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/mips/ for more details on Mips architecture systems which have been tested with Debian.
Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for Mips, 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 Mips architecture. If you are looking for information on any of the other Debian-supported architectures take a look at the Debian-Ports pages.
Debian on Mips supports the following platforms:
SGI IP22: this platform includes the SGI machines Indy, Indigo 2 and Challenge S. Since these machines are very similar, whenever this document refers to the SGI Indy, the Indigo 2 and Challenge S are meant as well.
SGI IP32: this platform is generally known as SGI O2.
MIPS Malta: this platform is emulated by QEMU and is therefore a nice way to test and run Debian on MIPS if you don't have the hardware.
Broadcom BCM91250A (SWARM): this is an ATX form factor evaluation board from Broadcom based on the dual-core SB1 1250 CPU.
Broadcom BCM91480B (BigSur): this is an ATX form factor evaluation board from Broadcom based on the quad-core SB1A 1480 CPU.
Complete information regarding supported mips/mipsel machines can be found at the Linux-MIPS homepage. In the following, only the systems supported by the Debian installer will be covered. If you are looking for support for other subarchitectures, please contact the debian-mips mailing list.
On SGI IP22, SGI Indy, Indigo 2 and Challenge S with R4000, R4400, R4600 and R5000 processors are supported by the Debian installation system on big endian MIPS. On SGI IP32, currently only systems based on the R5000 are supported. The Broadcom BCM91250A evaluation board comes with an SB1 1250 chip with two cores which are supported in SMP mode by this installer. Similarly, the BCM91480B evaluation board contains an SB1A 1480 chip with four cores which are supported in SMP mode.
Some MIPS machines can be operated in both big and little endian mode. For little endian MIPS, please read the documentation for the mipsel architecture.
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.
The X.Org X Window System is only supported on the SGI Indy and the O2. The Broadcom BCM91250A and BCM91480B evaluation boards have standard 3.3v PCI slots and support VGA emulation or Linux framebuffer on a selected range of graphics cards. A compatibility listing for Broadcom evaluation boards is available.
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.
Linux supports a large variety of hardware devices such as mice, printers, scanners, PCMCIA and USB devices. However, most of these devices are not required while installing the system.
The Broadcom BCM91250A evaluation board offers standard 3.3v 32 bit and 64 bit PCI slots as well as USB connectors. The Broadcom BCM91480B evaluation board features four 64 bit PCI slots.