[Cbe-oss-dev] Newbie: which kboot?

[Geoff Levand]

On 12/19/2007 05:03 PM, Christian Convey wrote:
> Hi Geoff,
> 
> Thanks very much for the detailed reply.  A few follow-up questions:
> 
> On Dec 19, 2007 4:29 PM, Geoff Levand <geoffrey.levand at am.sony.com> wrote:
>> Hi Christian,
>>
>> On 12/18/2007 09:38 AM, Christian Convey wrote:
>> > I'm new to PS/3 Linux development.  I just got through wasting a lot
>> > of time trying to find a combination of kboot image and Fedora version
>> > that I could install on my PS/3.  I finally found a set of (old?)
>> > instructions that recommend
>> > using:
>> >    ftp://ftp.uk.linux.org/pub/linux/Sony-PS3/CELL-Linux-CL_20070516-ADDON.iso
>> > and FC6.
>>
>>
>> Unfortunately, that info is old and out of date.  Fedora 8 is the current
>> release, and I recommend it, as you can get answers to your questions.
>> No one uses Fedora 6 anymore.
> 
> IBM only claims to support FC7, not FC8, with their Cell SDK 3.0.
> That's the only reason at all that I'm not going straight for FC8.  Do
> you happen to know if FC8 works with SDK 3.0?


The toolchain works.  That is all I know.


> And as there any compelling reason to use FC8 rather than FC7, if my
> only intention is to use the PS/3 as a headless computational server?


It is current, and so better supported.

 
>> New ones are released every few months with updated packages and
>> bug fixes.  Distros also release them.
> 
> Why do distros release them?  Is there something about the vanilla
> kboot releases that makes them undesirable for use with specific
> distros?


To customize.


>> > Are
>> > there one or two that are considered to typically be the best choice
>> > for someone who just wants to get programming?
>>
>>
>> Use the latest stable one.  Currently that is kboot-20070831.bld.  The
>> 20071023 one has a bug.  You can find it here:
>>
>>   http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/geoff/cell/
> 
> On that website, I see this version of the ADDON DVD:
>     http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/geoff/cell/CELL-Linux-CL_20071023-ADDON.iso
> 
> and this version of kboot:
>    kboot-20070831.bld
> 
> I assume that the 20071023-ADDON .iso ships a version of kboot that's
> newer than the 20070831.bld version.
> 
> Because the .iso contains both a set of .rpm files and a kboot image,
> that made me think that maybe there's some reason that a system should
> have the same release date for (a) its kboot image and (b) the .rpm
> files that come on that release date's ADDONs .iso.  Is there any such
> reason?

No.

> Also, for an ADDON DVD such as CELL-Linux-CL_20071023-ADDON.iso, is
> there some way I can know which versions of Fedora will work with the
> provided RPMs?

You should just use those provided by fedora.

-Geoff