SuSE Linux PowerPC: Versions since 7.1
There are several links on the internet where you can find lots information. Some good starting points are:
http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/linux/Furthermore there is a community mailinglist where you can discuss all kind of topics regarding Linux on iseries. Here is the link where you can get subscribed:
http://lists.linuxppc.org/
You can find a product description of the Developer Release here:
http://www.suse.de/us/products/suse_business/sles/dev_iseries/
This page should give you all necessary information for the installation (it also leads to the download pages):
"PPC: Installation of SuSE Linux 7.1/PPC on iSeries" (http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/poeml_iseries_installation_7.1.html)
SuSE Linux runs very well on iSeries. In fact, the 7.1 Developer Release runs already so well that it is the only distribution certified for IBMs Java2 packages.
Minor problems can mainly be be encountered during the installation. Known bugs and workarounds are listed here:
"Known bugs and problems in SuSE Linux 7.1 PPC for iSeries" (http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/bugs71ppc-iseries.html)
Generally spoken every iseries with an IStar or SStar processor should do it. In general, this applies to each machine sold in or after May 2001. But, here you will find a complete and official list from IBM:
http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/linux/hardware.html
The SuSE Linux Developer Edition is shipped with a patched 2.4.3 kernel. It includes the patches made by IBM for the iSeries that were available as of the end of July 2001. Since then, some more 2.4.3 patches have been released as bugfixes and a kernel update is advisable. Please download the newest kernel from:
http://linux01.gwdg.de/suse/ftp.suse.com/suse/ppc/boot/iSeries/
For the IBM patches have a look at:
http://oss.software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/linux/projects/ppc/iSeries_notes.phpThe SCSI driver for native IO is on the most current level, too.
In general every linux is able to work as a firewall, so SuSE Linux Developer Edition for iSeries is also able to run as a firewall.
But:
We would not recommend to set up a firewall for a production system with the shipped kernel 2.4.3. There are some known security problems with this kernel. This is one of the reasons why SuSE Linux Developer Edition for iSeries got this name. We expect the customers to develop solutions with this release and to become familiar with the linux concept.
You can expect a release with a more secure kernel later this year. If you are interested in a firewall solution for the iSeries please feel free to contact us.