26 Nov 08 Using distcc for distributed compiling on an alix 3c2

Since I’ve been working on the alix board for the robot it’s become increasingly useful to just compile software on the board itself rather than on a host machine – with an AMD Geode 500MHz processor, it’s certainly capable.

I generally work on a USB hard drive attached to one of the spare ports whilst I’m testing stuff live, and then I back up the hard drive every so often.

I made some modifications to the cp2102.c kernel module and I wanted to recompile the kernel on the board directly as I had some other modules I needed, such as for the wifi card. 2.6.18 compiled eventually over about 7 hours but after wanting to make further kernel changes, I decided that I didn’t have another 7 hours to wait. I decided to use distcc to compile ‘locally’ but use the processing power of any number of other servers.
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Tags: /etc/hosts, 2.6.18, 3c2, alix, apt-get, build kernel, cc, CC=distcc, compiled, cp2102, distcc, distccd, DISTCC_HOSTS, distributed compiler, g++, gcc, Intel Xeon, kernl module, ld, libc6, libc6-dev, Linux, make, the robot

02 Nov 08 The Robot: Successful installation of Debian onto the Alix 3c2 board

Some hardware has arrived!

So my working space is a little bit of a mess at the moment. There’s no better way of getting started than just getting straight to the point.

The Alix 3c2 main board arrived in good health and works well. On the underside is a 512MB CF card and an Atheros MiniPCI Wifi. I’ve soldered single core wire to the I2C bus pinout. GND, CLK, Data & +3v.

I’ve also soldered bell wire across the power input. It accepts a wide input and so I’ve decided on 12v.

This is my prototype “power distribution board”. Currently it consists of 2 12V/2A regulators, some resistors and a 1000uF/30V smoothing capacitor. It provides 12v to the Alix board, and 12v to the motor controller. If both motors stall, they can use up to 6A, so whilst this is fine for testing the controller board, I’m going to have to replace one of the regulators with a transformer system to provide the necessary power to the motors.
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Tags: 12v, 38400 8n1, 3c2, 512MB CF card, alix, alix 3c2, atheros, atheros 5212, capacitor, card reader, clk, data, debian, debootstrap, gnd, Hardware, i2c, i2c bus, i2cdetect, Linux, minipci, motor, null modem, power distribution board, prototype, pxe boot, regulator, resistor, serial cable, serial console, smoothing capacitor, solder, transformer, wifi, wire