Alternative Linux distributions for POWER processor-based systems A review of unsupported Linux distributions running on POWER5 ........ John Engel & Brent Baude IBM eServer Solutions Enablement January 2006 © Copyright IBM Corporation, 2006. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective holders Table of Contents Abstract..................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 4 Distribution test environments................................................................................................ 4 Standalone with a video card................................................................................................................... 4 Standalone with a serial console ............................................................................................................. 5 Logical partition........................................................................................................................................ 5 IBM-related software packages ............................................................................................... 6 iprutils....................................................................................................................................................... 6 ppc64utils and librtas ............................................................................................................................... 6 Dynamic LPAR tools................................................................................................................................ 7 openSUSE 10............................................................................................................................ 7 Install experience ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Standalone with video ..................................................................................................... 10 Standalone with serial ..................................................................................................... 10 Logical partition ............................................................................................................... 10 Library support ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Package management........................................................................................................................... 10 Fedora Core 4 ......................................................................................................................... 10 Install experience ................................................................................................................................... 10 Standalone with video ..................................................................................................... 11 Standalone with serial ..................................................................................................... 11 Logical partition ............................................................................................................... 11 Library support ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Package management........................................................................................................................... 11 Debian GNU/Linux.................................................................................................................. 11 Install experience ................................................................................................................................... 11 Alternative Linux distributions for POWER processor-based systems 2 Standalone with video ..................................................................................................... 13 Standalone with serial ..................................................................................................... 13 Logical partition ............................................................................................................... 13 Library support ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Package management........................................................................................................................... 14 Gentoo..................................................................................................................................... 14 Install experience ................................................................................................................................... 14 Standalone with video ..................................................................................................... 15 Standalone with serial ..................................................................................................... 15 Logical partition ............................................................................................................... 15 Library support ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Package management........................................................................................................................... 15 POWER-ready ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Conclusions and summary.................................................................................................... 16 Resources............................................................................................................................... 17 About the Authors.................................................................................................................. 17 Trademarks and special notices ........................................................................................... 17 Alternative Linux distributions for POWER processor-based systems 3 Abstract Follow along as the authors review several alternative Linux™ distributions for the POWER5™ platform. After discussing their test environment, they attempt to install Debian, Gentoo, openSUSE 10, and Fedora Core 4 on an IBM eServer™ OpenPower™ 720 system in a variety of configurations. In each case, the authors summarize their install experience as well as document any issues they found. Introduction As of the writing of this document, Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Version 9 (SLES9) (http://www.novell.com/products/linuxenterpriseserver/ ) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS Versions 3 and 4 (RHEL 3 and 4) ( http://www.redhat.com/en_us/USA/rhel/ ) are the only Linux™ distributions for the POWER5™ platform formally approved by IBM and the distributions themselves. Both are proven enterprise-ready Linux distributions in full production use on several different architectures. Most companies looking to sell their applications on the POWER™ platform target one of these two distributions. Therefore, most Linux users tend to go with these mainstream distributions because they provide the sort of function, reliability, and support need. However, a recent variant of distributions have cropped up that claim to work on POWER5 platforms. For lack of a better term, we will call these “alternate Linux distributions.” The purpose of this paper is to evaluate these alternate Linux distributions to see how advanced they are and get a better understanding of them. In this paper, we will review the latest version of OpenSuSE, Debian, Gentoo, and Fedora Core 4. In each review of the distribution, we have provided a small rating for the distribution based on our experiences with installing and using the distribution itself. These ratings are not related to each other, but rather our personal impressions and are not meant as an endorsement of any distribution over another. Some of these distributions are still works of progress; others are a bit more mature. And that is reflected in our experiences and ratings. Distribution test environments For test equipment, we used an eServer™ OpenPower™ 720 4-way system with ample disk and memory. To test the readiness of each distribution for a POWER5 system, we determined there are three common configurations that it needs to support. The differentiating factor in configurations is the configuration and enablement of the console device. In the upcoming sections, we describe each configuration and what sort of details need to be accounted for either in the kernel or the installer. Standalone with a video card The term standalone refers to a server that has not been logically partitioning. It, therefore, requires no HMC or Integrated Virtualization Manager. A standalone system can also use a PCI video card and monitor for a console and USB keyboard and mouse for input. A Matrox video card is the most commonly used video card on a POWER5 processor-based system. In order for a distribution to successfully operate in this configuration, the kernel