Re: ARM 64?

[Michael Tremer <michael.tremer@ipfire.org>]

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Hello,

On Thu, 2018-05-24 at 11:32 +1000, Mathew McBride wrote:
> Hi Michael,
> From the software side, the support in the kernel is fairly good, mainline
> 4.15 and later works. We (Traverse) only maintain a patchset for some small
> drivers (such as hwmon sensors not yet in the kernel - not required to boot)
> and other minor fixes not yet applied upstream.

Any idea if 4.14 works? We are going to use this kernel as the next one because
it is a long-term supported one.

> If you build an image that uses UEFI boot it will work on both our hardware
> (bare metal), as a VM and on the ARM64 server platforms (Ampere/XGene,
> Centriq, ThunderX), or even our competitors (MacchiatoBin etc.)

I got an XGene. Not really a fan of that EFI thing it came with, but u-boot was
in a horrible state a few years ago, too.

  https://planet.ipfire.org/post/our-start-with-arm64-the-applied-micro-mustang

> The big difference is that we use u-boot and it's EFI implementation - and
> that is improving at a rate that we don't feel it necessary to port TianoCore
> to our board. 

Haven't tried u-boot in EFI mode, yet. But it is a good to have everything open
and freely distributable for us. I suppose u-boot is living in the NAND flash
and the OS is on SSD or SD card?

> The board Guy linked (LS1043-S) is our OEM/volume product, and he can brief
> you on the pricing off-list. 

Thanks for that.

> We also have a 'hacker' oriented product in the pipeline (Five64 -
> https://traverse.com.au/products/five64-arm64-platform/ ) - which is currently
> in the PCB layout phase. This one has a wider feature set (NVMe SSD, ATX PSU
> on/off, ability to 'debrick' the flash and control via a separate BMC board). 
> This is one we intend to be available to everyone (through CrowdSupply - via
> the campaign and beyond), which addresses the channel 'accessibility' issue
> (in terms of individuals and small operators being able to buy them). It's
> pricing will be similar to the other boards (Omnia, Novena, Atom C2000/C3000).
> 
> Regards,
> Matt

-Michael

> 
> -------- Forwarded Message -------- 
> Subject: 
> Re: ARM 64?
> Date: 
> Wed, 23 May 2018 10:58:00 +0100
> From: 
> Michael Tremer mailto:michael.tremer(a)ipfire.org
> To: 
> mailto:guy(a)traverse.com.au, mailto:development(a)lists.ipfire.org
> 
> Hello Guy,
> 
> thank you very much for getting in touch.
> 
> Yes, we are working on an ARM 64 port, but so far we have not seen any
> hardware
> that was worth doing the port for. All those small and cheap single-board
> computers lack power, the bigger systems are basically unavailable and way too
> expensive.
> 
> This board is way different though. CPU, Memory and especially the NICs are
> something that are way better sized and make a nice small appliance for bigger
> SOHOs or small to medium-sized offices.
> 
> Not entirely sure why there is only one 10G port. Usually where 10G goes in,
> it
> has to go out somewhere else again...
> 
> The big question is what software support is like in the Linux kernel for
> this.
> I have seen the patches linked on the product page and can only defer to Arne
> to
> have a look at it.
> 
> My question would now be: What is the desired RRP for this or wholesale? I am
> just curious to find out if it is competitive or if people would find it too
> expensive and buy Intel again. Then we shouldn't really bother with putting
> the
> time into a port. If you are not comfortable sharing prices on the list,
> please
> feel free to email me in private about this.
> 
> About the sponsorship. Thank you very much for considering us. I would be
> happy
> to have a closer look. Would you be able to ship this into the UK or Germany?
> 
> Best,
> -Michael
> 
> On Wed, 2018-05-23 at 12:46 +1000, Guy Ellis wrote:
> > Dear list,
> > 
> > Just wondering if there is any interest in supporting ARM 64 hardware 
> > moving forward?
> > 
> > We can assist with donated hardware and support if there is interest.
> > https://traverse.com.au/products/ls1043s-router-board/
> > 
> > Regards,
> >   - Guy.
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
>