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/ia64/ for more details on IA-64 architecture systems which have been tested with Debian.
Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for IA-64, this section contains general information and pointers to where additional information can be found.
Debian 5.0 supports eleven major architectures and several variations of each architecture known as “flavors”.
| Architecture | Debian Designation | Subarchitecture | Flavor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel x86-based | i386 | ||
| AMD64 & Intel EM64T | amd64 | ||
| DEC Alpha | alpha | ||
| ARM | arm | Netwinder and CATS | netwinder |
| armel | Versatile | versatile | |
| arm and armel | Intel IOP32x | iop32x | |
| Intel IXP4xx | ixp4xx | ||
| Marvell Orion | orion5x | ||
| HP PA-RISC | hppa | PA-RISC 1.1 | 32 |
| PA-RISC 2.0 | 64 | ||
| Intel IA-64 | ia64 | ||
| MIPS (big endian) | mips | SGI IP22 (Indy/Indigo 2) | r4k-ip22 |
| SGI IP32 (O2) | r5k-ip32 | ||
| MIPS Malta (32 bit) | 4kc-malta | ||
| MIPS Malta (64 bit) | 5kc-malta | ||
| Broadcom BCM91250A (SWARM) | sb1-bcm91250a | ||
| Broadcom BCM91480B (BigSur) | sb1a-bcm91480b | ||
| MIPS (little endian) | mipsel | Cobalt | cobalt |
| MIPS Malta (32 bit) | 4kc-malta | ||
| MIPS Malta (64 bit) | 5kc-malta | ||
| Broadcom BCM91250A (SWARM) | sb1-bcm91250a | ||
| Broadcom BCM91480B (BigSur) | sb1a-bcm91480b | ||
| IBM/Motorola PowerPC | powerpc | PowerMac | pmac |
| PReP | prep | ||
| Sun SPARC | sparc | sun4u | sparc64 |
| sun4v | |||
| IBM S/390 | s390 | IPL from VM-reader and DASD | generic |
| IPL from tape | tape |
This document covers installation for the IA-64 architecture. If you are looking for information on any of the other Debian-supported architectures take a look at the Debian-Ports pages.
Multiprocessor support — also called “symmetric multiprocessing” or SMP — is available for this architecture. However, the standard Debian 5.0 kernel image does not support SMP. This should not prevent installation, since the standard, non-SMP kernel should boot on SMP systems; the kernel will simply use the first CPU.
In order to take advantage of multiple processors, you'll have to replace the standard Debian kernel. You can find a discussion of how to do this in Section 8.6, “Compiling a New Kernel”. At this time (kernel version 2.6.26) the way you enable SMP is to select “SMP support” in the “General setup” section of the kernel config.
Debian's support for graphical interfaces is determined by the underlying support found in X.Org's X11 system. Most AGP, PCI and PCIe video cards work under X.Org. Details on supported graphics buses, cards, monitors, and pointing devices can be found at http://xorg.freedesktop.org/. Debian 5.0 ships with X.Org version 7.3.
Almost any network interface card (NIC) supported by the Linux kernel should also be supported by the installation system; modular drivers should normally be loaded automatically.
Support for braille displays is determined by the underlying support
found in brltty. Most displays work under
brltty, connected via either a serial port, USB
or bluetooth. Details on supported braille devices can be found on the
brltty website.
Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 ships with brltty version
3.10.