Or at least it can be according to Helios, who will be making Linux server software for the PS3 available on their site www.jpy.com from June 1. According to the press release The software bundle normally needed to do this would be worth over ten grand, and would normally need high-end IBM or Apple server hardware to run on. Dr John Yardley, MD of Helios, said “It might seem like a crazy idea, but pound for pound the PS3 offers amazing power. I expect plenty of Linux enthusiasts will find good uses for the installation, which includes powerful tools like EtherShare and WebShare. Getting HELIOS running on the platform is akin to cramming a Spitfire engine into a Mini!”
This all seems a bit niche for most people, but it does show what the PS3 has under the hood. And apart from the slightly insulting ‘mini’ reference, it goes to show that we may only be starting to unlock the uses of the machine.
By Chris Blenkarn
Awesome. The features of the PS3 just keeps getting longer.
Comment by Chad — May 30, 2007 @ 9:20 pm
Nice to see the PS3 being put to good use by non-gamers too :p
Comment by Timeless — May 30, 2007 @ 11:04 pm
Cool not bad.
Comment by Wormhole — May 31, 2007 @ 12:37 am
Well, TBH the “PS3 as a server” suffers from a severe RAM shortage, especially so since Linux doesn’t have full access to RSX, it can only access 256MB minus what’s taken by the hypervisor.
If access to RSX were to be granted *hint* *hint*, even minimally, the 256 MB of RSX RAM could be put to some use, including non-graphical use (it could host caches and other system stuff), which could make a PS3 Linux Server somewhat less “Mini”…
Comment by john — May 31, 2007 @ 6:18 am
Well, the only thing I am currently missing is the memory slot where I can jam in the additional 2GB RAM
Nice prove of concept, but pretty much useless in reality. Nevertheless, I don’t know any server that can run Motorstorm 
Comment by Mutsch — May 31, 2007 @ 7:27 am
You guys don’t know what you’re talking about.
I’ve been running a couple of original Xboxes as Linux servers (DNS, Apache, DHCP, Media server - a whole bunch of stuff) for a few years now and they only have 64MB of RAM.
Checking them now, after 78 days uptime, one is only using 58% RAM and the other is at 89%, with both on only 6% swap. 256MB is plenty for a Linux server if you’re not planning on running several hundred websites on it, i.e., commercial scale stuff.
Trying to run it as a desktop will run you out of RAM a lot sooner with all that GUI stuff.
The only problem I see with running a PS3 as a Linux server is it’s a waste of a PS3 when cheaper gear will do the same job.
Comment by ck — May 31, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Nice that you know that we don’t know what we talk about;-)
If those folks from Helios are talking about enterprise server and things like IBM Java Runtime running on such a box then you are screwed as soon as you are doing something serious other than running your homepage or streaming a couple of files.
Application servers I use to work with at my job usually require 2GB at least to deal with the number of users and the session size a typical business app has.
But then again, this comment was rather a joke than it was meant to be serious.
Comment by Mutsch — May 31, 2007 @ 12:06 pm
You’re talking about “numbers of users” and “typical business apps”, implying a commercial environment. No company is going to consider running a PS3 Linux server, not for a second. This is intended for home use, and the Helios guys even use the term “enthusiast”. For that type of application, 256MB is heaps.
And yes, I also work with Linux production servers for a living, which have higher RAM requirements, but also several hundreds of users or more per server.
Comment by ck — May 31, 2007 @ 12:32 pm
Which goes back to my orig. comment: a nice prove of concept. Which is fine.
My point is, if you wanna know how to use the Cell, just do it with the desktop distro. This is most probably the most affordable Cell development environment other than the simulator which is not the real thing. If you wanna do a server there are better opportunities than the PS3 and there is no point in using a Cell based hardware for this purpose.
Comment by Mutsch — May 31, 2007 @ 2:46 pm
PS3 is basically a cheap Cell development box, as it allows company’s to develop their server application
Comment by mark — Jun 4, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
Would be great is Sony developed a Linux app for Sony Vegas that allowed us to use the PS3 for rendering video projects. Network rendering is embedded in Vegas 7. But there is only a Windows installation available for the other computers on the network, AFAIK. The PS3 plays my camcorder’s AVCHD videos so nicely already…much better than my Core2Duo E6600 rig does.
Comment by R. — Jun 5, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
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