A client-server software specialist in Germany is offering a freely downloadable, server-oriented Linux distribution for Sony's Playstation3. Helios's unnamed PS3 distro installs in less than 10 minutes, and showcases the company's cross-platform file-, print-, PDF-, and… image-server software, it says.

Helios describes its PS3 distro as a version of TerraSoft's Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) for the PS3 that has been simplified and optimized for use as a server OS. The simplifications are said to result in 40 percent more RAM available for server applications. Optimizations include AppleTalk support in the kernel, and a Java 1.5 environment pre-installed.

Also pre-installed is Helios's suite of file, print, PDF, and image server software for heterogeneous networks.

The Helios PS3 distro can be installed from a script that runs on top of YDL, or from a downloadable CD ISO image that doubles as a maintenance shell.

Sony's PS3 has been shipping for about a year, making it the second product based on the Cell processor co-developed by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba. (The first was Mercury's Cell-based blade for IBM servers aimed at high-performance computing applications).

The PS3 does not come stock with Linux; however, the mainline Linux kernel has long supported the Cell architecture, and Terra Soft readied a version of its Yellow Dog Linux for the PS3 before it shipped last year. TerraSoft also began reselling the PS3 with Linux pre-installed earlier this year.

Terra Soft CEO Kai Staats stated, “With Helios' modified Yellow Dog Linux distribution it is simple to use the PS3 as an efficient light duty server.”

Availability

The Helios Linux distribution for PS3 is available now for download. Additional details, including complete installation instructions, can be found here.

 
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