Linux gains new architecture support

Click here to learn
about this Sponsor:

Home | News | Articles | Polls | Forum

Keywords: Match:

Mar. 26, 2008

[Updated Apr. 28] -- Dozens of network-attached storage (NAS) servers and other consumer appliances will gain mainline kernel and Debian GNU/Linux support soon. The 2.6.25 kernel, currently in the final stages of testing, will support Marvell's Feroceon micro-architecture and "Orion" SoCs, with Debian support close behind, sources say.

Spread the word:
digg this story

Yesterday, Linus Torvalds launched release candidate 7 (rc7) for the 2.6.25 kernel, commenting, "Give it a good testing, because we're hopefully now well on our way towards that eventual real 2.6.25 release!" The comment suggests the newest kernel could well launch this week.

The kernel will include patches from the Orion git tree maintained by Nicolas Pitre and Lennert Buytenhek. The two notable ARM Linux hackers were hired by Marvell to add mainline Orion support, according to Martin Michlmayr, an HP engineer who led the Debian project for several years. Longtime Marvell engineers Itzhak Perelstein and Saeed Bishara appear to have worked closely on the port as well.

After 2.6.25 ships, Debian support will not be far behind, Michlmayr suggested, commenting, "Debian support is mostly waiting for the 2.6.25 kernel release; most of the basic support will be done in time 2.6.25 is out."

In practical terms, mainline kernel and Debian Linux support make devices based on Orion more appealing to hackers and hobbyists, or anyone wishing to run modern software on them even after the manufacturer discontinues support. So far, Orion chips have been used in lots of network-attached storage appliances that run Linux, as well as in wired and wireless networking equipment and other consumer devices based on other OSes. Marvell Director of Marketing Sandeep Shah said, "While we support several operating systems (Linux, VxWorks, netBSD, to name three), the [Orion-based devices] that are most visible in the Linux community today are the NAS ones."

Linux- and Orion-based NAS devices
(L-R) HP MV-2100, QNAP TS-409 and TS-109, Hammer MyShare, Seagate / Maxtor SS-II, Synology CS-407, LaCie 2Big network, Iomega StorCenter, D-Link DNS-323
(Click any device for details)

Shah supplied the following "partial list" of NAS design wins based on Linux and Orion:

Seagate / Maxtor Shared Storage II 300GB / 500GB / 1TB
Buffalo LinkStation Pro
Buffalo LinkStation Living
Buffalo TeraStation Pro
D-Link DNS-323
LaCie Ethernet Disk mini
I·O DATA LANDISK Giga
I·O DATA LANDISK Tera
Iomega StorCenter Network Hard Drive 500GB / 750GB / 1TB
QNAP TS-409 Pro
QNAP TS-209 Pro
Synology DS107+
Synology DS207+
Synology CS407
Synology RS407
Philips SPD8020
HP Media Vault mv2120
HP Media Vault mv5100

Additionally, Shah noted that board vendor Technologic Systems markets a tiny TS-7800 development board based on a Marvel 88F5182 processor clocked at 500MHz. The board comes with Debian Linux, boots in 2.6 seconds, and has an on-board FPGA with 12,000 LUTs (look-up tables), enabling customers to add custom low-powered sensor interfaces for industrial applications, among other potential uses.

Technologic's Orion-based development board
(Click for details)

More about Orion

The Orion chips are based on Marvell's ARM9-based "Feroceon" micro-architecture, which the company implemented itself as an ARM architecture licensee. Other SoC (system-on-chip) vendors that have licensed the architecture and implemented their own micro-architectures include Intel, with the XScale and XScale v3 micro-architectures, and Freescale, with i.MX. (TI's OMAP parts are based on off-the-shelf ARM cores).

"Orion" is trademarked by another company, and for that reason, Marvell markets the chips by their model numbers, such as "88F5181, 88F5182, etc," Shah said. The parts are also associated with the "MediaVault" brand that Marvell uses for its hardware reference designs.

