From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Steve McIntyre Subject: Re: What ARM hardware should we buy and where should we host it? Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2018 19:11:00 +0100 Message-ID: <20180903181100.s4nnuaoydoyzl5rj@tack.einval.com> References: <87lg8izu99.fsf@elephly.net> <87tvn65unp.fsf@aikidev.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Return-path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:53946) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1fwtJo-0007yC-RO for guix-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:11:21 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1fwtJk-0001EN-LR for guix-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:11:20 -0400 Received: from cheddar.halon.org.uk ([93.93.131.118]:58660) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.0:RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1:32) (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1fwtJk-0001Cx-Dq for guix-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:11:16 -0400 Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <87tvn65unp.fsf@aikidev.net> List-Id: "Development of GNU Guix and the GNU System distribution." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: guix-devel-bounces+gcggd-guix-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: "Guix-devel" To: Vagrant Cascadian Cc: guix-devel@gnu.org Hey Vagrant! On Mon, Sep 03, 2018 at 10:59:38AM -0700, Vagrant Cascadian wrote: >On 2018-09-03, Ricardo Wurmus wrote: >> The first question is what ARM hardware to buy; the second is where to >> host that hardware. Here are some considerations: >> >> - The new systems should be easy to host in a data centre; this might >> mean that we need rack-mounted servers, or that we need a co-location >> data centre that accepts machines with unusual form factors. >> >> - The system should be able to build substitutes for both armhf and >> aarch64. Not all aarch64 CPUs support building for armhf, for >> example. >> >> - We need to be able to restart the machine remotely. If members of the >> Guix project have no physical access to the hosting site, this can be >> done via remote-controlled power supply or similar. > >Debian also has similar needs for build machines and is currently >exploring new hardware. There was a pretty good summary a few months >back: > > https://lists.debian.org/debian-arm/2018/06/msg00062.html > >One of the most promising seems to be the SynQuacer: > > https://www.96boards.org/product/developerbox/ > >With a 24-core processor, SATA, PCIe, USB 3.0, micro-atx form-factor, >and 4 ram slots (up to 64GB, in theory, but may be picky about >ram). > >Sounds like they're working with Debian's 4.17.x kernels, so should have >reasonable mainline linux support. > >Steve McIntyre (CCed) has been rebuilding debian with them to test them >out, and my impression is it's been going pretty well. Might be more >details in the Debian ARM ports BoF video: > > https://debconf18.debconf.org/talks/93-arm-ports-bof/ > > >> One system that looks promising for co-location is the Softiron >> Overdrive 3000 (a rack-mounted ARM server.) A system suitable for >> hosting at home is the Softiron Overdrive 1000. > >It does sound like the processors used in the Overdrive systems are >officially EOL, but maybe there are still enough of them that SoftIron >will continue to support them for a while. I'll see if I can follow-up >on that, too. Other people I've been talking to have been struggling a lot to get hold of any Overdrive-based systems. I'm honestly surprised there are any left, to be honest! -- Steve McIntyre, Cambridge, UK. steve@einval.com Dance like no one's watching. Encrypt like everyone is. - @torproject