Running Linux, Third Edition

Supported Hardware

As a general rule, the 68020, 68030, 68040, and 68060 processors are supported.

For the 68020, a separate MMU (memory management unit) is necessary. The EC models of the 68030, 68040, and 68060 are missing MMUs and cannot run Linux.

For the 68020 and 68030, an FPU (floating point unit) is also recommended. A kernel-level FPU emulator is on the verge of release (as of this writing), but 68882 FPUs can be found for around U.S. $25 and will improve performance with many applications. Users of the 68LC040 can also take advantage of the FPU emulator; however, many of the 68LC040 chips produced have bugs that make FPU emulation unstable.

Generally, the minimum RAM requirement is between 4 and 8 MB of RAM; more RAM is generally better, though, and every little bit helps. Amiga users should note that Linux cannot use chip RAM except for the video, sound, and floppy drivers. The X Window System is usually comfortable only with at least 12-16 MB of RAM and an accelerated video card; however, it can run on the standard Amiga and Atari video modes with less memory.

While you can probably install a minimal Linux system on a 20-30 MB partition, for any serious work you’ll need over 100 MB, including a separate swap partition. A useful approach is to purchase the largest hard drive you can afford and install Linux on it, and then watch it fill itself up. Many SCSI and IDE controllers are supported on various platforms, although the support is not as extensive as we would like ...