2.1. Supported Hardware

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/m68k/ for more details on Motorola 680x0 architecture systems which have been tested with Debian.

Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for Motorola 680x0 , this section contains general information and pointers to where additional information can be found.

2.1.1. Supported Architectures

Debian "sarge" supports eleven major architectures and several variations of each architecture known as 'flavors'.

Architecture Debian Designation Subarchitecture Flavor
Intel x86-based i386   vanilla
speakup
linux26
Motorola 680x0 m68k Atari atari
Amiga amiga
68k Macintosh mac
VME bvme6000
mvme147
mvme16x
DEC Alpha alpha   generic
jensen
nautilus
Sun SPARC sparc   sun4cdm
sun4u
ARM and StrongARM arm   netwinder
riscpc
shark
lart
IBM/Motorola PowerPC powerpc CHRP chrp
PowerMac powermac, new-powermac
PReP prep
APUS apus
HP PA-RISC hppa PA-RISC 1.1 32
PA-RISC 2.0 64
Intel ia64-based ia64    
MIPS (big endian) mips SGI Indy/I2 r4k-ip22
MIPS (little endian) mipsel DEC Decstation r4k-kn04
r3k-kn02
IBM S/390 s390   tape
vmrdr

This document covers installation for the Motorola 680x0 architecture. If you are looking for information on any of the other Debian-supported architectures take a look at the Debian-Ports pages.

2.1.2. CPU, Main Boards, and Video Support

Complete information concerning supported M68000 based (m68k) systems can be found at the Linux/m68k FAQ. This section merely outlines the basics.

The m68k port of Linux runs on any 680x0 with a PMMU (Paged Memory Management Unit) and a FPU (floating-point unit). This includes the 68020 with an external 68851 PMMU, the 68030, and better, and excludes the ``EC'' line of 680x0 processors. See the Linux/m68k FAQ for complete details.

There are four major flavors of supported m68k flavors: Amiga, Atari, Macintosh and VME machines. Amiga and Atari were the first two systems to which Linux was ported; in keeping, they are also the two most well-supported Debian ports. The Macintosh line is supported incompletely, both by Debian and by the Linux kernel; see Linux m68k for Macintosh for project status and supported hardware. The BVM and Motorola single board VMEbus computers are the most recent addition to the list of machines supported by Debian. Ports to other m68k architectures, such as the Sun3 architecture and NeXT black box, are underway but not yet supported by Debian.

2.1.3. Graphics Card

Debian's support for graphical interfaces is determined by the underlying support found in XFree86's X11 system. The newer AGP video slots are actually a modification on the PCI specification, and most AGP video cards work under XFree86. Details on supported graphics buses, cards, monitors, and pointing devices can be found at http://www.xfree86.org/. Debian "sarge" ships with XFree86 version 4.3.0.