Re: will freebsd run on apple intel xserve
Jason Joines wrote: Gabriel Rossetti wrote: George Hartzell wrote: Jason Joines writes: > I'm a Linux guy who has inherited some apple xserve boxes. > Surprisingly I've discovered that I really hate os x. For the intel > xserve boxes, Linux isn't an option. The CPUs are amd64 architecture. AMD64on an Intel X-Serve box? I think you got it wrong there... Anyways, EFI support for Xeon CPUs should work without a problem, even for linux. I'm not sure about EFI support, I think it's fine in CURRENT, from what I've read on the net. Good luck, Gabriel > The EFI capable Linux bootloader, has had beta support for amd64 since > July. However, the Linux kernel just got support to boot via EFI and > amd64 in a release candidate patch this month. It'll probably be quite > a while before a distribution has an installer with what I need. > > At any rate, I've always wanted to try one of the BSDs. Will > FreeBSD install on an apple intel xserve? If not does anyone know if > another BSD or some other open source NIX will work? I can't give you a direct answer, but I was running 6-STABLE on an 8-way mac pro up until a couple of weeks ago (I had to give it back to it's owners and I'm waiting until after the next wwdc to buy my own...). I used bootcamp to partition a spare disk, then just booted from a freebsd cd and installed onto that partition. I ended up using refit as a boot doohickey (initially from an refit cd, eventually taking a chance on installing it onto the disk itself). There wasn't anything too surprising. g. Nope, it is the AMD64 architecture on apple intel xserve. Intel cloned it and called it Intel 64 and EM64T among other names. More vendor neutral names are x86-64 and x64. At any rate, many Linux distributions, and FreeBSD, release a version they call amd64 that runs on CPUs with this instruction set regardless of whether AMD or Intel created it. EFI support may be fine for amd64 xeon's but the elilo boot loader wouldn't work with amd64 until the latest beta. Even though the boot loader became capable in that beta, the Linux kernel wouldn't work with elilo on amd64 until 2.6.24-rc4. It may be fine with x86 xeons and it has always worked with ia64, just not amd64. I just don't know enough about FreeBSD to know if it or the bootloader(s) it uses have any of the same issues Linux does or not. Hopefully I'll get to go onsite soon and give it a try. Jason === Well I tried the amd64 version of FreeBSD 6.2 from the bootonly.iso and it didn't work either. Just like the Linux CDs, the xserve didn't even recognize it as bootable. Jason === ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: will freebsd run on apple intel xserve
George Hartzell wrote: Jason Joines writes: > George Hartzell wrote: > > Jason Joines writes: > > > I'm a Linux guy who has inherited some apple xserve boxes. > > > Surprisingly I've discovered that I really hate os x. For the intel > > > xserve boxes, Linux isn't an option. The CPUs are amd64 architecture. > > > The EFI capable Linux bootloader, has had beta support for amd64 since > > > July. However, the Linux kernel just got support to boot via EFI and > > > amd64 in a release candidate patch this month. It'll probably be quite > > > a while before a distribution has an installer with what I need. > > > > > > At any rate, I've always wanted to try one of the BSDs. Will > > > FreeBSD install on an apple intel xserve? If not does anyone know if > > > another BSD or some other open source NIX will work? > > > > I can't give you a direct answer, but I was running 6-STABLE on an > > 8-way mac pro up until a couple of weeks ago (I had to give it back to > > it's owners and I'm waiting until after the next wwdc to buy my > > own...). > > > > I used bootcamp to partition a spare disk, then just booted from a > > freebsd cd and installed onto that partition. I ended up using refit > > as a boot doohickey (initially from an refit cd, eventually taking a > > chance on installing it onto the disk itself). > > > > There wasn't anything too surprising. > > > > g. > > > > > > I didn't even know there was such a thing as an 8-way mac pro. > Unfortunately that probably doesn't mean much as far as the xserve boxes > go, at least not the intel xserve boxes. I'm running Linux on an intel > imac and an intel powerbook pro, and others are on the intel powerbook > and it runs on all the PowerPC stuff. However, all the intel boxes just > mentioned have BIOS emulation. The intel xserve boxes do not, boot camp > won't run on them and isn't supported on them. Well, I'm pretty fuzzy about what's hidden inside the various intel macs, but if will let you partition a disk from an os x install cd, will boot a freebsd boot disk from the cd (so you can do the install), and will boot from an refit cd (or via refit installed into the efi [sic?] boot area) then it'll go. FreeBSD doesn't need much from the bios, does it? If you send me an intel xserve, I'll take a shot at it :) g. It will partition a disk from an os x cd but I haven't got it to boot anything but os x from refit. I haven't got to try the FreeBSD boot disk yet, hopefully I'll get to go on site and do that soon. I don't know what FreeBSD nees from the bios. Linux doesn't normally need much. This issue is particular to EFI, elilo and the amd64 architecture. It works just fine with EFI, elilo, and ia64 and as far as I know works just fine with EFI and x86. Sure wish I could give 'em to ya. Jason === ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: will freebsd run on apple intel xserve
