From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Dec 20 18:35:07 2007 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id AC2D116A419 for ; Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:35:07 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from freebsd-questions@m.gmane.org) Received: from ciao.gmane.org (main.gmane.org [80.91.229.2]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2B71913C46B for ; Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:35:07 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from freebsd-questions@m.gmane.org) Received: from list by ciao.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.43) id 1J5Q45-00035m-1l for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:24:13 +0000 Received: from feistyd.lsw.okstate.edu ([139.78.110.83]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:24:13 +0000 Received: from joines by feistyd.lsw.okstate.edu with local (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:24:13 +0000 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org From: Jason Joines Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:10:15 -0600 Lines: 72 Message-ID: References: <18272.27362.622233.540876@almost.alerce.com> <476259C2.4020502@evotex.ch> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: feistyd.lsw.okstate.edu User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.6 (X11/20070728) In-Reply-To: Sender: news Subject: Re: will freebsd run on apple intel xserve X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:35:07 -0000 Jason Joines wrote: > Gabriel Rossetti wrote: >> George Hartzell wrote: >>> Jason Joines writes: >>> > I'm a Linux guy who has inherited some apple xserve boxes. > >>> Surprisingly I've discovered that I really hate os x. For the intel >>> > xserve boxes, Linux isn't an option. The CPUs are amd64 >>> architecture. >> AMD64....on an Intel X-Serve box? I think you got it wrong there....... >> Anyways, EFI support for Xeon CPUs should work without a problem, even >> for linux. >> I'm not sure about EFI support, I think it's fine in CURRENT, from what >> I've read on the net. >> >> Good luck, >> Gabriel >>> > The EFI capable Linux bootloader, has had beta support for amd64 >>> since > July. However, the Linux kernel just got support to boot >>> via EFI and > amd64 in a release candidate patch this month. It'll >>> probably be quite > a while before a distribution has an installer >>> with what I need. >>> > > At any rate, I've always wanted to try one of the BSDs. >>> Will > FreeBSD install on an apple intel xserve? If not does anyone >>> know if > another BSD or some other open source NIX will work? >>> >>> I can't give you a direct answer, but I was running 6-STABLE on an >>> 8-way mac pro up until a couple of weeks ago (I had to give it back to >>> it's owners and I'm waiting until after the next wwdc to buy my >>> own...). >>> >>> I used bootcamp to partition a spare disk, then just booted from a >>> freebsd cd and installed onto that partition. I ended up using refit >>> as a boot doohickey (initially from an refit cd, eventually taking a >>> chance on installing it onto the disk itself). >>> >>> There wasn't anything too surprising. >>> >>> g. > > > > > Nope, it is the AMD64 architecture on apple intel xserve. Intel > cloned it and called it Intel 64 and EM64T among other names. More > vendor neutral names are x86-64 and x64. At any rate, many Linux > distributions, and FreeBSD, release a version they call amd64 that runs > on CPUs with this instruction set regardless of whether AMD or Intel > created it. > EFI support may be fine for amd64 xeon's but the elilo boot loader > wouldn't work with amd64 until the latest beta. Even though the boot > loader became capable in that beta, the Linux kernel wouldn't work with > elilo on amd64 until 2.6.24-rc4. > It may be fine with x86 xeons and it has always worked with ia64, > just not amd64. > > I just don't know enough about FreeBSD to know if it or the > bootloader(s) it uses have any of the same issues Linux does or not. > Hopefully I'll get to go onsite soon and give it a try. > > > Jason > =========== Well I tried the amd64 version of FreeBSD 6.2 from the bootonly.iso and it didn't work either. Just like the Linux CDs, the xserve didn't even recognize it as bootable. Jason ===========