Imagination accelerates Debian development for 64-bit MIPS CPUs

The SDNA-7130 (Software Defined Network Appliance) platforms are developed by Rhino Labs, a leading provider of high-performance data security, networking, and data infrastructure solutions.

Says Ian Oliver, VP of developer tools, Imagination: “The devices from Rhino Labs represent an important part of Imagination’s commitment to offer Debian developers free access to a wide range of 32- and 64-bit MIPS-based platforms. We encourage the community to take advantage of the new hardware available and join us in the quest to provide the latest features of the 32- and 64-bit MIPS architecture to the widest possible range of Debian users.”

The SDNA-7130 appliances feature enterprise-grade Cavium OCTEON III CN7130 chips that include quad-core MIPS64 processors clocked 1.5GHz as well as powerful floating point units (FPUs). The high-performance quad-core Cavium processors enable a reduction in package build times and let Debian developers access the advanced feature set of the MIPS64 Release 5 architecture.

Debian MIPS ports are also possible thanks to donations from the aql hosting service provider, the Eaton remote controlled ePDU, and many other individual members of the Debian community.