2700? The Qube 2700 was the first of the Cobalt servers. While they are very nice machines, unfortunately, they lack a serial port. In other words, any interaction with the machine has to be done through a network. At present, our netboot images do not support this. The contents of this document, unless otherwise expressly stated, are licensed under the CC-BY-SA-2.5 license. The Gentoo Name and Logo Usage Guidelines apply. |
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