Gabriel Rossetti wrote: George Hartzell wrote: Jason Joines writes: > I'm a Linux guy who has inherited some apple xserve boxes. > Surprisingly I've discovered that I really hate os x. For the intel > xserve boxes, Linux isn't an option. The CPUs are amd64 architecture. AMD64on an Intel X-Serve box? I think you got it wrong there... Anyways, EFI support for Xeon CPUs should work without a problem, even for linux. I'm not sure about EFI support, I think it's fine in CURRENT, from what I've read on the net. Good luck, Gabriel > The EFI capable Linux bootloader, has had beta support for amd64 since > July. However, the Linux kernel just got support to boot via EFI and > amd64 in a release candidate patch this month. It'll probably be quite > a while before a distribution has an installer with what I need. > > At any rate, I've always wanted to try one of the BSDs. Will > FreeBSD install on an apple intel xserve? If not does anyone know if > another BSD or some other open source NIX will work? I can't give you a direct answer, but I was running 6-STABLE on an 8-way mac pro up until a couple of weeks ago (I had to give it back to it's owners and I'm waiting until after the next wwdc to buy my own...). I used bootcamp to partition a spare disk, then just booted from a freebsd cd and installed onto that partition. I ended up using refit as a boot doohickey (initially from an refit cd, eventually taking a chance on installing it onto the disk itself). There wasn't anything too surprising. g. Nope, it is the AMD64 architecture on apple intel xserve. Intel cloned it and called it Intel 64 and EM64T among other names. More vendor neutral names are x86-64 and x64. At any rate, many Linux distributions, and FreeBSD, release a version they call amd64 that runs on CPUs with this instruction set regardless of whether AMD or Intel created it. EFI support may be fine for amd64 xeon's but the elilo boot loader wouldn't work with amd64 until the latest beta. Even though the boot loader became capable in that beta, the Linux kernel wouldn't work with elilo on amd64 until 2.6.24-rc4. It may be fine with x86 xeons and it has always worked with ia64, just not amd64. I just don't know enough about FreeBSD to know if it or the bootloader(s) it uses have any of the same issues Linux does or not. Hopefully I'll get to go onsite soon and give it a try. Jason === ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: will freebsd run on apple intel xserve
George Hartzell wrote: Jason Joines writes: > I'm a Linux guy who has inherited some apple xserve boxes. > Surprisingly I've discovered that I really hate os x. For the intel > xserve boxes, Linux isn't an option. The CPUs are amd64 architecture. > The EFI capable Linux bootloader, has had beta support for amd64 since > July. However, the Linux kernel just got support to boot via EFI and > amd64 in a release candidate patch this month. It'll probably be quite > a while before a distribution has an installer with what I need. > > At any rate, I've always wanted to try one of the BSDs. Will > FreeBSD install on an apple intel xserve? If not does anyone know if > another BSD or some other open source NIX will work? I can't give you a direct answer, but I was running 6-STABLE on an 8-way mac pro up until a couple of weeks ago (I had to give it back to it's owners and I'm waiting until after the next wwdc to buy my own...). I used bootcamp to partition a spare disk, then just booted from a freebsd cd and installed onto that partition. I ended up using refit as a boot doohickey (initially from an refit cd, eventually taking a chance on installing it onto the disk itself). There wasn't anything too surprising. g. I didn't even know there was such a thing as an 8-way mac pro. Unfortunately that probably doesn't mean much as far as the xserve boxes go, at least not the intel xserve boxes. I'm running Linux on an intel imac and an intel powerbook pro, and others are on the intel powerbook and it runs on all the PowerPC stuff. However, all the intel boxes just mentioned have BIOS emulation. The intel xserve boxes do not, boot camp won't run on them and isn't supported on them. Jason === ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
will freebsd run on apple intel xserve
I'm a Linux guy who has inherited some apple xserve boxes. Surprisingly I've discovered that I really hate os x. For the intel xserve boxes, Linux isn't an option. The CPUs are amd64 architecture. The EFI capable Linux bootloader, has had beta support for amd64 since July. However, the Linux kernel just got support to boot via EFI and amd64 in a release candidate patch this month. It'll probably be quite a while before a distribution has an installer with what I need. At any rate, I've always wanted to try one of the BSDs. Will FreeBSD install on an apple intel xserve? If not does anyone know if another BSD or some other open source NIX will work? Jason Joines = ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
