FreeBSD/embedded Netperf wishlist 2011
Assume we have $1k to provide better NetPerf cluster infrastructure for testing the existing support of FreeBSD/arm, FreeBSD/mips and FreeBSD/powerpc ports. This premise may or may not be true, but assume, however, that it's there.
We're talking about the existing support. In other words, about a situation where a commiter wants to test his/her patch on ARM/MIPS and verify that FreeBSD is still booting.
Which boards would be the most beneficial for the project's developers?
While pondering the boards which we would want to buy, please consider:
1) UART availability – This must be either the normal UART port or USB-based port that works with FreeBSD. (The USB cable hooked up between the board and the FreeBSD PC must provide a valid working UART.)
2) Ethernet – similar to UART availability, the Ethernet port must work. The Ideal candidate has U-boot with Ethernet support, which can fetch the FreeBSD kernel over the TFTP and a FreeBSD port that can perform booting over NFS. (FreeBSD must support the board's Ethernet controller.)
LIST
| # | Architecture | CPU | Name | Link | Notes | Price | Power (W) | Ethernet ports | We need |
| 1 | ARM | Marvell Kirkwood 6281 1.2Ghz | GuruPlug Server | http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/t-guruplugdetails.aspx | OUT-OF-STOCK / Prone to overheating? | $130 | ?? | 2 | |
| 2 | ARM | Marvell Kirkwood 6281 1.2Ghz | DreamPlug | http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/c-5-dreamplugs.aspx | $160 | ?? | 2? | ||
| 3 | ARM | Marvell Kirkwood 6281 1.2Ghz | OpenRD-Ultimate | http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/p-35-openrd-ultimate.aspx# | Port could be fully tested | $250 | up to 36W | 2 | YES (2) |
| 4 | ARM | TI DaVinci TMS320DM6446 800Mhz? | Rincon GW2361 MultiMedia Platform | optional item (port in P4), expensive | $425 | ?? | 1? | ||
| 6 | MIPS | Atheros AR7161 MIPS 24K 680MHz(800MHz possible) | Ubiquiti RouterStation Pro | http://ubnt.com/rspro | $80 | 7W | 2? | YES (2) | |
| 7 | MIPS | RaLink RT3052F | Fonera 2.0N | https://shop.fon.com/FonShop/shop/US/ShopController?view=product&product=PRD-022 | soldering is required | $100 | 5-7 | 5 | |
| 8 | MIPS | RaLink RT5350F | D-Link DIR-320/NRU | ?? | soldering is required | $50 | 5-6 | 5 | |
| 9 | PowerPC | Freescale MPC8544 | RouterBoard RB800 | http://routerboard.com/RB800 | Somewhat expensive | $360 | NOINFO | 1? | MAYBE (1) |
| 10 | ARM | ? | Panda board | http://www.pandaboard.org/ | best armv6/7 option | $150 | ~10 W | 1gigE | yes |
| YES sum | $660 | ||||||||
| MAYBE sum | $360 | ||||||||
| TOTAL sum | $1020 |
Future platforms
This part of a webpage won't be a subject of eventual $1k grant.
This page may or may not have practical purpose. Feel free to put stuff which you want to work on and which you can't afford by yourself.
This part of the web page is devoted for listing other potential candidates useful for FreeBSD development. Unlike the previous portion of the page, this part shows all boards which we're interested in. If you have an interest in a particular board and you'd like to make FreeBSD run on it, feel free to put it in the table below. Please put your name next to the board.
| Contact person | Architecture | CPU | Name | Link | Notes | Price | Power consumption (W) | Ethernet ports |