Debian does not impose hardware requirements beyond the requirements of the Linux or kFreeBSD kernel and the GNU tool-sets. Therefore, any architecture or platform to which the Linux or kFreeBSD 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 GNU/Linux.
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 GNU/Linux 6.0 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 | ||
| ARM | armel | Intel IOP32x | iop32x |
| Intel IXP4xx | ixp4xx | ||
| Marvell Kirkwood | kirkwood | ||
| Marvell Orion | orion5x | ||
| Versatile | versatile | ||
| 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 | ||
| MIPS (little endian) | mipsel | Cobalt | cobalt |
| MIPS Malta (32 bit) | 4kc-malta | ||
| MIPS Malta (64 bit) | 5kc-malta | ||
| 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 |
Debian GNU/kFreeBSD 6.0 supports two architectures.
| Architecture | Debian Designation |
|---|---|
| Intel x86-based | kfreebsd-i386 |
| AMD64 & Intel EM64T | kfreebsd-amd64 |
This document covers installation for the Mips architecture using the Linux kernel. 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.
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.
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, PCIe, and PCI-X 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 6.0 ships with X.Org version 7.5.
The X.Org X Window System is only supported on the SGI Indy and the O2.
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.