Debian does not impose hardware requirements beyond the requirements of the Linux kernel and the GNU tool-sets. Therefore, any architecture or platform to which the Linux kernel, libc, gcc, etc. have been ported, and for which a Debian port exists, can run Debian. Please refer to the Ports pages at http://www.debian.org/ports/arm/ for more details on ARM architecture systems which have been tested with Debian.
Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for ARM, this section contains general information and pointers to where additional information can be found.
Debian 4.0 supports twelve major architectures and several variations of each architecture known as “flavors”.
| Architecture | Debian Designation | Subarchitecture | Flavor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel x86-based | i386 | ||
| AMD64 & Intel EM64T | amd64 | ||
| DEC Alpha | alpha | ||
| ARM and StrongARM | arm | Netwinder and CATS | netwinder |
| Intel IOP32x | iop32x | ||
| Intel IXP4xx | ixp4xx | ||
| RiscPC | rpc | ||
| HP PA-RISC | hppa | PA-RISC 1.1 | 32 |
| PA-RISC 2.0 | 64 | ||
| Intel IA-64 | ia64 | ||
| MIPS (big endian) | mips | SGI IP22 (Indy/Indigo 2) | r4k-ip22 |
| SGI IP32 (O2) | r5k-ip32 | ||
| Broadcom BCM91250A (SWARM) | sb1-bcm91250a | ||
| Broadcom BCM91480B (BigSur) | sb1a-bcm91480b | ||
| MIPS (little endian) | mipsel | Cobalt | cobalt |
| DECstation | r4k-kn04 | ||
| r3k-kn02 | |||
| Broadcom BCM91250A (SWARM) | sb1-bcm91250a | ||
| Broadcom BCM91480B (BigSur) | sb1a-bcm91480b | ||
| Motorola 680x0 | m68k | Atari | atari |
| Amiga | amiga | ||
| 68k Macintosh | mac | ||
| VME | bvme6000 | ||
| mvme147 | |||
| mvme16x | |||
| IBM/Motorola PowerPC | powerpc | CHRP | chrp |
| PowerMac | pmac | ||
| PReP | prep | ||
| Sun SPARC | sparc | sun4m | sparc32 |
| sun4u | sparc64 | ||
| sun4v | |||
| IBM S/390 | s390 | IPL from VM-reader and DASD | generic |
| IPL from tape | tape |
This document covers installation for the ARM architecture. If you are looking for information on any of the other Debian-supported architectures take a look at the Debian-Ports pages.
Each distinct ARM architecture requires its own kernel. Because of this the standard Debian distribution only supports installation on a number of the most common platforms. The Debian userland however may be used by any ARM CPU.
Most ARM CPUs may be run in either endian mode (big or little). However, the majority of current system implementation uses little-endian mode. Debian currently only supports little-endian ARM systems.
The supported platforms are:
This is actually the name for the group of machines based upon the StrongARM 110 CPU and Intel 21285 Northbridge (also known as Footbridge). It comprises of machines like: Netwinder (possibly one of the most common ARM boxes), CATS (also known as the EB110ATX), EBSA 285 and Compaq personal server (cps, aka skiff).
Intel's I/O Processor (IOP) line is found in a number of products related to data storage and processing. Debian currently supports the IOP32x platform, featuring the IOP 80219 and 32x chips commonly found in Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices. Debian explicitly supports two such devices: the GLAN Tank from IO-Data and the Thecus N2100.
The IXP4xx platform is based on Intel's XScale ARM core. Currently, only one IXP4xx based system is supported, the Linksys NSLU2. The Linksys NSLU2 (Network Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives) is a small device which allows you to easily provide storage via the network. It comes with an Ethernet connection and two USB ports to which hard drives can be connected. There is an external site with installation instructions.
This machine is the oldest supported hardware but support for it in our new installer is incomplete. It has RISC OS in ROM, Linux can be booted from that OS using linloader. The RiscPC has a modular CPU card and typically has a 30MHz 610, 40MHz 710 or 233MHz Strongarm 110 CPU fitted. The mainboard has integrated IDE, SVGA video, parallel port, single serial port, PS/2 keyboard and proprietary mouse port. The proprietary module expansion bus allows for up to eight expansion cards to be fitted depending on configuration, several of these modules have Linux drivers.
Debian's support for graphical interfaces is determined by the underlying support found in X.Org's X11 system. Most AGP, PCI and PCIe video cards work under X.Org. Details on supported graphics buses, cards, monitors, and pointing devices can be found at http://xorg.freedesktop.org/. Debian 4.0 ships with X.Org version 7.1.