Ubuntu does not impose hardware requirements beyond the requirements of the Linux kernel and the GNU tool-sets. Therefore, any architecture or platform to which the Linux kernel, libc, gcc, etc. have been ported, and for which an Ubuntu port exists, can run Ubuntu.
Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for PA-RISC, this section contains general information and pointers to where additional information can be found.
Ubuntu 9.04 supports three major architectures and several variations of each architecture known as “flavors”. Three other architectures (HP PA-RISC, Intel ia64, and IBM/Motorola PowerPC) have unofficial ports.
| Architecture | Ubuntu Designation | Subarchitecture | Flavor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel x86-based | i386 | ||
| AMD64 & Intel EM64T | amd64 | ||
| HP PA-RISC | hppa | PA-RISC 1.1 | 32 |
| PA-RISC 2.0 | 64 | ||
| Intel IA-64 | ia64 | ||
| IBM/Motorola PowerPC | powerpc | PowerMac | pmac |
| Sun SPARC | sparc | sun4u | sparc64 |
| sun4v |
There are two major support hppa flavors: PA-RISC 1.1 and PA-RISC 2.0. The PA-RISC 1.1 architecture is targeted at 32-bit processors whereas the 2.0 architecture is targeted to the 64-bit processors. Some systems are able to run either kernel. In both cases, the userland is 32-bit. There is the possibility of a 64-bit userland in the future.
Multiprocessor support — also called “symmetric multiprocessing” or SMP — is available for this architecture. However, the standard Ubuntu 9.04 kernel image does not support SMP. This should not prevent installation, since the standard, non-SMP kernel should boot on SMP systems; the kernel will simply use the first CPU.
In order to take advantage of multiple processors, you'll have to replace the standard Ubuntu kernel. You can find a discussion of how to do this in the section called “Compiling a New Kernel”. At this time (kernel version 2.6.28) the way you enable SMP is to select “Symmetric multi-processing support” in the “Processor type and features” section of the kernel config.
Ubuntu's support for graphical interfaces is determined by the underlying support found in X.Org's X11 system. Most AGP, PCI and PCIe video cards work under X.Org. Details on supported graphics buses, cards, monitors, and pointing devices can be found at http://xorg.freedesktop.org/. Ubuntu 9.04 ships with X.Org version 7.3.
Almost any network interface card (NIC) supported by the Linux kernel should also be supported by the installation system; modular drivers should normally be loaded automatically.
