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Re: Porting Debian to the Excito B3



Le jeudi 27 janvier 2011, Martin Michlmayr a écrit :
> * Tanguy Ortolo <tanguy+debian@ortolo.eu> [2011-01-26 12:25]:
> > Thanks, it already has one:
> >     bubba3          MACH_BUBBA3     BUBBA3          2893
> > (Bubba is the old name for Excito home servers: Bubba and Bubba|2, the
> > third model's marketing name having been shortened to B3)
> 
> While there's a machine id, there's no kernel support for this device
> in the upstream kernel yet.  I suggest your first step is to work on
> this since Debian support will require a working kernel.

I see. They have published the support code at
<http://download.excito.net/kernel/Excito_B3/2.6.37/linux-2.6.37-ex1.patch.gz>.

It is quite similar to the code for other computers such as the Qnap
TS-219, but it is split between three file. I am not at all a kernel
hacker but it looks like it is about:
• flash modules, LED, buzzer and switches that are plugged to GPIO pins;
• Ethernet (two NICs);
• SATA;
• timer.

So indeed, it should not be very usable without this code. As I said it
is already written and published, but I am not sure it is yet in a state
eligible for mainstream inclusion. However, not being skilled enough in
C and kernel programming, I do not think I would not be able to do the
required refactoring. I am quite new to the ARM world and I did no
tthink there was so much small variations within a given platform
(Kirkwood, I mean, not ARM as a whole).

My point is not to get a custom Debian running on a given B3, as it is
in fact already the case for all the B3 sold, as they come with a custom
Debian, but rather to make them natively supported by pure Debian.

So I am not so sure I will be able to do that port, and I should
certainly not ask Excito to send me a free B3 for porting Debian to it
if I cannot actually do it.

-- 
 ,--.
: /` )   Tanguy Ortolo <xmpp:tanguy@ortolo.eu> <irc://irc.oftc.net/Elessar>
| `-'    Debian Maintainer
 \_

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