How to INSTALL Linux onto a Raspberry 4?

[sunlan]

Hi, all

I buy a new raspberry 4B recently, and I also have several 3B+.
With the 3B+, I run SUSE SLES 12.4 for Raspberry pi on it. But unfortunately, I find it can not run on the 4B.
And I also have downloaded SUSE 12.4 for aarch64 DVDs, and use it as repository to install some software packages onto the 3B+, so I guess SUSE 12.4 for aarch64 can also run on the Raspberry 4B.

Now, the question is how can I INSTALL SUSE for aarch64 on a Raspberry pi via the normal install procedure?

[PeterO]

First thing to do is find out from the SUSE forums if SUSE supports the 4B.

And the subject should include "SUSE" in it somewhere.


PeterO

[fruitoftheloom]

Hi, all

I buy a new raspberry 4B recently, and I also have several 3B+.
With the 3B+, I run SUSE SLES 12.4 for Raspberry pi on it. But unfortunately, I find it can not run on the 4B.
And I also have downloaded SUSE 12.4 for aarch64 DVDs, and use it as repository to install some software packages onto the 3B+, so I guess SUSE 12.4 for aarch64 can also run on the Raspberry 4B.

Now, the question is how can I INSTALL SUSE for aarch64 on a Raspberry pi via the normal install procedure?

SLES only support 3B / 3B+ / 2B v1.2 which have the BCM2837 SoC, obviously you need to contact them for any updates:

https://www.suse.com/products/arm/

The 4B uses a completely different SoC !

[sunlan]

Hi, all

I buy a new raspberry 4B recently, and I also have several 3B+.
With the 3B+, I run SUSE SLES 12.4 for Raspberry pi on it. But unfortunately, I find it can not run on the 4B.
And I also have downloaded SUSE 12.4 for aarch64 DVDs, and use it as repository to install some software packages onto the 3B+, so I guess SUSE 12.4 for aarch64 can also run on the Raspberry 4B.

Now, the question is how can I INSTALL SUSE for aarch64 on a Raspberry pi via the normal install procedure?

SLES only support 3B / 3B+ / 2B v1.2 which have the BCM2837 SoC, obviously you need to contact them for any updates:

https://www.suse.com/products/arm/

The 4B uses a completely different SoC !

Yes, it's sounds quite resonable!

Said by SUSE, SLES for aarch64 supports PI 3 B/B+, but 4B is not listed.
I think maybe they will release their official version later.

[sunlan]

First thing to do is find out from the SUSE forums if SUSE supports the 4B.

And the subject should include "SUSE" in it somewhere.


PeterO

I have search the SUSE forums for this subjuct, but nothing found.

To the PI Models(including PI 3 B/B+), the key problem is how to booting from the installing DVD? This problem is also with other Linux releases, such as CentOS .

If one can't booting from the installing media, there's no possibility to INSTALL OS onto a PI

[B.Goode]

If one can't booting from the installing media, there's no possibility to INSTALL OS onto a PI

Gasp!

MILLIONS of RPi boards sold, and none can run an Operating System! Someone should fix that...


Hint: https://www.raspberrypi.org/help/

[karrika]

To the PI Models(including PI 3 B/B+), the key problem is how to booting from the installing DVD? This problem is also with other Linux releases, such as CentOS .

If one can't booting from the installing media, there's no possibility to INSTALL OS onto a PI

This sounds so pessimistic. There is also a possibility to install using debootstrap like in:

Code: Select all

mkdir /mnt/root && mount $rootpartition /mnt/root
mkdir /mnt/root/sys
debootstrap --arch=i386 --variant=buildd lucid /mnt/root http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/

I was using this all the time for stuff that did not have DVD or CD drives in the past.

Of course you need to find the right architecture and get a version of debootstrap that can stream in the data from the distro you are downloading.

[jamesh]

Even more specifically, https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... /README.md

Note, the Pi installation mechanism is different to a x86 PC.

