[geeks] SGI & linux

[Rob Fielding]

Mike F wrote:
> On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 06:59:50 -0500
> "Joshua D. Boyd" <jdboyd at celestrion.net> wrote:
> 
> 
>>On Tue, Jul 29, 2003 at 03:39:15PM +1200, Gavin Hubbard wrote:
>>
>>>Just saw the following over at the Inquirer:
>>>
>>>http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10708
>>>
>>>I know the inq isn't the most reliable of news sources, but oh
>>>dear. Say it ain't so. 
>>
>>I don't know what will officially happen, or actually happen, but
>>that's what the ex-SGI guy here has been hearing from friends still in
>>SGI as well. 
> 
> 
> What does this mean for MIPS hardware? Linux does not run on any recent
> MIPS hardware (to my knowledge) and if SGI is to drop IRIX and focus on
> Linux, will they port Linux to newer MIPS hardware, or drop MIPS?

They have a vested interest in keeping MIPS/IRIX for at least another half a 
dozen years.

I've noted from quickly scanning kernel announcements a fair number of patches 
to arch/mips and arch/mips64 recently. I don't know if these are anything SGI 
box specific. AFAIK theres still nothing more than ip22 ip27 and ip32 
specifics. However they're other legasy is X Windows. There's no XFree86 
support for their hardware and their X Windows system is undoubtedly as 
foreboding a challenge as keeping IRIX going. Perhaps further reason for them 
to stop making custom GFX and adopting 3rd party ones...

I would imaging IRIX and Linux will co-exist at SGI. All thetre current 
hardware is probably going to remain IRIX. All old hardware (Octane down) will 
remain IRIX. Any new hardware (starting headless, like the Altix) will 
probably get Linux support from the people who'd write the IRIX hardware 
support. With ATi based GFX I doubt serious work would be required to start a 
line of SGI Linux/XFree86 boxes. Also a good idea to reduce down to a single 
hardware line (O350?) to derive other products from.

It strikes me that SGI have been consolodating themselves into a state where 
it wont actually matter whether they are MIPS or ia64, IRIX or Linux.


Just my 2p.

-- 


Rob Fielding	
rob at dsvr.net	Development	www.dsvr.co.uk