Re: Debian IA-64
Hello,
2012/6/25 MG <marcogb@xs4all.nl>:
>> I'm running Debian on a 2003 hp workstation zx6000 with two
>> 1.5GHz McKinley CPUs
>
> Those are "Madison" processors actually, but I assume you
> run the "McKinley" kernel?
Yes, I'm running the McKinley kernel.
>> 24GB RAM, three stock 15000rpm SCSI U320 73GB HDDs and
>> stock ATI FireGL X1 256MB AGP Pro graphics adapter.
>
> Nice, did you recently upgrade the memory? These are great
> systems, it's a shame that Linux isn't optimal in its
> current shape and we definitely need to change that!
I didn't got my zx6000 with so much memory. I had the opportunity to
max it out at a very good price, so yes, I updated it, but not
recently. Maybe two years ago?
> I recently also got the advice from an (ex-?)Gentoo developer
> that it's best, or recommended actually, to *remove*(!) the
> iLO/MP card (with the Radeon 7000 on-board), for the obvious
> EFI-inadequate reasons... I may just try that and see if I
> get more luck. Just to see if DRM/DRI, or any other worth-
> while progress in terms of getting a good, solid, up-to-date
> Linux IA-64 environment up and running. From there on I can
> slowly start experimenting with combinations of iLO/MP cards
> included and excluded, per different graphics adapter
> combination. I'll also start documenting my steps more.
This may be a track to follow. I don't have a MP card in my zx6000 and
seem to experience less issues than you ;-)
>> 3D hardware acceleration (through r300g driver) can be rock stable
>> nowadays... or not at all. That is, the exact same binary (e.g.
>> Quake III) can run flawlessly for hours or randomly triggers high
>> CPU usage within minutes or seconds (with lot of IB schedule error
>> messages recorded in the logs), leaving system barely usable.
I should add that, since the switch to Mesa 8.0, 3D hardware
acceleration is once again badly broken :-(
While simple GL applications like glxgears run flawlessly, Quake III
demo freezes the system within seconds, monitor enters in sleep mode
and a hard reset finally occurs. With orphan inodes deleted at next
boot...
> By the way, unrelated (to the subject at hand), but purely out of
> curiosity: Did you manage to install the SPs for XP IA-64? That
> might be rather worthwhile for you, with your maxed out memory.
> (Else I think there's a memory limit of 16 Gbytes.)
Yes, my Windows install is "up to date" (support was killed in 2004
IIRC), though the 16GB limit is still there.
> Your dedication is very much appreciated! Maybe we should set up a
> site like LinuxAlpha has, or rather its Wiki section. Have you ever
> seen it? I really love the sense of community there. Especially the
> parts where people, those involved, share which systems they have and
> so forth. I think this may do wonders for Linux IA-64, so that people
> out there see that there are people running Linux, or making attempts
> thereto, and proudly so. (I'm not sure if I brought this up before.)
There is such a website: The Gelato Community --- Linux on Itanium
(http://www.gelato.org) but it seems unmaintained nowadays and the old
forums have disappeared. I remember some interesting discussions there
with David Mosberger or Bjorn Helgaas, circa 2007...
Emeric
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