Arch linux ps3 project

spoonie_aus · 2009-03-12 10:42:47

Hi all

I have to say I'm really impressed with arch linux. I've been running Arch on my x86_64 for about 3 months now and it works really well. I changed from gentoo, got sick of bloated ebuilds, and x86_64 problems but anyway I just got a AUS 80 ps3 so what did I do, install gentoo linux on it. But I would really like to get Arch linux running on the ps3 and I was thinking if anyone else out there was interested in making a fork of arch linux just for the ps3. Ive found some docs to getting Arch on the ps3 but it uses gentoo to install it. A full on arch port would be bloody wicked:D.

If anyone is interested please reply.

thanks all

uncholowapo · 2009-03-29 06:34:12

I would also love a PS3 port of this awsome distro. I installed Arch on my laptop and the fans have never been quieter.

Coming from RPM, pacman is great and want to have it on my PS3 as well. Also AUR is genius.

Yellowdog is ok for beginners but I consider myself far from one.

I would love to help out in any way I can.

Last edited by uncholowapo (2009-03-29 06:35:26)

Vintendo · 2009-03-29 14:47:25

Isn't the PS3 just a PPC machine. So in theory you could use Arch linux ppc

CheesyBeef · 2009-03-29 15:53:52

I am very interested in getting Arch on my PS3. I'm tired of the yellow dog linux bloat I have on there right now. And yeah, I believe there is some Arch PPC documentation in the wiki on getting it installed on the PS3. I haven't really looked into it.

But I would really like to have a minimal distro configured to my liking on my PS3, and I rather do it with Arch than Gentoo.

.:B:. · 2009-03-29 19:17:18

I'd say get your hands dirty then . I had Arch installed on my PS3 but the locked-down GPU is a real PITA. You have to run on a framebuffer - imagine on 1080p - and it makes things dog slow. I don't know if YDL has access to stuff regular mortals cannot see, but if not, then performance will probably shabby as well.

The wiki contains enough info to get a hackish setup going on the PS3. I'd say if you all want a PS3 ISO, why not build it yourself? Arch is a get your hands dirty distro for something...

Good luck .

uncholowapo · 2009-03-29 19:54:24

Well I come from FTP installs so a 4.2GB ISO won't cut it for me . I would say to try and get a sort of "Live CD" like Gentoo does and have it access a special PS3 pacman repo for our Cell related needs. The problem is that I don't know how to do it. How was gentoo able to do it?

Last edited by uncholowapo (2009-03-29 20:01:40)

spoonie_aus · 2009-03-30 04:48:14

Ive just compiled a gentoo stage3 on my ps3 using the gentoo ppc64stage3 and building the system with the make falgs.

CHOST="powerpc64-unknown-linux-gnu"
CFLAGS="-Os -pipe -mcpu=cell -mabi=altivec"
CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}"
MAKEOPTS="-j1"
AUTOCLEAN="yes"
USE="symlink altivec"
INPUT_DEVICES="evdev keyboard mouse"

a few errors happed but no biggie.

If we could recompile a arch linux ppc64 base system with cell cflags would be a starting ponit.

We would have to setup a Cell pacman repo aswell.

For a live/install cd I was thinking recompiling the arch ppc cd and giving it a go?

Last edited by spoonie_aus (2009-03-30 04:48:55)

.:B:. · 2009-03-30 08:10:12

uncholowapo wrote:

Well I come from FTP installs so a 4.2GB ISO won't cut it for me .

I don't know where you are seeing this 4,2 GB ISO o_O

uncholowapo · 2009-03-30 09:41:59

B wrote:

uncholowapo wrote:
Well I come from FTP installs so a 4.2GB ISO won't cut it for me .
I don't know where you are seeing this 4,2 GB ISO o_O

It was meant to be a little humor about YDL. Guess I am no Gabriel Iglesias . Anyways, I agree with the guy above you, having a base compiled for the cell and a pacman repo for the Cell. Now, who has the bandwidth to give? I am only 17 so I barely know how to make blog let alone a repo:lol:. I do know linux inside out though.

Oh and spoonie don't you think it should be "-j2" for the MAKEOPTS since it is the # of cores you have + 1?

Last edited by uncholowapo (2009-03-30 09:46:23)

spoonie_aus · 2009-03-30 09:42:08

http://ftp.iinet.net.au/pub/archlinux/i … e-i686.img 329.22 MB
http://ftp.iinet.net.au/pub/archlinux/i … e-i686.iso 310.95 MB

make up a core installer medium like i686 or the x86_64 so you get a core system running on a ps3 and then the user builds off that.

sorry B ment core/installer

uncholowapo · 2009-03-30 09:54:50

Ok. Well how about getting a "dirty" install of arch on the ps3 and then using archiso to create an ISO image from the PS3 itself? That's a start atleast. We will just need to add a /etc/kboot.conf or /etc/yaboot.conf so that it can boot off from the bootloader of our choice.

spoonie_aus · 2009-03-30 10:12:10

That a starting point uncholowapo. I found this guide a while a go http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ins … C_on_a_PS3 it will get arch ppc running on the ps3. We can start there. Would you like to start a Arch cell project?

uncholowapo · 2009-03-30 10:16:24

Sure. Spring Break is coming up and will give me more time to be on my PS3 (albiet from my moms orders ). Until then I can keep making some progress after school. Then I can get to the hard stuff. What I have in mind right now is to install arch using that link you gave me and then compiling a kernel for the PS3 using all the optimizations that I can put in while still being consistant. It is better than cross-compiling on an x86 box.

