Concerned about future 32 bit server support

[Dave Stevens]

On Tue,  8 Aug 2017 16:06:36 -0400 (EDT)
Robert Heller <heller at deepsoft.com> wrote:

> At Tue, 8 Aug 2017 18:48:33 +0100 "Ubuntu user technical support,
> not for general discussions" <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com> wrote:
> 
> > 
> > On Tue, 08 Aug 2017 17:07:07 +0100
> > David Fletcher wrote:
> >   
> > > Hi all,
> > > 
> > > There was a fairly long discussion over on the Kubuntu list, about
> > > dropping 32 bit support.
> > > 
> > > My concern is that I have a little home built machine with a 32
> > > bit Atom processor that has been running for several years and
> > > perfectly serves my needs for a low power headless server. Will
> > > 32 bit server support continue into the foreseeable future?  
> > 
> > My understanding is that this possibility is being examined because
> > there are not very many people who are able/willing to test the 32
> > bit software. Clearly the testing process is crucial. So I guess
> > the solution is: if you want it, become a tester.  
> 
> Just as another datapoint: RedHat has dropped 32-bit support starting
> with RHel 7. But the CentOS team is building 32-bit kernels and has a
> distro for i686 AND arm based on RHel 7, I believe mostly done by
> people who have a specific need for such systems. I expect that
> eventually all of the major distros will stop distributing *binaries*
> for 32-bit x86 eventually, just as they have stopped distributing
> 68K, Alpha, ppc/ppc-64, etc. I believe non-PAE 32-bit kernels are no
> longer available stock, as well is <i686 kernels -- is anyone still
> running 80386's? '486s or '586s? Even though I believe current
> kernels still have support for these processors, if one were willing
> to [cross?] build them.
> 
> >   
> 

well, I ran across a dual cpu 486 system last year running controls for
a commercial greenhouse setup (42 greenhouses) Tyan motherboard. Still
working, I just vacuumed it out and turned it back on. MS-DOS

D



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