NetBSD/ia64 Frequently Asked Questions
General problems and questions
- How do I get started?
- What needs to be done to make the port functional?
- How can I help?
- What are the goals of this port
General problems and questions
How do I get started?
Development for NetBSD/ia64 is on HP's "SKI" emulator:
- Install the ski emulator: pkgsrc/emulators/ski. See the DESCR file for details about installing and running ski.
-
Build the ia64 toolchain:
build.sh -mia64 tools
Build the bootloader:
cd arch/ia64/stand/ia64/ski $TOOLDIR/bin/nbmake-ia64
The bootloader binary is arch/ia64/stand/ia64/skiload
Build the kernel:
build.sh -mia64 kernel=GENERIC.SKI
The kernel binary is arch/ia64/compile/GENERIC.SKI/netbsd
-
With both bootloader and kernel binaries (or softlinks to them) in the current directory, type:
ski skiload
This will launch the ski debugger prompt.
Type 'c' to continue. This will launch the bootloader in a pseudo terminal window. Type 'boot netbsd' to boot the kernel. Have fun!
What needs to be done to make the port functional?
Must have tasks:
- pmap module: Clean ups and debug.
- Boot Code Cleanup: clean up glue code between FreeBSD's boot code and NetBSD's standalone library.
- IA64 Stack unwind code: Support remaining unwind descriptor types. (See arch/ia64/unwind/TODO)
Nice to have tasks:
- Kernel module pre-loading via the bootloader.
- Write a ski network driver.
- Enable SMP support.
How can I help?
Pick a task you like, send mail to port-ia64@NetBSD.org to avoid duplication of work, and start hacking!
What are the goals of this port
Currently our focus is to make NetBSD/ia64 to run reasonably well on the ski emulator. In order to enable NetBSD to run on a real Itanium machine, further code needs to be written. Some important tasks are:
- The uga console driver.
- The bus_dma framework.
- device drivers.