Last edited by uncholowapo (2009-03-30 10:27:08)

spoonie_aus · 2009-03-30 10:43:58

I've havent really got cross-compiling to work all that well but give it a go. I can do a bit every day after work and on weekends, can leave my ps3 to bulid packages througt the day also. I'm no linux epert either just played around with gentoo a fair bit on my x86_64. I could set my pc up as a dev repo, really dont know where to start with that tho .

spoonie_aus · 2009-03-30 10:50:05

hear are some info on the ps3 kernel
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/ … ell/README

I found a doc wich listed all the modules that the ps3 pachset would need to build to run on the ps3

uncholowapo · 2009-03-30 15:45:48

Ok. I'll take a look at it when I get home today.

.:B:. · 2009-03-30 17:32:16

uncholowapo wrote:

Sure. Spring Break is coming up and will give me more time to be on my PS3 (albiet from my moms orders ). Until then I can keep making some progress after school. Then I can get to the hard stuff. What I have in mind right now is to install arch using that link you gave me and then compiling a kernel for the PS3 using all the optimizations that I can put in while still being consistant. It is better than cross-compiling on an x86 box.

I have tried a lot of times to build a toolchain for the PS3, and it never worked out. Danimoth sent me an e-mail a while ago about the PKGBUILDs but I seem to have ditched them a while ago... Up to a certain point it would go fiine but after that - no. I remember someone else having tried to build packages (and written PKGBUILDs on which mine were based) but I don't remember who it was anymore - surely another Arch user.

I have heard a lot of people say it's not worth it to compile on the PS3 directly. You need special libraries (like libspe I think) to take advantage of the different setup. I should dig a bit into my bookmark collection about Linux and the PS3. The best is to cross-compile on your system (doesn't matter PPC or x86, although PPC would make it easier of course). If you want to go all the way, you can do a 64 bit PPC build (multilib is your best bet, probably).

There's lots of useful stuff (also source code for the Linux-specific tools) here.

Uncholowapo: I also deleted your double post, looks a bit cleaner that way . For some reason users can't delete there own posts .

uncholowapo · 2009-03-30 17:47:03

Thanks. Well I have studied linux on the PS3 very in depth and can say it is no walk in Fairy World. I actually started with YDL 5.0 2 years ago as my first distro and it was great and probably the most optimized distro for the PS3 that Sony actually got in contact with.

I think I have a good enough knowledge from reading some of IBM's docs for the Cell B/E and it's requirements for a distro. I just don't know how to implement them And then I found this thread.

Last edited by uncholowapo (2009-03-30 17:49:47)

.:B:. · 2009-03-30 17:53:25

Sounds like you know a lot more than me about it .

uncholowapo · 2009-04-03 03:47:17

Sorry I was out, graduation tests are tedious . I'll be getting to work on this in the week to come.

Last edited by uncholowapo (2009-04-03 03:47:38)

spoonie_aus · 2009-04-03 11:33:12

I see MESA are making a cell opengl driver http://www.mesa3d.org/cell.html so linux on the ps3 could realy be use outher stuff besides number crunching. Going to try to get the arch ppc running on my ps3 over the weekend. will try to recompile with

CARCH="ppc64"
CHOST="powerpc64-unknown-linux-gnu"
CFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -mcpu=cell -mabi=altivec"
CXXFLAGS="-O2 -pipe -mcpu=cell -mabi=altivec"
MAKEFLAGS="-j3"

will report how it goes

uncholowapo · 2009-04-03 12:47:54

I tried it on YDL and it is in it's early stages of rendering in 3D. Running glxgears with it, I get decent numbers, nothing too outstanding though.

Atleast someone is trying though.

I'm wondering if the PPC port of Archlinux installs a 32-bit kernel or a 64-bit kernel and if it runs in full 64-bit userland or 32-bit.

.:B:. · 2009-04-03 13:01:25

It is full 32 bit, it's mainly aimed at the PPC Macs and afaik only the later desktops were 64 bit.

uncholowapo · 2009-04-03 19:08:21

That takes away from the media capabilities that Macs are famous for doesn't it?

Anyways, I was aiming for 64-bit but I don't think most people would be able to take advantage of it i.e. SPU's.

.:B:. · 2009-04-03 20:14:28

I guess if you are gonna build stuff from scratch you might as well aim for 64 bit right away .

Arch Linux

#1 2009-03-12 10:42:47

Arch linux ps3 project

#2 2009-03-29 06:34:12

Re: Arch linux ps3 project

#3 2009-03-29 14:47:25

Re: Arch linux ps3 project

#4 2009-03-29 15:53:52

Re: Arch linux ps3 project

#5 2009-03-29 19:17:18

Re: Arch linux ps3 project

#6 2009-03-29 19:54:24

Re: Arch linux ps3 project

#7 2009-03-30 04:48:14

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#8 2009-03-30 08:10:12

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