**** BEGIN LOGGING AT Sat Sep 26 02:59:58 2009
Sep 26 12:52:25 <frank_nslu2> hi
Sep 26 12:52:47 <frank_nslu2> any slugos developers around? I found a bug in one of the scripts to setup slugos 5
Sep 26 13:23:55 <frank_nslu2> hi mwester
Sep 26 13:24:00 <frank_nslu2> you are a slugos developer, right?
Sep 26 13:24:27 <frank_nslu2> I found a bug in the setup-optware.sh script in slugos5
Sep 26 13:24:50 <frank_nslu2> the build target for the script in slugos5 le is set to big endian
Sep 26 14:05:21 <mwester> frank_nslu2,  the wiki has a note about this at the very end of http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/SlugOS/InstallandTurnupABasicSlugOSSystem
Sep 26 14:36:14 <frank_slugos> mwester, I see
Sep 26 14:36:38 <frank_slugos> current issues aren't fixed in the firmware? or are they implemented in a next release?
Sep 26 14:45:37 <mwester> What issue do you speak of?
Sep 26 14:47:51 <frank_slugos> the one you just linked?
Sep 26 14:48:18 <frank_slugos> where the build target is incorrect in the optware script
Sep 26 14:59:44 <mwester> frank_slugos,  just follow the instructions in the wiki, and the problem is fixed.
Sep 26 15:01:10 <mwester> That particular issue will, of course, be addressed in a future SlugOS release, but it's not clear when such a release might happen. 
Sep 26 15:02:44 <mwester> I had hoped for a summer release, but the summer is over as of a few days ago, and the last significant effort on SlugOS was springtime...  one of the effects of the current economic disaster here in the US is that "hobby-time" seems to have vanished for many many people.
Sep 26 15:03:08 <mwester> So, maybe a release this fall, more likely this winter.
Sep 26 15:04:44 <frank_slugos> k
Sep 26 15:10:36 <frank_slugos> I know it's a privilege to be able to use SlugOS, not a right :)
Sep 26 15:22:28 <DerGraf> hi
Sep 26 15:22:51 <DerGraf> how long does flashing take normaly on the nslu2?
Sep 26 15:23:24 <mwester> a minute or two.
Sep 26 15:24:02 <DerGraf> i mean after flashing
Sep 26 15:24:06 <DerGraf> for debian slug
Sep 26 15:24:29 <DerGraf> till it should beep 3 times
Sep 26 15:25:12 <mwester> No idea; I don't do debian.  Perhaps someone else here might know, or you might try the debian-arm IRC channel (which isn't on freenode, see the wiki for which server hosts that).
Sep 26 15:25:32 <DerGraf> ok.. thanks :)
Sep 26 15:25:50 <DerGraf> which OS do you prefer?
Sep 26 15:26:28 <mwester> SlugOS
Sep 26 15:26:51 <mwester> (but I'm biased, so take my opinion with a "grain of salt", so to speak)
Sep 26 15:27:30 <DerGraf> ;)
Sep 26 15:28:14 <DerGraf> the thing is that if my usb-stick will fail I have to reflash the nslu with debian :/
Sep 26 15:29:16 <frank_slugos> mwester, I noticed that most of the commercial NAS on the market on the ARM architecture are little endian (in fact, I could find 0 NAS that use ARM EABI big endian). Any idea why this is?
Sep 26 15:30:46 <mwester> Path of Least Resistance
Sep 26 15:31:20 <mwester> DerGraf,  that's an unfortunate limitation of the Debian implementation on the NSLU2.