Typical Orion SoC architecture
(Click to enlarge)

In addition to one or more Feroceon cores, the Orion chips integrate I/O-intensive optimizations such as mixed-signal interfaces and a high-speed crossbar switch, Marvell said. And, there are lots of on-chip peripheral interfaces, including:

DDR2 memory controller
Security engine
2 x USB 2.0 ports supporting both host and device modes
PCI and PCI Express ports
2 x SATA 2.0 ports
2 x gigabit Ethernet MAC ports with either RGMII or SGMII interfaces

Additional options include graphics, multimedia devices, and 802.11n wireless, according to Marvell.

Marvell offers a number of MediaVault references designs based on Orion SoCs. The designs include a "Marvell packaged and maintained, open-source, production-proven Linux SDK," Marvell said. Available designs appear to target set-top boxes and DVD-Rs, as well as triple-play gateways and "DAS" (direct-attached storage) devices.

Marvell RD-88F5182-NAS-3 board and reference design

The RD-88F5182-NAS-3 design pictured above targets wireless streaming media server applications. Touted features include:

88F5182 processor
Embedded WLAN 802.11b/g, based on Marvell 88W8335 and 88W8010
Plug-in 802.11n PCIe minicard
80/160GB, 2.5-inch 7200 RPM SATA HDD
External system interfaces:
- Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) on RJ45
- 2 x USB Host
- ESATA
- Power jack 12V25W

Shah concluded, "We are very excited about opening up the Orion family as well as future CPU SoC products to the Linux community. We are opening up more and more documents as these products become mainstream, and this is an ongoing process."

Michlmayr also acknowledged work done by Herbert Valerio Riedel and Byron Bradley on porting Linux to various Orion-based hardware platforms.

Thanks to Martin Michlmayr for calling this story to our attention

Related Stories:

(Click here for further information)

7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.

4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.

Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.

Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.

Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.

Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.

Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.

Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.

Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.

Got a HOT tip? please tell us!

Click here for a profile of each sponsor:

PLATINUM SPONSORS
<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=timesys;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=timesys;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>		<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=windriver;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=windriver;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>

<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=versalogic;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=versalogic;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>		<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=winsystems;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=winsystems;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>

<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=virtuallogix;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=virtuallogix;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>		<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=trolltech;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=trolltech;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>

<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=montavista;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=montavista;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>		<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=calaosystems;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=calaosystems;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>

<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=technologicsystems;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=technologicsystems;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>		<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=technicalsolutions;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=technicalsolutions;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>

GOLD SPONSORS
<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=ultimate;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?"" style="border-width:0px;height:150px;width:30px;"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/entzd.linuxdevices/desktop;kw=ultimate;pos=top;dcopt=ist;zdid=a221772;tile=1;sz=150x30;ord=<script=JavaScript>document.write(Math.round(Math.random()10000000000));</script>?" style="border:0; height: 150; width:30;" /></a>		(Become a sponsor)

ADVERTISEMENT
(Advertise here)

Check out the latest Linux powered...

mobile phones!

other cool
gadgets

HOWTOs: from DevShed & IBM DeveloperWorks:

BREAKING NEWS

• Article explores Linux hot-patching utility
• Sun demo's RIA tools on Android
• Panel PCs support PoE, Linux
• New Palms on horizon?
• Embedded track added to Linux conference
• Ubuntu ported to a PDA
• Linux-friendly SBC hosts dual quad-core Xeons
• Embedded Linux SQL database adds Java, C# bindings
• Lightweight, embedded graphics framework rev'd
• Shock resistant automation computer runs Linux
• Linux phone maker updates tools
• Qt rev'd
• Linux-compatible SBC boasts small size, low heat
• Miniature Linux PC targets military apps
• Sun launches OpenSolaris

Linux-Watch headlines:
• Sun launches OpenSolaris
• Via tiptoes toward openness
• Linux certification comes to Italy
• Installing Ubuntu Hardy Heron as a web hosting server
• Black Duck Buys Koders
• Open source conference co-locates with Ubuntu show
• Ubuntu 8.04 ready to challenge Windows
• KDE Linux reaches 52 million Brazilian kids
• Free x86-based Linux router distro rev'd
• Two weeks with Fedora 9

Also visit our sister site:

Sign up for LinuxDevices.com's...

news feed

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Except where otherwise specified, the contents of this site are copyright © 1999-2008 Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Enterprise is prohibited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.