2.1. Supported Hardware
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2.1. Supported Hardware

Ubuntu does not impose hardware requirements beyond the requirements of the Linux kernel and the GNU tool-sets. Therefore, any architecture or platform to which the Linux kernel, libc, gcc, etc. have been ported, and for which an Ubuntu port exists, can run Ubuntu.

Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for 64-bit PowerPC (little-endian), this section contains general information and pointers to where additional information can be found.

2.1.1. Supported Architectures

Ubuntu 20.04 supports six major architectures and several variations of each architecture known as “flavors”. One other architecture (IBM/Motorola PowerPC) has an unofficial port.

Architecture Ubuntu Designation Subarchitecture Flavor
Intel x86-based i386    
AMD64 & Intel 64 amd64    
ARM with hardware FPU armhf multiplatform generic
multiplatform for LPAE-capable systems generic-lpae
64bit ARM arm64    
IBM POWER Systems ppc64el IBM POWER8 and newer machines  
IBM z/Architecture ppc64el IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE, no s390 (31-bit mode) support zEC12 and newer machines

2.1.2. CPU, Main Boards, and Video Support

2.1.2.1. Machines

  • S822L

  • S821L

  • S822

  • S821

  • TYAN GN70-BP010

2.1.3. Multiple Processors

Multiprocessor support — also called “symmetric multiprocessing” or SMP — is available for this architecture. Having multiple processors in a computer was originally only an issue for high-end server systems but has become common in recent years nearly everywhere with the introduction of so called “multi-core” processors. These contain two or more processor units, called “cores”, in one physical chip.

The standard Ubuntu 20.04 kernel image has been compiled with SMP support. It is also usable on non-SMP systems without problems.

2.1.4. Graphics Hardware Support

Ubuntu's support for graphical interfaces is determined by the underlying support found in X.Org's X11 system, and the kernel. Basic framebuffer graphics is provided by the kernel, whilst desktop environments use X11. Whether advanced graphics card features such as 3D-hardware acceleration or hardware-accelerated video are available, depends on the actual graphics hardware used in the system and in some cases on the installation of additional “firmware” images (see Section 2.2, “Devices Requiring Firmware”).

Details on supported graphics hardware and pointing devices can be found at http://xorg.freedesktop.org/. Ubuntu 20.04 ships with X.Org version 7.7.

2.1.5. Network Connectivity Hardware

Almost any network interface card (NIC) supported by the Linux kernel should also be supported by the installation system; drivers should normally be loaded automatically.

2.1.6. Braille Displays

Support for braille displays is determined by the underlying support found in brltty. Most displays work under brltty, connected via either a serial port, USB or bluetooth. Details on supported braille devices can be found on the brltty website. Ubuntu 20.04 ships with brltty version 5.3.1.

2.1.7. Peripherals and Other Hardware

Linux supports a large variety of hardware devices such as mice, printers, scanners, PCMCIA/CardBus/ExpressCard and USB devices. However, most of these devices are not required while installing the system.

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