ARM64 Linux Workstation (jasoneckert.github.io)

Article summary

The author installed Asahi Linux on a Mac Studio with an M1 Ultra processor and 128GB of RAM, creating an ultimate ARM64 Linux workstation. The system performs flawlessly, with all hardware and software working perfectly. The author migrated from the i3 window manager to the sway compositor and is using the system for development, including running a K3s cluster and a QEMU virtual machine. The system's performance is exceptionally fast, with latency and compute times outperforming an AWS Graviton instance.

Main themes

• ARM64 Linux
• Asahi Linux
• Apple Silicon
• Reverse-engineering
• Performance
• Compatibility
• Open-source community
• Virtualization and emulation

What commenters say

• Reverse-engineering proprietary hardware is a normal part of the open-source community's efforts to support new platforms.
• The Apple Silicon platform's closed nature does not necessarily hinder the open-source community's ability to support it.
• Some users have experienced issues with certain software and tools on ARM64 Linux, particularly those that are not mainstream or are configured for x86_64.
• Rosetta 2's pre-transpilation of binaries provides a significant performance advantage over QEMU's JIT translation.
• The performance and silence of ARM64 Linux workstations make them worth the potential issues and challenges.
• The open-source community's progress on supporting Apple Silicon is impressive, but some users are still experiencing difficulties.
• The use of virtualization and emulation can help mitigate issues with software compatibility on ARM64 Linux.
• Some users prefer to spend time troubleshooting and resolving issues with ARM64 Linux rather than switching to a different platform.