PlayStation 2 Tool

The development tool is basically a custom PlayStation 2 in symbiosis with a PC running Redhat Linux.

Hardware differences

The major differences between the PS2-part of TOOL and retail PS2 hardware are:

4 times more EE-RAM (128mb)
4 times more IOP-RAM (8mb)
Flashable chip instead of the usual boot ROM
Dedicated interface for comunication between the TOOL PC and the PS2, usally handled with the DSNET toolset. known as PIF. PIF diagram
Some models have a different HDD interface. known as AIF. dev9 driver with AIF support

The first model of the development tool.

Very similar to the first model, but with some fixes related to DEV9 that allow the usage of the PS2 HDD (DTL-H20400).

Development tool with performance analyzer.

Unlike the other variants of TOOL, this one is dark-blue rather than black.