[sunlan]

If one can't booting from the installing media, there's no possibility to INSTALL OS onto a PI

Gasp!

MILLIONS of RPi boards sold, and none can run an Operating System! Someone should fix that...


Hint: https://www.raspberrypi.org/help/

Eh, mybe you have misunderstanding what I mean . I mean that I want to install the OS like what we do to a server or laptop -- insert a DVD, booting, and install. So we can have more options.

Surely I can download a img for RPI, and then write it to a TF card, and I have do it already. But I wanna try someway else.

[B.Goode]

An RPi sbc is not based on the same hardware as a conventional 'x86' or 'WinTel' PC or server, and does not boot via the same mechanism.


See: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... /README.md

[jamesh]

If one can't booting from the installing media, there's no possibility to INSTALL OS onto a PI

Gasp!

MILLIONS of RPi boards sold, and none can run an Operating System! Someone should fix that...


Hint: https://www.raspberrypi.org/help/

Eh, mybe you have misunderstanding what I mean . I mean that I want to install the OS like what we do to a server or laptop -- insert a DVD, booting, and install. So we can have more options.

Surely I can download a img for RPI, and then write it to a TF card, and I have do it already. But I wanna try someway else.

You cannot do that.

[andrum99]

If one can't booting from the installing media, there's no possibility to INSTALL OS onto a PI

Gasp!

MILLIONS of RPi boards sold, and none can run an Operating System! Someone should fix that...


Hint: https://www.raspberrypi.org/help/

Eh, mybe you have misunderstanding what I mean . I mean that I want to install the OS like what we do to a server or laptop -- insert a DVD, booting, and install. So we can have more options.

Surely I can download a img for RPI, and then write it to a TF card, and I have do it already. But I wanna try someway else.

The only way to install an operating system onto the Pi 4 is to write a disk image to a micro-SD card. (The exception to this rule is NOOBS, where installation is carried out by writing individual files to an existing micro-SD card).

In the future it will be possible to boot a Pi 4 from its own wired Ethernet port, and from a USB-attached flash drive, SSD and hard disk, but the required software for the boot EEPROM has not yet been written. There are no plans to allow you to install an operating system from a CD or DVD, and it is unlikely this will ever be enabled.

[sunlan]

The actual problem I face is I have build a cluster with several RPI 3B+ running SLES 12.4, and I bought two 4B last week. I wanna install the same OS on the new models, and add them to the cluster.

So, maybe I should wait for SUSE to support 4B.

thanks above all !

[andrum99]

The actual problem I face is I have build a cluster with several RPI 3B+ running SLES 12.4, and I bought two 4B last week. I wanna install the same OS on the new models, and add them to the cluster.

So, maybe I should wait for SUSE to support 4B.

thanks above all !

SLES on Pi 4B will be awesome when it arrives, particularly with 4GB of RAM.

[W. H. Heydt]

Eh, mybe you have misunderstanding what I mean . I mean that I want to install the OS like what we do to a server or laptop -- insert a DVD, booting, and install. So we can have more options.

IF the DVD has the correct formatting and content to be a Pi-bootable image, and WHEN to Pi4B can be upgraded to do boot over USB, THEN (and only then) would it be possible, at least in concept to do that.

In the mean time, if the first condition is met, it should be possible to burn the DVD image directly to an SD card and boot that way. You could try that on a Pi that is supported at present to see if it works.

[andrum99]

Eh, mybe you have misunderstanding what I mean . I mean that I want to install the OS like what we do to a server or laptop -- insert a DVD, booting, and install. So we can have more options.

IF the DVD has the correct formatting and content to be a Pi-bootable image, and WHEN to Pi4B can be upgraded to do boot over USB, THEN (and only then) would it be possible, at least in concept to do that.

CDs and DVDs are different enough that they won't boot on a Pi, unless specific support is added to the firmware to boot from CDs and DVDs. At the bare minimum, the firmware would need to support ISO 9660 with El Torito extensions.

