✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago

i think if your network card has "UEFI secure boot" you have done something wrong. probably a lot of things

i counted at least 6 different pieces of firmware when looking at it component by component (if you can call a 128 GB eMMC with Ubuntu on it "firmware")

Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧

i thought this network card runs linux

i was wrong. it runs TWO copies of linux

Apr 8 at 1:39amWeb
Show thread'Pa 2d ago
@whitequark I've said it before and I'll say it again: EU legislators that mandated firmware BOMs for every product, are in for the surprise of their lives.
Show threadKevin Karhan2d ago
@pa @whitequark if it was my decisiom, only #OpenSource #Hardware (down to the single transistor!) And #FLOSS would he legal to import, sell, buy and use for #EU authorities…
Show threadpaulhey2d ago
@whitequark Is it like cisco's UCS systems where the firmware comes in pairs? one live an the other cold where you update the cold one and reboot into it, leaving a working backup. Or did they do something monstrous like having separate instances for each 200Gb interface, with some sort of sync/interconnect API?
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@paulhey neither. it has a bmc
Show threadpaulhey1d ago
@whitequark Both the controller and the BMC are running Linux!?!? No wonder the firmware update is cursed.
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧1d ago
@paulhey yes
Show threadHugo Slabbert ⚠️2d ago
@whitequark
Show threadthunfisch2d ago
@whitequark @s0 okay, but does it run crysis?
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@thunfisch @s0 it has 32 GB of DDR5 and a PCIe root complex. I bet I can make it happen
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@thunfisch @s0 the soc is an aarch64 device probably fast enough to run qemu and wine
Show threadthunfisch2d ago
@whitequark @s0 I love the fact that you seem to be seriously considering it 😅
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@thunfisch @s0 you did ask!
Show threadthunfisch2d ago
@whitequark @s0 fair :) more as a shitpost than anything else but deep down I am a bit curious.
Show threadClaudius2d ago

@thunfisch @whitequark @s0 reminds me of that time where someone installed Linux on their harddrive. That is, "ran it on a relatively beefy controller chip on that HDD".

Sadly, it's been 10+ years, and I can't find that post any more :-(

Show threadthunfisch2d ago
@claudius @whitequark @s0 omg that's awesome. Imagining the conversations. The meme potential. The hysterical laughter that follows.
Show threadthunfisch2d ago

@claudius @whitequark @s0

...and of course it was spritesmods. Absolute legend.

https://spritesmods.com/?art=hddhack

Sprites mods - Hard disk hacking - Intro

Show threadClaudius1d ago

@thunfisch @whitequark @s0 This time I'm bookmarking it :-D

Thanks for finding it again!

Show threadKat S2d ago
@whitequark On a network card.
@thunfisch @s0
Show threadthunfisch2d ago

@KatS @whitequark @s0 We call these things a "DPU" and pretend that it's fine. If you wanna read how well that can go, there's https://isolveproblems.substack.com/p/how-microsoft-vaporized-a-trillion .

Be warned though, there be dragons in that article that can't be unread.

How Microsoft Vaporized a Trillion Dollars

Inside the complacency and decisions that eroded trust in Azure—from a former Azure Core engineer.

Axel’s Substack
Show threadLarge Format Projectionist1d ago

@thunfisch @KatS @whitequark @s0

Let’s also be warned that this is just one point of view. I don’t mean that it’s wrong, but it may be *limited.*

Show threadFiona2d ago
@whitequark @thunfisch Sounds like you could probably compile firmware for one of the Linux-running parts on the other! ​​
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@airtower @thunfisch definitely
Show threadD21d ago

@whitequark @thunfisch @s0 I mean, do we say crysis gets easier or harder when device is intentionally headless?

Edit: goddammit, autocorrect. It’s crysis with a y. (Said in a ‘mom, you’re embarrassing me’ tone)

Show threadthunfisch1d ago
@cascheranno @whitequark @s0 Just yeet out an ST2110-20 stream of the framebuffer and call it a day? :D
Show threadSnoopJ2d ago
@whitequark going for a record on the Conway's Law score table
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧2d ago
@SnoopJ shipping the org chart for sure
Show threadc-x-b  2d ago
@whitequark yo dawg I heard you like Linux so I put Linux on your network card so you can run Linux while you Linux with Linux
Show threadHeals 2d ago

@whitequark and only if both of them agree your packages get through :P

/cc @aeva

Show threadTunafishTiger2d ago
@whitequark it’s the year of desktop Linux on the network interface card
Show threadFull Metal Archaeopteryx1d ago
@whitequark
Any idea why?
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧1d ago
@DelilahTech BMC and offload
Show threadKevin Karhan1d ago
@whitequark O.O
Show threadjannic1d ago
@whitequark The next revision probably contains a whole kubernetes cluster. On the BMC.