Sep 26 15:32:23 <DerGraf> hmh.. ready led blinks red-green and network is green.. but i can't connect to the box
Sep 26 15:32:27 <mwester> DerGraf,  SlugOS does not have that issue.  It will boot from internal flash, allow you to restore/recover your failed flash drive, then allow you to switch it so that it boots from the new media.  SlugOS (latest version) also supports mirrored flash devices, for exactlyt he purpose of dealing with failing flash sticks. :)
Sep 26 15:32:28 <DerGraf> and that since about 10 minute
Sep 26 15:34:55 <mwester> frank_slugos,  the real question is why is Unslung BE only, and why does SlugOS support both?  The answer is that the network controller in the NSLU2 requires Intel firmware and driver, which was  BE-only.  We finally got an open-source driver, which allowed SlugOS to offer an LE version.  Debian came later, and does LE-only to be compatible with data-files written by Debian on intel hosts, which is LE.
Sep 26 15:37:24 <DerGraf> should it be safe to press the power button?
Sep 26 15:38:00 <DerGraf> mwester: what do you run on your slug?
Sep 26 15:39:23 <mwester> I have several different versions of Unslung running, SlugOS 3.10 on one of them, SlugOS 4.x on a couple, and the latest in-development SlugOS is running with a bunch of temperature sensors on my workbench. :)
Sep 26 15:39:45 <DerGraf> ok xD
Sep 26 15:39:49 <mwester> I also have a prototype version of SlugOS running on the SheevaPlug.
Sep 26 15:39:53 <frank_slugos> nice
Sep 26 15:40:00 <frank_slugos> that's my upgrade in a few years
Sep 26 15:40:02 <frank_slugos> :)
Sep 26 15:40:27 <frank_slugos> I wonder whether SlugOS uses DMA for usb transfers, and if not, if it theoretically would speed up the hdd throughput
Sep 26 15:40:44 <mwester> SlugOS uses a stock Linux ARM kernel.
Sep 26 15:41:01 <mwester> So it works as well (or poorly) as any other distro would on that hardware.
Sep 26 15:41:13 <mwester> And, yes, it uses DMA for USB.
Sep 26 15:41:33 <frank_slugos> since version 5.3? or is the EABI responsible for the big speedup?
Sep 26 15:41:57 <mwester> I can't recall a kernel version that did not use DMA for usb.
Sep 26 15:42:21 <mwester> EABI only affects user-space apps, and only a few of them.
Sep 26 15:44:01 <frank_slugos> in slugos 4.8 I get 16Mbps max transfer rate through samba (writing to usb hdd on slug)
Sep 26 15:44:06 <DerGraf> hmh.. should i reflash the device (if i can do it)?
Sep 26 15:44:08 <DerGraf> ^
Sep 26 15:44:15 <DerGraf> it's now over 20 minutes
Sep 26 15:44:16 <frank_slugos> in slugos 5.3 I get 36-40 Mbpis
Sep 26 15:44:20 <frank_slugos> Mbps
Sep 26 15:44:26 <mwester> Cool.
Sep 26 15:44:45 <frank_slugos> I thought it was due to introduction of DMA network/usb or EABI in slugos 5.3
Sep 26 15:44:46 <mwester> :)  It wasn't DMA that changed it...
Sep 26 15:44:56 <mwester> Nor eabi.
Sep 26 15:45:50 <frank_slugos> what do you get on sheevaplug?
Sep 26 15:45:51 <mwester> I don't think anyone has really ever tracked down what the issue is.  Personally, I think it's just a change in the default mount options, or just a quirk of how the new kernel handles some very specific USB/IDE adaptors.
Sep 26 15:46:10 <mwester> I've never measured on the Plug.
Sep 26 15:46:22 <frank_slugos> it's got gigabit ethernet, right?
Sep 26 15:46:49 <mwester> yep
Sep 26 15:47:00 <frank_slugos> if it has the same power envelope as the slug, it would be a really nice upgrade
Sep 26 15:47:36 <frank_slugos> do you have a developer unit? I haven't seen any commercial NAS based on kirkwood yet
Sep 26 15:48:27 <mwester> I have the globalscale Sheevaplug, which is targeted to developers.
Sep 26 15:49:40 <Guest5624> arg
**** ENDING LOGGING AT Sun Sep 27 02:59:56 2009