Hi

I installed Debian again on my Efika and it works well except I can't configure it with a static IP. Using dmesg, I obtain that :

fec_close : queues didn't drain
eth0 : config: auto-negotiation on, 100HDX, 10HDX

Is this a known bug ? Is there a patch ?

I have no idea why this happens and personally have not experienced it, it is probably something to do with the way ifupdown works on Debian (I always had a problem getting DHCP but it would always eventually work)

What kernel version are you using? It may work better with Domen Puncer's network driver (2.6.24 and above I think) than the older one.

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Matt Sealey

Matt : I use all files given on efika.de, I see no other updates for kernel or drivers. Maybe some of them have been updated. Could you tell me where I can check ? Why not put new files on efika.de ?

Hi corto,

We won't be updating the Linux support on the EFIKA. If bplan spent the time they would need to continuously and progressively build new Linux images as the Linux community moves ahead, we would never get any new work done.

R&B :)

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http://bbrv.blogspot.com

Linux support for the MPC5200B is in mainline anyway. You can download the latest Linux kernel source (2.6.26) and build a kernel yourself, or find someone to do it for you.

Note that to build 2.6.26 you need a recent update to binutils (2.18 or above) due to a change in how the kernel is linked. You may also need updates to several userland utilities on Debian (for hard disk shutdown support, and udev).

All in all, I would recommend leaving Debian behind, and grabbing a copy of openSUSE 11.0.

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Matt Sealey

Which I might add provides a very nice experience at least on my Pegasos (haven't tried it on the EFIKA yet) :)

It leaves a little to be desired on Efika - mainly because there is limited memory, the disk is not DMA-capable (this means, swapping takes CPU time, and happens a lot). Boot time is also rather long. But this is true of every Linux distribution on these boards, it just so happens that SuSE is one of those that has a LOT of functionality, so there is more to turn off.

However picking Xfce and disabling a lot of unneeded services really does work to improve system response. We are doing tests this week on this.

The two things I really do think need solving are implementing the PIO-DMA support into libata (Tim Yamin's recent patch for UDMA support, we are testing and have found some "issues" with, in that it doesn't speed anything up or lessen CPU usage.. but that is probably because of a SuSE kernel patch that is totally FUBAR) and something really silly; being able to dedicate 32MB of my Radeon's memory to swap space while still using the Radeon for graphics. Swapping to PCI memory is not as fast as even swapping to disk but at least the PCI controller does DMA, and therefore it does not soak up CPU time.

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Matt Sealey

Hum ... that's so many things to get a well configured network driver ... I don't know if I will do that.

Thank you for your reply. I thought other people were using Debian here ...

I'm sorry we couldn't help. Those that are using Debian probably have compiled their own kernel by now either by kernel.org sources or using the Debian patches and rules from alioth (http://alioth.debian.org/scm/?group_id=30428) to make their own package.

We used to have a couple of people (Sven Luther and Konstantinos Margaritis) on the Debian teams here and there, but they have either been ousted through politiking or have left of their own volition over.. well, the politiking in Debian.

As such most of our support for Linux has been focussed on kernel support (for 2.6.19 as this is a target which will never move, although we do watch what people do with later kernels) and openSUSE, because openSUSE by far offers the best support for Power Architecture; it is not a "second rate" or "Macs only" environment. Fedora is close behind but their focus on non-proprietary software might not be compatible with our goals for future products..

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Matt Sealey

Hi.

You could try this kernel (ubuntu_efika) here:
http://www.cc.puv.fi/~jd/kernel_efika/

It's only a 2.6.22 - not sure if that will help though.

I can compile a 2.6.26 for Efika and host it as soon as I have the time...


Best regards,
Johan

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Johan Dams, Genesi USA Inc.
Director, Software Engineering

Yep, I have a blog... PurpleAlienPlanet

Hi.

Here: http://www.cc.puv.fi/~jd/kernel_efika/ you can now also find a 2.6.26 kernel for Efika. I did not have time to really test is, but it boots.

The 2.6.26.tar.gz should be installed in /lib/modules (although there are no modules, it prevents lots of warnings during boot)

The config file (config_2.6.26) is also there.


Hope this can help.
Johan.

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Johan Dams, Genesi USA Inc.
Director, Software Engineering

Yep, I have a blog... PurpleAlienPlanet

Hi all

My configuration with static IP finally works ! I was focusing on error messages reported by dmesg but it was coming from networking configuration (gateway in fact, maybe other things too).

Now I can use my Efika as a small server with MorphOS on dual boot !