[dickon]

I was wondering about this earlier, purely as an intellectual exercise. If they present as USB mass-storage, surely you could just drop a traditional partition table on the front, a FAT32 filesystem for /boot (with a suitable kernel and installation initrd), and be done with it? Utterly nonstandard for optical media, of course, but I can't see any actual objection to it.

x86 requires hoops to make the thing look like a traditional floppy disc -- the BIOS again -- but that won't apply to a Pi.

[rpdom]

I was wondering about this earlier, purely as an intellectual exercise. If they present as USB mass-storage, surely you could just drop a traditional partition table on the front, a FAT32 filesystem for /boot (with a suitable kernel and installation initrd), and be done with it? Utterly nonstandard for optical media, of course, but I can't see any actual objection to it.

x86 requires hoops to make the thing look like a traditional floppy disc -- the BIOS again -- but that won't apply to a Pi.

Maybe. The common "Hybrid" Install media used for x86 installs combine the iso9660 and a standard boot sector, but that won't work on a Pi.

[sunlan]

If the RPI can boot from flash-disk, or network, then many problems will be solved!

waiting!

[Imperf3kt]

Perhaps this post will be of use?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 4#p1523530

[sunlan]

Perhaps this post will be of use?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 4#p1523530

I'm not so sure for that. Maybe the system can begin the booting stage, but I still wandering if the whole system would work properly. Since the hardware on PI4 has changed a lot from PI3, drivers must be changed as well.

[w1ll3tt]

I'm a professional level 3 Linux/Unix System Administrator and have built the original BT OpenReach servers out fo the box, Built Banking, Media streaming platforms at the OS level. Bought a Raspberry Pi to do some electronics i.e. controling relay boards, robot etc.
I have recently bought the Model 4 B and love the Wifi and Bluetooth. I had the Model 2B before but never really got going as the networking was difficult and I used Noobs as the OS.
I've moved over the Raspain and it really could do with some tweeks. Ideally I would prefer CentOS as my professional OS is RedHat (Licienced) and CentOS is the nearest to it (unlicienced).
My critisim is.. If you want children to learn a computer language then it would be better to mirror CentOS especially the networking which I've spent hours trying to get to work.. Something I do regulary at work. /etc/sysconfig/networking/ifcfg-eth0 and route-eth0 rather than /etc/dhcpcd.conf.. When these teenages go into industry rather than making their lives more difficult teach them something they can use.
We use Raspberrry Pi's for dev/test of equipment (currently media TV sreaming).
If you came to me and I spoke to you and taught you Welsh. Then you go and live in England, Yes you've going to understand some but you will be on the back foot trying to catch up.
I think the Raspberry Pi is a fantastic tool (I learn't on a Commodore 64 and then an Opus PC2 with MSdos) and theres the perfect comparison.. Where is Commodore now ?. MSdos wasn't the best but it could be used and learnt on professional and home computers. We use KISS very often in IT.. Keep IT Simple Straighforeward..

[rpdom]

I'm a professional level 3 Linux/Unix System Administrator

I have no idea what "level 3" means. I have been a Unix/Linux System Administrator for 30 years now.

I've used CentOS recently. It wasn't my choice and I didn't like it. We got rid of in the end.

I think Raspbian is fine. Ok, so maybe not everyone uses dhcpcd, but that is just one of the many networking options that are used. I haven't seen the /etc/sysconfig/networking/ method used much.

Give people a bit of knowledge in Linux and they will learn that they need to keep learning. Every job and environment will be different. The Pi is a great starting point.

[PeterO]

I'm a professional level 3 Linux/Unix System Administrator

Welcome to the forums.
I'm a level 7 Wizard User (with the beard to prove it).
Not sure what "Level 3 Linux/Unix Sys Admin" means, it must be some local scheme where you work.
However I don't think your requirements are the same as the Foundation's target audience's.
PeterO

[dickon]

Yeah. Most places I've worked have standardised on Debian. It's free, very high quality, and just works.