blueDonkey.org

This Web

All Webs

blueDonkey.org

Other Sites

• Background
• Device Information
• Port Information
  • Support Matrix
  • Installation Instructions
• Links
  • General
  • Silicon Reference Guides
  • Missing Documentation

Background

The IBM Network Station 1000 box (IBM part number 8362-A53) was purchased on eBay for $20 including shipping. It is fitted with 64MB of RAM, but has no other storage devices. The CPU in this one is a 200MHz PowerPC 603ev.

I also have information on a NetBSD port to this platform in my NetBSD area.

Device Information

TBD

Port Information

Support Matrix

Feature	Supported	Notes
Linux Booted	No
Network	No	Uses Am79c971 PCnet-FAST (pcn) & ICS1890 PHY (icsphy).
RAM disk Root FS	No
NFS Root FS	No
Video	No	Video chip is S3 Trio.
Video Console	No
X11	No
IDE	No	Connector needs to be soldered in.
Audio	No
PCMCIA	No

Installation Instructions

TBD

Links

General

• Linux Port
  The home page of the Linux port. There is very little information here, but the patch contains many clues about the changes that need to be made to get this platform working. The level of activity (inactivity) in the forums would suggest that there is little active work on this platform in the Linux community at the moment.

• Network Station 1000 HowTo
  A How-To document that covers mostly setting up the box for use as a thin client onto a Linux server using the original IBM/NCD operating system. There is some useful information here about the device's firmware settings though.

• IBM Network Station Thin Client Support
  Contains many links relating to the whole family of Network Station thin clients, but many are dead links, or links to empty pages.

• IBM Network Station Manager V1R3 Software for PC Servers
  This is the place to download the original software for the Network Station. You must register, but it is free to do so. The file you get is a self-extracting archive. You can open it with a ZIP file reader on a Windows box, and simply extract the files necessary to boot the thin client's original OS (see the HowTo link above for information on doing this).

• Network Station Wiki
  A Wiki for those interested in using Linux and the network station family. Very little information here at the moment.

Silicon Reference Guides

• IBM 82660 PCI Host Bridge User's Manual

• PowerPC Microprocessor Family: The Programming Environments for 32-Bit Microprocessors
  (aka the green book)

• PowerPC 603e and EM603e RISC Microprocessor Family User's Manual

• PCnet-FAST Single-Chip Full-Duplex 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Controller for PCI Local Bus

Missing Documentation

• The S3 Trio graphics controller

• The PCI/ISA bridge (IBM Fire Coral)

-- JohnGordon - 08 Aug 2003