[x86-64] Opteron box coming --- what to install?

[marc.miller@amd.com]

Oh, I should note, however, that AMD does not officially recommend putting a 64-bit kernel in a 32-bit distribution... you'll still be missing some key 64-bit libraries, and without all of the other supporting packages, the machine may operate oddly with mixed-bitness drivers, kernel, and libraries.  

AMD expects a lot of users will start off by loading their 32-bit operating systems and apps onto their shiny new Opteron box, and when things like (in your case) Debian for AMD64 is available, they'll upgrade the operating system.  If you want to take advantage of Opteron's 64-bit capabilities today in a production environment, a vendor-supported OS like SuSE Linux Enterprise Server, Mandrake Corporate Server, or Turbolinux is the better choice for you.

-----Original Message-----
From: Miller, Marc 
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 4:07 PM
To: bart@jukie.net; shurik@math.unibas.ch
Cc: debian-x86-64-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org
Subject: RE: [x86-64] Opteron box coming --- what to install?


Bart, thanks for responding here.  I agree; SuSE is the more stable way to go.  It's worthy of note that SuSE is not the only AMD64 Linux distribution out there.  Turbolinux 8 has been available since April, and is relatively inexpensive.  Mandrake Linux Corporate Server is also available.  There are also a couple of unsupported technology previews from various vendors available for free download.  

Putting a 64-bit kernel into a 32-bit distribution is also a great suggestion.  After all, Opteron is a superior 32-bit processor to anything before it, you'll be able to use all of the 32-bit packages you have today, and when you have AMD64 applications to run, you'll be poised to take advantage of the platform's 64-bit capabilities.

-----Original Message-----
From: Bart Trojanowski [mailto:bart@jukie.net]
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 3:28 PM
To: Alexander Shumakovitch
Cc: debian-x86-64-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org
Subject: Re: [x86-64] Opteron box coming --- what to install?


* Alexander Shumakovitch <shurik@math.unibas.ch> [030516 18:14]:
> Our department is going to receive a dual-Opteron box in a couple of
> weeks. It will be my task to manage it and I'm currently looking at
> software solutions available.
>
> So is it possible to make Debian running on this computer in any way, or
> should I go with SuSE? 

SuSE will be a more stable way to go.  I would imagine that they've been
testing their release for at least 4-6 months by now.

> I would certainly prefer the former, since almost all of our computers
> are running Debian and I'm much more comfortable with it. The box will
> mostly be occupied with heavy computations using custom C and C++
> programs. So basically the only 64-bit thing I need is a stable
> development environment (like gcc, gdb, libc6, ncurses, libreadline
> etc.) The rest being 32-bit is fine. What are the best options for me?

I believe that the best thing for you to do -- given that you want to
run Debian -- would be to install a 32bit user-space (like Woody or
Sarge) and then install a 64 bit kernel.  

If you choose Woody you should now compile and install your own
tool-chain.  See the x86-64.org website for details (or ask here).

If you choose Sarge you can do the above or install Arnd Bergmann's
bi-arch dev tools.

> I've looked at http://www.arndb.de/debian but am not sure I would be
> able to install Debian from scratch using the packages there.

Arnd is on this list so he can comment further.

Best of luck.

Bart.

-- 
				WebSig: http://www.jukie.net/~bart/sig/


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