Requirements
This page will tell you what requirements you will need to use the Alpine Linux operating system:
By example for server gui less any are enough and will run, but more powered task like web browsing will need recent hardware, as of minimum 2012 year.
Hardware requirements
For installation and usage take in consideration Alpine can run in several devices, from the popular PC machine also including video consoles, yo must check:
- Architectures
- Memory
- Storage
- Peripherals
Architectures
Means kind of computer, The most popular is the misnamed "intel IBM PC" or "i386" which is actually in fact the x86 or x64, there are other computers supporteds that are not "x86" like mainframes also servers, as embebed devices.. inclusivelly routers like Sonicwall and Cisco ones. Here are the supported:
| Supported Arch | Supported since | Meaning of installation and target architecture |
|---|---|---|
| x86_64 | all | The popular AMD64 compatible 64-bit x86 based machines, i386 is not recommended for newer/latest hardware. |
| x86 | all | The all popular 32 bit intel (i386 pc 32bit) and x86_64 (i686 pc 64bit and amd64)compatible (both) |
| ppc64le | v3.6 | For the PowerPC devices with pure little-endian mode, mostly for POWER8 and POWER9 |
| armhf | v3.0 | The newer ARM hard-float for newer, more powerful 32-bit devices alongside 64-bit. Including video consoles! |
| armv7 | v3.9 | The 32-bit ARM only execution state of the ARMv7 devices machines. Including video consoles! |
| aarch64 | v3.5 | The 64-bit ARM only execution state of the ARMv8 device machines. |
| ppc64le | v3.6 | for 64-bit big-endian PowerPC and Power ISA processors like some MAC computers. |
| s390x | v3.6 | For the Super powered IBM mainframes, especially IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE servers. |
Memory
Means minimum amount of RAM memory. Need of RAM it depends of the meaning of the installation, any hardware are supported and there is minimum sizes for:
| Target Arch | Minimum RAM to start | Minimum RAM to install | Minimum RAM for GUI desktop | Enough for GUI work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x86_64 | 512 Megs | 512 Megs | 2 Gigs | 8 Gigs |
| x86_32 | 128 Megs | 256 Megs | 1 Gigs | 3 Gigs |
| ppc64le | 128 Megs | 256 Megs | 2 Gigs | 8 Gigs |
| armhf | 256 Megs | 512 Megs | 1 Gigs | 6 Gigs |
| armv7 | 256 Megs | 512 Megs | 1 Gigs | 6 Gigs |
| aarch64 | 256 Megs | 512 Megs | 2 Gigs | 8 Gigs |
| ppc64le | 256 Megs | 512 Megs | 1 Gigs | 6 Gigs |
| s390x | 128 Megs | 256 Megs | 2 Gigs | N/A |
Storage
Means any external or internal storage device that can be added after or before install to use by the Alpine Linux system. Currently depends of the current linux kernel supported.
All the PATA and SATA hard disk drives are supported, also any USB or SD card that can be detected by USB BUS by the linux kernel subsystem during install.
Peripherals
Means any external or internal device that can be added after or before install to detectd by the Alpine Linux system. Currently depends of the current linux kernel supported.
ISA devices are not supported since 3.8 because kernel drops support.
Software requirements
- Media
- Booting
- Storage
- Firmware
Media
Means the files need for dump the install media, and later boot from the target install machine, of course downloaded from http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases/ or main Download page.
| Available for | ISO (for USB, CD/DVD) | IMG (for Netboot) | TAR (for ROOTFS, in tar.gz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| x86_64 | YES | YES | N/A |
| x86 | YES | YES | N/A |
| ppc64le | NO | YES | YES |
| armhf | NO | YES | YES |
| armv7 | NO | YES | YES |
| aarch64 | YES | YES | YES |
| ppc64le | YES | YES | N/A |
| s390x | YES | YES | N/A |
Booting
Means support for kind of BIOS setup of machine, and where can be media downloaded will be boot, please for more info check Alpine and UEFI wiki page.
| Supported Arch | Supported bios | Supported types | Media boot recomended |
|---|---|---|---|
| x86_64 | Coreboot, Vendor/OEM | BIOS, UEFI | USB, CD/DVD (ISO) |
| x86 | Coreboot, Vendor/OEM | BIOS, UEFI | USB, CD/DVD (ISO) |
| ppc64le | Coreboot, Vendor/OEM | BIOS, UEFI | USB, CD/DVD (ISO) |
| armhf | Uboot, Vendor/OEM | BIOS, UEFI | NET, MINIROOTFS (TAR.GZ) |
| armv7 | Uboot, Vendor/OEM | BIOS, UEFI | NET, MINIROOTFS (TAR.GZ) |
| aarch64 | ?Coreboot?, Vendor/OEM | BIOS, ?UEFI? | USB, CD/DVD (ISO) |
| ppc64le | ?Coreboot?, Vendor/OEM | BIOS, ?UEFI? | NET, MINIROOTFS (TAR.GZ) |
| s390x | Vendor/OEM | BIOS, ?UEFI? | USB, CD/DVD |
Partitioning
This means amount of available space in disk partitions to perform a kind of install and of course will depends of type and meaning of your desired install, this are the recommended sizes but depends of the BIOS/UEFI supported you must perform and read the Alpine disk layout for UEFI/BIOS at Alpine and UEFI wiki page.
| Minimum sizes | Partition for BOOT (/boot) |
Partition for ROOT (/) |
Partition for HOME (/home) |
Partition for SWAP (N/A)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| base only | 100 Megs | 500 Megs | 1 Gigs | Optional |
| default server | 200 Megs | 2 Gigs | 2 Gigs | 4 Gigs |
| default desktop | 250 Megs | 12 Gigs | 80 Gigs | 8 Gigs |
| mail server | 200 Megs | 20 Gigs | 20+ Gigs | 8 Gigs |
| web server | 200 Megs | 10 Gigs | 20+ Gigs | 8 Gigs |