diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | debian/changelog | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml | 13 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | en/hardware/supported/arm.xml | 95 |
3 files changed, 102 insertions, 10 deletions
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog index 44dcff179..b4997b6bd 100644 --- a/debian/changelog +++ b/debian/changelog @@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ installation-guide (201312xx) UNRELEASED; urgency=low [ Samuel Thibault ] * Reference the DEBIAN_FRONTEND parameter in the accessibility section. + [ Karsten Merker ] + * Update and extend the "Supported Hardware" section for armel + and armhf. + -- Martin Michlmayr <tbm@cyrius.com> Sat, 14 Dec 2013 10:20:37 +0000 installation-guide (20131009) unstable; urgency=low diff --git a/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml b/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml index 487ad2cd4..0c6b84208 100644 --- a/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml +++ b/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml @@ -75,12 +75,21 @@ variations of each architecture known as <quote>flavors</quote>. </row> <row> - <entry>ARM with hardware FPU</entry> - <entry>armhf</entry> + <entry morerows="1">ARM with hardware FPU</entry> + <entry morerows="1">armhf</entry> +<!--- <entry>Freescale</entry> <entry>mx5</entry> +--> + <entry>multiplatform</entry> + <entry>armmp</entry> +</row><row> + <entry>multiplatform for LPAE-capable systems</entry> + <entry>armmp-lpae</entry> </row> + + <row> <entry>Intel IA-64</entry> <entry>ia64</entry> diff --git a/en/hardware/supported/arm.xml b/en/hardware/supported/arm.xml index c899eec2d..f56a1ae57 100644 --- a/en/hardware/supported/arm.xml +++ b/en/hardware/supported/arm.xml @@ -6,24 +6,80 @@ <para> -Each distinct ARM architecture requires its own kernel. Because of -this the standard &debian; distribution only supports installation on -a number of the most common platforms. The &debian; userland however may be -used by <emphasis>any</emphasis> ARM CPU. +ARM systems are a lot more heterogenous than the i386/amd64-based PC +architecture, where all systems share a common system firmware (BIOS or/and +UEFI) which handles the board-specific basic hardware initialization in a +standardized way. + +The ARM architecture is used mainly in so-called "systems-on-chip" (SOCs). +These SOCs are designed by many different companies with vastly varying +hardware components even for the very basic functionality required to bring +the system up. Systems using them usually lack a common system firmware +interface and as a result, on ARM systems the Linux kernel has to take care +of many system-specific low-level issues which are handled by the +mainboard's BIOS in the PC world. </para> <para> -Most ARM CPUs may be run in either endian mode (big or little). However, -the majority of current system implementation uses little-endian mode. -&debian; currently only supports little-endian ARM systems. +At the beginning of the ARM support in the Linux kernel, this resulted in +the requirement of having a seperate kernel for each ARM system in contrast +to the "one-fits-all" kernel for PC systems. As this approach does not +scale to a large number of different systems, work has started to be able to +provide a single ARM kernel that can run on different ARM systems. Support +for newer ARM systems gets implemented in a way that allows the use of such +a multiplatform kernel, but for several older systems a seperate specific +kernel is still required. + +Because of this, the standard &debian; distribution only supports +installation on a selected number of older ARM systems in addition to the +newer systems which are supported by the ARM multiplatform (armmp) kernel. + +</para> + +<para> + +The ARM architecture has evolved over time and modern ARM processors provide +features which are not available in older models. &debian; therefore +provides two ARM ports, the &debian;/armel and the &debian;/armhf port. +&debian;/armel targets older ARM processors without support for a hardware +floating point unit (FPU), while &debian;/armhf works only on newer ARM +processors which implement at least the ARMv7 architecture with version 3 of +the ARM vector floating point specification (VFPv3). &debian;/armhf makes +use of the extended features and performance enhancements available on +these models. + +</para> + +<!-- +<para> + +While it is technically possible to run the &debian;/armel userland programs +on modern ARM processors, they cannot make use of several +performance-enhancing features of the newer processors, so if your hardware +fulfills the requirements of running the &debian;/armhf port, you should use +it instead of the &debian;/armel port. Mixing of armel and armhf packages +on the same system is not possible, so you have to decide which port to use +before installing the system. </para> +--> <para> +Technically, several ARM CPUs can be run in either endian mode (big or little), +but in practice the vast majority of currently available systems +uses little-endian mode. Both &debian;/armhf and &debian;/armel support +only little-endian systems. -The supported platforms are: +</para> + +<sect3 arch="arm"><title>Platforms supported by Debian/armel</title> + +<para> + +The following platforms are supported by &debian;/armel; they require +platform-specific kernels. <variablelist> @@ -86,4 +142,27 @@ test and run &debian; on ARM if you don't have the hardware. </variablelist> </para> +</sect3> + +<sect3 arch="arm"><title>Platforms supported by Debian/armhf</title> + + <para> + The following platforms are supported by &debian;/armhf using the + multiplatform (armmp) kernel: + + <variablelist> + + <varlistentry> + <term>Freescale MX53 Quick Start Board, Codename "LOCO"</term> + <listitem> + <para> + The IMX53QSB is a development board based on the i.MX53 SOC. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + </variablelist> + </para> +</sect3> + </sect2> |