Debian does not impose hardware requirements beyond the requirements of the Linux kernel and the GNU tool-sets. Therefore, any architecture or platform to which the Linux kernel, libc, gcc, etc. have been ported, and for which a Debian port exists, can run Debian. Please refer to the Ports pages at http://www.debian.org/ports/mipsel/ for more details on Mipsel architecture systems which have been tested with Debian.
Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for Mipsel , this section contains general information and pointers to where additional information can be found.
Debian "sarge" supports eleven major architectures and several variations of each architecture known as 'flavors'.
| Architecture | Debian Designation | Subarchitecture | Flavor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel x86-based | i386 | vanilla | |
| speakup | |||
| linux26 | |||
| Motorola 680x0 | m68k | Atari | atari |
| Amiga | amiga | ||
| 68k Macintosh | mac | ||
| VME | bvme6000 | ||
| mvme147 | |||
| mvme16x | |||
| DEC Alpha | alpha | generic | |
| jensen | |||
| nautilus | |||
| Sun SPARC | sparc | sun4cdm | |
| sun4u | |||
| ARM and StrongARM | arm | netwinder | |
| riscpc | |||
| shark | |||
| lart | |||
| IBM/Motorola PowerPC | powerpc | CHRP | chrp |
| PowerMac | powermac, new-powermac | ||
| PReP | prep | ||
| APUS | apus | ||
| HP PA-RISC | hppa | PA-RISC 1.1 | 32 |
| PA-RISC 2.0 | 64 | ||
| Intel ia64-based | ia64 | ||
| MIPS (big endian) | mips | SGI Indy/I2 | r4k-ip22 |
| MIPS (little endian) | mipsel | DEC Decstation | r4k-kn04 |
| r3k-kn02 | |||
| IBM S/390 | s390 | tape | |
| vmrdr |
This document covers installation for the Mipsel architecture. If you are looking for information on any of the other Debian-supported architectures take a look at the Debian-Ports pages.
Complete information regarding supported mips/mipsel machines can be found at Linux MIPS HOWTO. The purpose of this section is to describe the systems supported by the boot disks.
Currently only DECstations with R3000 and R4000/R4400 CPUs are supported by the Debian installation system on little endian MIPS. The Debian installation system works on the following machines:
| System Type | CPU | Code-name | Debian subarchitecture |
|---|---|---|---|
| DECstation 5000/1xx | R3000 | 3MIN | r3k-kn02 |
| DECstation 5000/150 | R4000 | 3MIN | r4k-kn04 |
| DECstation 5000/240 | R3000 | 3MAX+ | r3k-kn02 |
| DECstation 5000/260 | R4400 | 3MAX+ | r4k-kn04 |
| Personal DECstation 5000/xx | R3000 | Maxine | r3k-kn02 |
| Personal DECstation 5000/50 | R4000 | Maxine | r4k-kn04 |
Linux/MIPS also works on the DECstation 5000/200, but this is not supported by the Debian installation system currently.
Serial console is available on all supported DECstations (9600 bps, 8N1). For using serial console, you have to boot the installer image with the "console=ttySx" kernel parameter (with "x" being the number of the serial port you have your terminal connected to - usually "2", but "0" for the Personal DECstations). On 3MIN and 3MAX+ (DECstation 5000/1xx, 5000/240 and 5000/260) local console is available with the PMAG-BA and the PMAGB-B graphics options.
If you would like to have support for other subarchitectures, please contact the debian-mips mailing list.
If you have a Linux system to use as serial terminal, an easy way is to run cu (part of the uucp package) on it. Example:
cu -l /dev/ttyS1 -s 9600 |
where the option "-l" (line) sets the serial port to use and "-s" (speed) sets the speed for the connection (9600 bits per second).
Debian's support for graphical interfaces is determined by the underlying support found in XFree86's X11 system. The newer AGP video slots are actually a modification on the PCI specification, and most AGP video cards work under XFree86. Details on supported graphics buses, cards, monitors, and pointing devices can be found at http://www.xfree86.org/. Debian "sarge" ships with XFree86 version 4.3.0.