A new Cell "add-on" CD image,
ftp://ftp.infradead.org/pub/Sony-PS3/CELL-Linux-CL_20070425-ADDON.iso
has been released that has a number of improvements over the earlier version. First, it has the boot loader /PS3/otheros/otheros.bld on the CD where it can be located and installed by the Sony OS. It is no longer necessary to download it separately. Second, the CD is based on Fedora Core 6 and assumes Cell SDK 2.1. And, third, important to many of us, the 2.6.16 kernel (with Cell patches applied) has support for Wi-Fi. In addition, the kernel, kernel headers, and kexec tools have been excluded from the update packages list to avoid an accidental overwrite of the patched kernel. A Linux PS3 kernel 2.6.21-rc7 snapshot (without wi-fi) is installed as an alternate to the default kernel for anyone needing it.
Ideally, the PS3 should drive a display with HDMI input, HDCP, and 1900x1080 or so native resolution. My PS3, however, is driving analog, component inputs to an older HD Ready television set that can only sync to 480i, 480p or 1080i signals. And while the set may scan 1080 lines, the native resolution is so poor that text is mostly unreadable. I learned early the trick of using Ctrl-Alt-F1 to switch to a text mode and later, Ctrl-Alt-F7 to switch back to the GUI screen. If you are at the kboot login GUI, you need to use Ctrl-Alt-F3. Fortunately, this new add-on CD defaults to 480i that will display readable text on most screens. YDL, if I remember, defaulted to 720p which was a problem for me.
Not very interested in games, I partitioned my hard disk to give 50GB to the Otheros, Linux. After installing the bootloader and rebooting to the kboot: prompt, I issued the "install-fs" command and, when asked, opted for a full install of Fedora Core 6. The installation took about four hours but completed successfully. I understand that it may fail if the Linux partition is only 10GB, however. In these cases, a minimal installation can be used, followed by selective installation of desired software. This process has been detailed in other writings such as can be found at
http://ps3coderz.com/
by Nicholas Blachford. I should mention here that ps3coderz has an excellent, up to date collection of links specific to the PS3 where I learned of this new add-on CD release.
On completion of the install, you are prompted to insert the add-on CD. The installation of Cell and PS3-specific kernels and software is then completed automatically. A reboot will then display two big penguins for the dual-core PPU and six little penguins for the available spu's.
Up to this point, I used a USB wireless keyboard directly attached to the PS3 for data entry. After the full installation, however, the SSH daemon became available for remote communications from my Windows PC. I installed "Tunnelier" software
http://www.bitvise.com/tunnelier
on my PC and was able to get an xterm display and log into the PS3 remotely. This package also provides a convenient ftp client for transfer of files between my PC and PS3. It communicates over port 22 on the PS3 and does not interfere with a remote desktop.
From a command line, locally or remotely, I could now configure my system. You must use the command line editor, vi (short for view) to modify files. As an engineering VP for thirty years, I did not often get into the details of programming. But vi was one of those fundamental tools we all needed during the early days of Unix/Linux. If you are interested you can learn more from a "VI FAST REFERENCE GUIDE" by Daniel Romike.
http://www.cat.pdx.edu/unix/vi-fast-reference-guide.html
My initial communications between PC and PS3 were over wired Ethernet. My PS3 is under my TV in my living room, and my PC in my den about 40 feet away. During the night I could string a 50 foot CAT5E cable across the floor to make the connection. It was inconvenient, however, to have to coil it up before morning to prevent the family from tripping over it. Wi-fi was essential for me.
Wi-fi settings are placed in the file: /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0. This file shows several examples and I was able to get on air after a couple of tries. I did a simple configuration without security settings by adding the following lines to the file:
#simple, no security
IWPRIV="set_alg 0"
ESSID="APName"
The important information you need is the access point name (APName). Wifi-radar can be installed from the add-on CD if you want to automatically scan for access points on boot. However, the network manager apparently cannot be used to configure the wi-fi.
My first configuration for vnc was awkward to use. I would turn on the PS3, wait for it to boot to the login screen, and then login with the USB keyboard. Then, at my PC I would start the vncviewer (client)
http://www.realvnc.com/products/free/4.1/download.html
to connect with the X11 session on port :0 (:5900) of the PS3. Once I had activated wi-fi, I noticed that I would frequently lose my connection. The only way to restore it was to reboot and repeat the login procedure.
Then, in these forums, "perif" on May 11 offered a /etc/X11/xorg.conf (on a fedora core 6) that works like charm! On power up, my PS3 boots unattended to the login screen. I dont have to log on or even turn on the television. At my PC I run the vnc viewer client and am presented with the same login screen. I can choose language, session, and login as any user, including root. I can change users, reboot or power down, all from my PC. The only thing I cannot do is power on the PS3. And no wires! I have been running a week now with no loss of connection.
The video modes of the PS3/Linux are still a mystery to me. What I found workable for me was to specify the initial video mode in the /etc/kboot.conf file as follows:
Linux='/boot/vmlinux-2.6.16 initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.16 video=ps3fb:mode:4'
This sets the login screen to mode 4, 1080i, and gives me a 1900 by 1080 resolution at my PC. My display is limited to 1280 by 1024 but scroll bars give me access to the whole screen.
In addition, I modified my xorg.conf file to add alternate screen resolutions as follows:
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
FbBPP 32
Modes "1920x1200" "1920x1080" "1280x1024" "1280x768" "1280x720" "720x576" "720x480"
EndSubSection
You may want to add modes for other color depths as shown by YDL HOWTOs.
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/solutions/ydl_5.0/video-config.shtml
The available screen resolutions can then be selected from the graphical desktop. Many don't work for me, however, but may work if you have Linux on your PC.
Even with a full install of Fedora 6, some additional software packages need to be installed for the Cell SDK. Most of them will be installed with:
yum install --enablerepo=extras freeglut freeglut-devel mesa-libGLU-devel mesa-libGL-devel libX11-devel libXmu-devel libXext-devel
If I remember, I was prompted for one more. After installing it, the installation and build of libraries and samples for the SDK 2.1 took some time but went smoothly.
KDE seems to be more responsive than Gnome over the remote connection. It may be possible to speed it up by configuring vnc to limit color depth to 8 or 16 bits. With a full install, however, the software add/delete/update seems to take forever. I did manage to delete most of the language support since my Zulu is limited.
I have since been able to enter, compile and execute one of the tutorial samples that uses one of the little penguins. But now I would like to get Eclipse working. Out of the Fedora 6 box, it simply dies.
