Linux Kernel 2.6.20 for the Cell BE

This section provides a pre-compiled kernel build of the Linux kernel that is part of the IBM SDK 2.1 for the Cell Broadband Engine (Cell BE). In addition, we provide the instructions and patches that have been used to built that kernel and enable Cell BE users to easily build their own kernel.

This new upgraded Linux kernel contain enhancements for preemptive scheduling of SPE tasks, SPE logical affinity support and improved performance via 64 KB Local Store page mapping.

Kernel Binaries and Sources

The pre-compiled kernel build was built with the default kernel configuration file that comes with the patches. We provide both the pre-compiled kernel build and the source rpm which includes the patches and the 2.6.20 Linux kernel tarball.

Packages are provided as-is. If they don't work in your CBEA, please, try to build them from kernel sources by yourself. Next section shows the steps to build your own kernel.

Cell BE-based Blade Kernel Package


File Description
kernel-2.6.20-CBE.ppc64.rpm Pre-compiled Kernel binaries that enables Linux kernel on a Cell BE-based System.
kernel-2.6.20-CBE.src.rpm Patched kernel sources to enable Linux kernel on cell platforms.
kernel-debuginfo-2.6.20-CBE.ppc64.rpm Kernel debuginfo rpm package.

To install the pre-compiled kernel built, download the binary package and as root user type:

 rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.20-CBE.ppc64.rpm

Patching and compiling your own kernel

This section shows the steps to build a Linux kernel enabled for a BPA platform.

The steps required build your own kernel are:

  1. Download the 2.6.20 kernel distribution from official kernel web site:

    ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/linux-2.6.20.tar.bz2
  2. Download the kernel patches that needs to be applied to the 2.6.20. The patches have been downloaded from the official kernel mailing lists.

    Patches (tar-gz with all patches: kernel-2.6.20.tar.gz)
  3. Unpack the 2.6.20 kernel distribution: 
     tar -xvjf linux-2.6.20.tar.bz2
  4. Apply the patches (to check the order in which they should be applied see patch-order).
     
  5. Build the kernel as usual using the configuration file that can be found in the patched kernel: 
     arch/powerpc/configs/cell_defconfig     <-- Cell BE-based blade and Cell BE Systemsim

Base Distribution

The recommended distribution for the IBM SDK 2.1 release is Fedora Core 6. The kernel fits with that distribution. You can get the distribution CDs from:

http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/6/ppc/os/

For Fedora Core 6 installation instructions on a Cell BE-based Blade server refer to the Cell Broadband Engine - Software Development Kit 2.1 Installation Guide