some questions ... before installing

Hi,

I have a couple of questions on installing debian on my pogoplug devices ... but with a twist.

I currently have two pogoplug v2 devices, currently running the latest version of archlinux and a pogoplug v3 (oxnas) running debian/2.6.31.6_SMP_820.

1/ I want to use one of them as a HSMM-MESH node (meshed wifi network for ham-radio). However, for the USB wifi dongle I want to use (kernel module "rtl8187") I need a linux kernel 3.4 to use it in "ad-hoc" mode.

Is debian an option here? As far as I see, the latest stable version of debian is 7.2, which has a kernel 3.3
Is there a version of the experimental tree or "unstable" tree of debian that can run on one of these pogoplug-devices?

(I only need a very limited system: a linux kernel, ssh, ip-routing and the "olsr"-daemon).


2/ Most of the documentation I find on the web on how to install debian on a pogoplug start from the original pogoplug software.
Is there some documentation on how to do this, starting from a pogoplug v2 running archlinux?

3/ Or, is there documentation available on the exact boot-process of a pogoplug v2? Exactly what does such a device do when booting? (apparently, there are different partitions on the mtd-device, and nvram parameters, and some other stuff).

4/ On the pogoplug v3 running debian/2.6.31.6_SMP_820; when I do a "apt-get update && apt-get upgrade", the system wants to install the kernel vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-kirkwood (and System.map, config and initrd.img of that version).
This is strange as the system is a pogoplug v3 so a "oxnas" device, not a kirkwood device.

Is there a setting I did wrong?


Cheerio! Kr. Bonne.

krbonne,

For Pogo V2, use this rootfs on USB:
http://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,12096

For your pogo V3, you're running Debian Kirkwood rootfs (probably varkey's rootfs or shv's rootfs), so apt-get update && apt-get upgrade will install kernel and/or initrd for kirkwood device. Ignore this, the Kirkwood kernel files are not used in this configuration.

-bodhi
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Hi bohdi,

Thanks for replying and thank for the pointer to the 3.12 kernel / rootfs for the pogov2. That is probably just what I need. :-)


I did some further research into this yesterday-evening trying to understand how exactly this all fit together.

I found that , using blparam, there is a parameter "bootcmd=run boot_custom" and following the scripts, it looks like this starts the boot-process. I am correct?
Based on what is in the boot-process, it looks like it loads the kernel from NAND memory, and then boots this.
boot_custom=run load_custom_nand boot || run load_custom_nand2 boot
load_custom_nand=nboot 60500000 0 500000
boot=bootm 60500000

bootargs=root=/dev/sda1 ubi.mtd=2,512 rootfstype=ext3 console=ttyS0,115200 elevator=cfq mac_adr=0x00,0x30,0xe0,0x00,0x00,0x01 mem=128M poweroutage=yes rootwait


1/ Just wondering: is this the "final" kernel (i.e. 2.6.31.6_SMP_820), or is this an "intermediate" kernel that then loads the final kernel from flash-card.

Is this is indeed "2.6.31.6_SMP_820", can I conclude that this system can only use the devices where modules are in the current rootfs and it not possible to use other devices on this box (like a rtl8187-based wifi device)?

2/ For the v2 device, I see the webpage you point to mentions files in the /boot directory. Can I conclude that the boot-process is different on these devices?
My pogov2 devices currently have archlinux installed on them, so I cannot check.

How exactly does the boot-process work on these devices?

3/ for the v3 device, I am not really sure anymore where I got the rootfs I put on the box.
What kernel / rootfs do you advice for a pogopro?

The problem I now have is that "apt-get" seams to be completely messed up, so I cannot install anything on them anymore.


Many thanks in advance,

Kristoff

Kristoff,

- Kernel 2.6.31.6_SMP_820 is Arch Linux kernel. When you boot this Pogo V3 with Debian, the kernel uImage is Arch and stored in NAND mtd, but the rootfs on USB is Debian. This is not a normal process.

- To use rtl8187-based wifi device, this module needs to be Arch, and must reside in /lib/modules/2.6.31.6_SMP_820. So find that module and do modprobe in /etc/rc.local. See the original working thread in this forum (http://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,6336) for those modules modprobe commands as example.

- The V2 boots a normal process for Debian. Kernel is on USB drive, ramdisk is on USB drive. Both in /boot.

- There are 3 different ways to boot Debian. Potentially more to come :) I'll have to gather the links and post them in the orginal working thread for V3. For now use what you have and monitor the forum.

-bodhi
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2013 02:57AM by bodhi.

Hi,


I'm sorry for the late reply. (I've been battleling a c++ memory corruption error for the last 3 days now. grr! :-( )


For the pogov3 device, that could very well the case as the device first had archlinux on it, but because it wasn't stable to installed debian on top of it.

For both device, I will look in the different installation-scripts out there and the different threads and try to understand how exactly they work, and work from there on build myself a stable system.

Concerning the RTL-drivers, as I need a linux kernel 3.4 or later (the first version that supports the RTL chipset in ad-hoc mode), the archlinux kernel is not really an option. These are based on a 3.1.10 kernel and there does not seams to be a lot of development for it anymore. :-(


Thanks for the information.

Kristoff

Kristoff,

See the updated 1st post in the orginal working thread for links. Actually people are working on the latest Debian/Arch kernel!

-bodhi
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