AVR port?

hello!

i'm an EE student at the university of wisconsin, platteville campus.  and for
some time i have been considering a multiple processor system for a final
project.  sadly, it seems impossible to create hardware without also creating
a HUGE software problem.  however, if netbsd could be made to run on a
system with only a reasonable amount of pain and not too much re-inventing, the
project could be general enough to be useful and i could continue attending
classes instead of coding :)

there are a few questions that arise; here they are.  the first set of questions
involve the feasibility of the project, the second set pertains to the general
idea of porting an OS.

  + does the processor need be 32-bit?  is this simply for the convenience
    of memory addressing?  does the idea of using multiple 8-bit processors
    instead of their more expensive counterparts make you laugh?  if so, why?
  + is a mmu absolutely essential?  is virtual memory essential?


  + how do i get started with a port?  are there some general guidelines?
  + roughly, how many hours/days/months/years does an average port require? 

well, there it is.  thank you for your time.  i'll be looking forward to hearing
from you!

sincerely  -kevin


-- 
kevin neff
intense pulsed neutron source division
argonne national lab
[email protected]