Re: Xbox port

Hubert Feyrer writes: 

> On Thu, 18 Mar 2004 [email protected] wrote:
>> I've been working on a port to the Xbox. So far I got a patched kernel with
>> a ramdisk ready to be tested. I am still working on the bootloader. Is
>> anybody
>> else working on this? Is anybody interested in helping me? Since I don't
>> know
>> which is the regular procedure to start a new port and get it commited, I
>> would like to know if I should start doing my work under a different
>> /usr/src/sys/arch, or if I should just be using #ifdef XBOX all over the
>> i386 port?
> 
> See http://www.netbsd.org/developers/new-port.html on the (mostly
> administrative!) tasks to do for a new port.

Ok, I will read this. Still I want to have first something that works.
Creating or not a new port will be only a matter of time. 

> Whether to base this on the i386 port or start a new port dependson how
> different the port will be, I can't tell. It's probably best to start out
> at the i386 port, and #ifdefs for easy identification, and if it's
> getting too much start a new port. (might be interesting to discuss
> details on [email protected]).

Yeah, I already started sending messages there. Maybe I should also talk
about this in one of the tech mailing lists. 

> From talking to various people involved in linux-xbox, tasks I see
> that need to be done for getting a port started are:
>  * getting the ramdisk kernel that you already have

Yes, this is done and ready to be tested. 

>  * have it started (bootloader thing - too bad linux doesn't use ELF
>    kernels - bad linux!)

I am still working on the bootloader. It would be nice if someone can
help me out on this, since I don't have too much experience on this kind
of issues. And by the way, Linux also uses ELF kernels. 

>  * find some way for the kernel to communicate. USB ethernet/serial may
>    work.

I enabled USB ethernet on my kernel+ramdisk. Once I buy one of those, I
will configure the ramdisk to assign an IP to the USB nic. 

>  * see if you can talk to the gfx card (console).
>  * console will be fun. dunno if wscons can do non-vga, and if so, how.

The console issue is one of the last ones for me. I will be happy enough
with a remote console through ssh. Once I get that, I can work on porting
the nvidia drivers from Linux. 

>  * see if you can talk to the harddisk (raw hardware)
>  * see how different the Xbox filesystem is from our ntfs

I didn't start looking at that, yet. But since Linux has all the tools for
this, I don't think it will be TOO complicated. 

>  * idea i bounced with some people for booting is to vnconfig a file on
>    the ntfs with a FFS in it, mount it and chroot to it from the ramdisk,
>    then boot from it.

It will be easier just to use NFS, what do you think? 

>  * if you have that, get X going. and ethernet.

Yeah, but all this goes to the bottom of the stack. 

>  * cheer, party, dance, announce world domination

I already started with those... :-) 

Later,
Nico.