In message <199903250219.LAA02889@axp46.aist-nara.ac.jp> Toru Nishimura writes:
: I've invested significant time to make research about NetBSD/arc and
: got more concrete picture about it than ever.  I'd like to make notes
: of it here.

Thank you for posting this summary.  Any idea when a snapshot would be
available :-)

: NetBSD/arc is the worthwhile project of pursuing not only to save a
: certain, now defunct, product line of MIPS processor based computers,
: but also to exploit the new horizon of modern computer properties like
: PCI, PCMICA and USB.  To achieve the goal forthcoming NetBSD/arc would
: be, effectively, the "MIPS version of NetBSD/alpha."   NetBSD/arc would
: have similar internal designs as NetBSD/alpha.  Indeed, I wrote
: "mock-up" codes of possible NetBSD/arc *from scratch* to measure and
: evaluate the project scope, and got surprised how much of existing
: NetBSD codes are directly reusable with the "mock-up"s.  It's "a virtue
: of NetBSD".
: 
: Then, speaking specifically of hardwares.  David Brownlee gave me
: Millennium PC50 made by MIPS Computer System few weeks ago (Thank you,
: David!).  I poked around it (and learned why they failed in market
: wise)  So-called "MIPS based ARC boxes" are products targeted toward
: Windows NT.  NT/mips is consisted with different designs of computers
: which share processors.

Working with OpenBSD/arc convinced me that a R4xxx based port for mips
is a good thing, given all the new hardware that is coming out with
MIPS processors.  What hardware you ask?  Why many of those WinCE HPC
and PPC machines are mips based and it would take minimal amounts of
effort to make things work on them.  They are finally starting to get
enough RAM to make a port easy and worthwhile.  There is even efforts
underway to write a loader for WinCE so you could load a kernel and
boot.

The Caseo Casiopeia(sp?) E-11 has a Vr4111 with 8M RAM, plus CF slot.
Likewise with a machine from Everex.  The Velo tablet hpc/pro (16M
with 1024x768x256 colors) has a MIPS processor of some flavor in it,
as do many of the first generation hpcs (NECmobile pro series, etc).
While lacking FP and a couple of instructoins, these machines are
starting to be very attractive in terms of cost/benefits.  One can get
the E-11 for approx $250 (less if you hunt a lot), which makes it an
ideal candidate for a port.  The biggest difference between these
machines and the ARC is the boot sequence.  Otherwise they can be
viewed as the next generation of ARC chipset machines since most of
their functionality is built into the CPU or chipset tightly coupled
to the CPU.

: Those who are familiar to Digital product line can see this design as
: IOASIC DECstation w/ EISA in place of TURBOchannel.  

A curious piece of trivia is that the ARC BIOS specification had a
TURBOchannel version of it as well.  Don't know where that went, but
it was interestnig to see it when I was reading through things.

: [2] true EISA or true PCI machines
: 
: Those who are familiar to Digital product line can imagine 'Jensen', a
: PC with Alpha AXP processor.  Soon this design was replaced with
: then-emerging 'PCI chipsets'.  A certain models of Deskstation, NKKs
: with their own PCI chipset,

The Deskstation rPC44 (the first generation of machine) uses off the
shelf EISA hardware with nothing built into the machine.  Well, that
isn't quite true.  There is a jumper that enables what is effectively
an on-board multi-I/O board.  Never tried to use it in mine, however.

The Tyne went a step back towards the ARC Chipset stuff when it
integrated many things onto the motherboard, including special SRAM
for its DMA engine.  Since I don't have one of these, I don't know as
much about it as I do about the rPC44.

Warner