4 ms·

I read a little bit about this a while ago. Is there still a way to buy these? I've heard great things about systems development on the MIPS platform but haven'

by ajxs 7y ago

I read a little bit about this a while ago. Is there still a way to buy these? I've heard great things about systems development on the MIPS platform but haven't had a great reason to invest myself in learning the architecture. Any opinions from others on that subject would be appreciated too. I missed the boat with the Imgtec Creator CI20 board, unfortunately. Does anyone know of any other Linux capable MIPS development boards on the market?

ajxs 7y ago
It looks like the CI20 is still available from one retailer at least: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1253305/ http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1253305/ Quite expensive though.
goatinaboat 7y ago
Imgtec was acquired by Chinese investors, ironically a condition of the sale required by the US was that they sell off MIPS.
delroth 7y ago
One option is to get one of the many OpenWRT compatible routers -- something like 80% of them will run on a MIPS CPU (though the trend is starting to switch to ARM for more recent platforms). That's how I got started with MIPS development several years ago. Or if you want to go less standard (e.g. won't run Linux), get a modded PlayStation 1 :-)
- jchw 7y ago
  Hey, technically, a stock PS2 can run Linux, and that’s still MIPS. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2
  - ZirconiumX 7y ago
    But modding a PS2 only requires a memory card with FreeMcBoot on it (it's literally plug and play), and at that point you might as well use an updated version of Linux like frno7's.
    - jchw 7y ago
      This is true. I am mostly pointing out PS2 Linux as an interesting footnote, though it is probably a good argument that PS2 + FreeMcBoot is a better option than modchipped PS1 for MIPS computing.
- ajxs 7y ago
  I've thought about the router suggestion! The PlayStation idea is a great one I didn't think of! It looks like there's a great variety of devices running with MIPS CPUs. I was more specifically looking for a system capable of more traditional computing, but I definitely plan to take a look at smaller scale MIPS devices. How do you find embedded development for MIPS compared to ARM and RISC-V? I'm interested after hearing from people that it's a much better architecture, though I can't validate that for myself yet.
  - ZirconiumX 7y ago
    With the PlayStation 2 you can run Linux on MIPS[1], though it's a highly nonstandard MIPS; you'll need to get a memory card with FreeMcBoot. Plus, even if you plan to do embedded development, the PS2 is much more documented than the PS1. As for a "more traditional computing" experience, you can always look for an SGI. RISC-V borrows heavily from MIPS, so the two have a pretty similar development experience. [1]: https://github.com/frno7/linux https://github.com/frno7/linux or else source the official PS2 Linux Kit.
    - NikkiA 7y ago
      > As for a "more traditional computing" experience, you can always look for an SGI. There's also the Digital Electronics "DecStation 5000" series that were R3000 and R4000 based, which could run Ultrix or probably some of the more modern BSDs. They're probably rarer than used SGIs, but may be cheaper if you're lucky. (Though used 200MHz SGI Octanes are pretty cheap and plentiful in the US)
voltagex_ 7y ago
https://vocore.io https://vocore.io maybe?
- ajxs 7y ago
  Very cool!
sigjuice 7y ago
Here are a couple https://www.8devices.com/products/carambola-2 https://www.8devices.com/products/carambola-2 https://onion.io https://onion.io
- ajxs 7y ago
  Thanks for the resources. You'd be shocked how little you can find with a quick search for 'MIPS development board'.
  - sigjuice 7y ago
    You could also experiment with running Linux in Qemu. https://people.debian.org/~aurel32/qemu/mips/ https://people.debian.org/~aurel32/qemu/mips/
    - opless 7y ago
      I've done this recently, I followed(ish) [1], and [2] recipes, but modified them for buster. I'd write it up, but I'm way to lazy^Wbusy right now. [1] https://markuta.com/how-to-build-a-mips-qemu-image-on-debian/ https://markuta.com/how-to-build-a-mips-qemu-image-on-debian... [2] https://www.aurel32.net/info/debian_mips_qemu.php https://www.aurel32.net/info/debian_mips_qemu.php

by ajxs 7y ago

ajxs 7y ago

It looks like the CI20 is still available from one retailer at least: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1253305/ http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1253305/ Quite expensive though.

goatinaboat 7y ago

Imgtec was acquired by Chinese investors, ironically a condition of the sale required by the US was that they sell off MIPS.

delroth 7y ago

One option is to get one of the many OpenWRT compatible routers -- something like 80% of them will run on a MIPS CPU (though the trend is starting to switch to ARM for more recent platforms). That's how I got started with MIPS development several years ago. Or if you want to go less standard (e.g. won't run Linux), get a modded PlayStation 1 :-)

jchw 7y ago
Hey, technically, a stock PS2 can run Linux, and that’s still MIPS. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2
- ZirconiumX 7y ago
  But modding a PS2 only requires a memory card with FreeMcBoot on it (it's literally plug and play), and at that point you might as well use an updated version of Linux like frno7's.
  - jchw 7y ago
    This is true. I am mostly pointing out PS2 Linux as an interesting footnote, though it is probably a good argument that PS2 + FreeMcBoot is a better option than modchipped PS1 for MIPS computing.
ajxs 7y ago
I've thought about the router suggestion! The PlayStation idea is a great one I didn't think of! It looks like there's a great variety of devices running with MIPS CPUs. I was more specifically looking for a system capable of more traditional computing, but I definitely plan to take a look at smaller scale MIPS devices. How do you find embedded development for MIPS compared to ARM and RISC-V? I'm interested after hearing from people that it's a much better architecture, though I can't validate that for myself yet.
- ZirconiumX 7y ago
  With the PlayStation 2 you can run Linux on MIPS[1], though it's a highly nonstandard MIPS; you'll need to get a memory card with FreeMcBoot. Plus, even if you plan to do embedded development, the PS2 is much more documented than the PS1. As for a "more traditional computing" experience, you can always look for an SGI. RISC-V borrows heavily from MIPS, so the two have a pretty similar development experience. [1]: https://github.com/frno7/linux https://github.com/frno7/linux or else source the official PS2 Linux Kit.
  - NikkiA 7y ago
    > As for a "more traditional computing" experience, you can always look for an SGI. There's also the Digital Electronics "DecStation 5000" series that were R3000 and R4000 based, which could run Ultrix or probably some of the more modern BSDs. They're probably rarer than used SGIs, but may be cheaper if you're lucky. (Though used 200MHz SGI Octanes are pretty cheap and plentiful in the US)

voltagex_ 7y ago

https://vocore.io https://vocore.io maybe?

ajxs 7y ago
Very cool!

sigjuice 7y ago

Here are a couple https://www.8devices.com/products/carambola-2 https://www.8devices.com/products/carambola-2 https://onion.io https://onion.io

ajxs 7y ago
Thanks for the resources. You'd be shocked how little you can find with a quick search for 'MIPS development board'.
- sigjuice 7y ago
  You could also experiment with running Linux in Qemu. https://people.debian.org/~aurel32/qemu/mips/ https://people.debian.org/~aurel32/qemu/mips/
  - opless 7y ago
    I've done this recently, I followed(ish) [1], and [2] recipes, but modified them for buster. I'd write it up, but I'm way to lazy^Wbusy right now. [1] https://markuta.com/how-to-build-a-mips-qemu-image-on-debian/ https://markuta.com/how-to-build-a-mips-qemu-image-on-debian... [2] https://www.aurel32.net/info/debian_mips_qemu.php https://www.aurel32.net/info/debian_mips_qemu.php