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SGI to drop Irix for Linux
bpdlr (who admits
to being a PC Week writer) sent us a story that proclaims that
SGI Will Drop IRIX
in exchange for some little no-name penguin oriented OS that nobody
has heard of. I'm hearing rumors of a new Linux based mega server
coming out of SGI, as well as some hugely scalable systems. Interesting stuff.
I don't remember directly, but take a look at http://linux.sgi.com and ask there. SGI has funded development for Linux for Mips, but not for all platforms. Currently I know it's on the Indy, and Challenge/S
Open Source Ronin
I work for SGI any you're post is completely inaccurate. SGI will continue to support MIPS and IRIX. SGI has NEVER announced dropping support for IRIX and it STILL doesn't intend to. Even this article points out that we have a MIPS roadmap for R12k R14k and R16k. The overall title of this slashdot article is completely misleading. The article isn't by SGI even it doesn't say SGI is dropping IRIX. I suppose to a salivating slashdot audience the notion of Linux displacing a grown up OS sounds exciting, but it just isn't ready to replace IRIX feature for feature so dropping that OS is NOT an option.
Simple point of clarity. Also a minor goof in the article:
"Linux is a 32-bit operating system and does not scale beyond four processors."
A suppose those alpha types have just been wasting 32 bits this whole time, eh? =)
How's my programming? Call 1-800-DEV-NULL
In a couple weeks at SIGGRAPH, SGI will be demoing hardware acceleration and IRIS Performer under linux.
Don't worry.
SGI is migrating down to linux the features they think linux needs to move up to the type of hardware SGI wants to build (think Origin and Onyx with Merced in place of MIPS). XFS and the direct rendering infrastucture are the most visible of these.
It will take time for these, and other less visible, Irix features to migrate to Linux - which is why SGI is still commited to supporting Irix on MIPS through two more processor generations (R14K and beyond).
I can't comment on the state of XFS for Linux, SGI said they would need some time to put the source in a releaseable form - they need to make sure they don't release copyrighted code etc.
As a result, an updated version has been posted here.
The errors corrected are:
- Linux not being only 32-bit
- IRIX being the first 64-bit UNIX (OSF/1 was).
- The MIPS processors are R12000, R14000, R16000 not just the numerics.
-JeffMost of SGI's customers left a while ago. That's why they're doing this - they aren't able to compete anymore. The faster and cheaper PCs get, the less likely it is that $10,000 workstations from SGI (and others) are going to be considered an option.
It's happening across the board - everybody (not just SGI) is reorganizing around Intel on the low end, because they can't compete on price with Intel systems, and the majority of low-end systems are sold on price, not performance. I'm not saying it's right, but I would rather see SGI stay alive by selling Linux than die a slow, wasting death clutching onto IRIX...
P.S. Before anyone feels the need to point it out, I know that the $10K SGI will run rings around the $3K Intel box - but try to convince a purchasing manager of that...
Well, I cannot reveal my sourced, but:
/.
* SGI plan to modify Linux to run on 64 & up processors..
* They're porting Linux to MIPS (not just the R3000, think MUCH bigger numbers - R10000 & up)
* And some more surprises.
As soon as I'll have more info, I'll post it on
Hetz (Heunique)
I guess no one wants all that 'mathy stuff' anymore. Serious computing is at an end.
IRIX 6.2 with IDO:
sgi3 10# apropos matrix | wc
1006 24627 153747
sgi3 11# apropos eigen | wc
244 6123 42143
Redhat 5.2:
stupidpc:~# apropos matrix
matrix: nothing appropriate
stupidpc:~# apropos eigen
eigen: nothing appropriate
But why reinvent the wheel?
When all you need is the valve stem....
The URL in the story doesn't seem to work, but this one does:
s earch_mo.right_frame?p_story=87942
http://webserv.vnunet.com/www_user/plsql/pkg_vnu_
umm... somebody want to tell them that it supports up to 16 cpu's (on the 2.0, don't know about the 2.2).
oh yeah and what about ultra pengiun? a few more bits there, 64.
damn e-zine writers... don't want to read the howto's.... just like a newbie.
hi =)
Possibly SGI has decided that they can write better proprietary Graphics software if they don't have to also maintain the platform it runs on. It would be a strategic move to "give away" the base operating system in order to regroup and focus on what SGI is best at: high end graphics. The OS is just the black tar surface. The applications are the high performance vehicles that roll across it.
I doubt (but then this whole subject is based on rumors yet, is it not?) that SGI is giving away the crown jewels yet.
Okay, what of Alias|Wavefront? I've heard no rumblings about a Maya (or Composer, etc) port to Linux. This is the 'killer app' for a significant market segment... and it's *owned* by SGI. We know it's portable -- I mean, it runs on IRIX, HPUX (that was the port that the commerce department required when SGI bought Alias and Wavefront, IIRC), and NT. I've heard rumours of a Houdini port... I can't believe SGI would ignore this apparent hole in their corporate strategy -- I mean, it's looking more and more like they're moving from 'Linux as a Visual Workstation server solution' to 'Linux as a total desktop solution'. And smeggin' tanj, Maya is just *cool*.
-spc
- Do you make your money off of hardware, support, consulting, and add-on software, or on your proprietary OS?
- Are there unique strengths your company has? (IBM=global enterprise services, SGI=visualization, Sun=network is the computer)
- In the short or medium term, are you shifting to an Intel hardware strategy (ia32, ia64)? (SGI, HP, IBM?)
- In the short term, can you live with less than enterprise level? (SGI)
Why spend oodles of money developing the OS whose only function is to create a market for your hardware, services, unique value, if you can spend less money developing those features into Linux? In the final analysis, your competitive strength is not your OS (especially SGI, IBM, HP; Sun seems to be more tied to Solaris), and it is defocusing to pretend that the OS does anything more than help you get into the market where you strengths show.The problem for the moment for IBM, Sun, HP, is that Linux is seen mostly as an Intel solution, and that it doesn't scale up to enterprise levels. But it makes perfect sense for SGI to phase out Irix in favor of a Linux with all the support for visualization that plays to SGI's strengths. And it makes sense for the rest to shift R&D from proprietary OSs, into Linux, to develop the enterprise level features and strength on non-Intel platforms to allow them to phase out AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, etc.
This is a clear win for Linux (witness XFS, etc.), and we ought to encourage this as much as possible.