[Wylug-discuss] Another little project

[Peter Corlett]

Martyn Ranyard <martyn at syn.co.uk> wrote:
> This one's very cute, I promise :
> Commodore Amiga A1200 - m68k chip

A stock Amiga 1200 has a 68EC020 processor. That's a cost-reduced 68020 CPU
with only 24 address lines. The 68020 has no MMU or FPU.

> Can run linux fine aparrently.

No chance without a MMU. You need an acclerator board with a *full* 68030,
'040, or '060. (i.e. the 68EC030 that shows up on some boards is not
sufficient).

> Has a memory expansion board on the Commodore legacy expansion bit.

If that is only a memory expansion and not an accelerator board, forget it.

> Has a single 16bit pcmcia slot.

Note, the design predates PCMCIA and doesn't follow the full spec. Also note
that it will *not* drive 32 bit cards.

> Want to run it as a firewall! :-)

> My thoughts were :
[some mad ideas]

There is no way you're going to usefully get two NICs into that unless you
spend more on the machine than you should, e.g. by acquiring PCI adaptors
and tower cases, etc.

It's possibly also worth noting that the Amiga's serial port doesn't have a
FIFO and the OS tends to disable serial interrupts for extended periods, so
speeds above 38.4kb/s are generally not possible. There *are* third-party
serial cards (either PCMCIA or internal on the "clock port") that will give
you 16550 ports if you require them.

> 4. Give up and use it as an XTerm for the Telly (only one nic needed
>     then).

I've been using the Amiga for years, and I've yet to find a terminal
emulation (that runs under AmigaOS) that was fast and reliable.

> So far I've not got anywhere with doing it as I can't find any of the
> parts from options 1-3. I know it would be cheaper and easier to find an
> old machine to do it with, but it's fun getting linux going on an
> alternate arch, amigas are quiet and the idea of an amiga as a firewall is
> just so funny!

In general, while the Amiga *can* run Linux under certain conditions, it's
not generally worth the effort. Linux is a lot more resource-hungry than the
native OS and has somewhat different expectations of the hardware than the
Amiga provides.

If you're wanting to play on an obscure system, a reasonably high-end
Archimedes might suit you better.

OTOH, I was considering using one of my A1200s (or maybe the CDTV) as a
nameserver, but that was going to be a port of BIND to AmigaOS and a PPP
link to a port on my x86 firewall box.

(Why, yes, I know way too much useless stuff about the Amiga.)

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