[LinuxBIOS] AMD Geode LX VSA and VSMs

Peter Stuge stuge-linuxbios at cdy.org
Fri May 4 05:24:53 CEST 2007


On Thu, May 03, 2007 at 06:28:27PM -0600, Jordan Crouse wrote:
> > I meant that the code in the kernel would be completely native
> > to the hardware. No spoofing.
> 
> So what would handle the several dozen MSRs needed to set up
> routing - some of which are for essential devices that don't
> have drivers?

Good question. I guess most of the world depends on PCI today?

There's HT, but I've understood that it works a lot like PCI.

There's VIA's V-Link too. Will be interesting to see how that
works out in the C7 port. (Sorry Corey, don't know anything
except that it's a proprietary north-south interconnect.)


> And we would have to invent a new bus just for Geode
> devices (some of which share code with other entities - amd74xxx
> IDE for example),

Well, the new bus was invented by the hardware designers.
(NatSemi or maybe even Cyrix I guess.)

It's interesting because it's a first. The Geodes are really
different.


> because without PCI, you wouldn't be able to match vendor/device
> IDs, or control the devices, or assign I/O or memory resources in
> virtual space, at least not easily.

Yes, I guess it would be a completely new architecture, since that's
what the hardware is after all, except that it's still x86. :)


> So basically it would take the Geode from a pretty well supported
> platform to one that would be completely custom and on the fringe,
> and certainly not suitable for the mainstream kernel.  I think the
> SMM handler is a small price to pay. :)

I understand that completely. If geode-vsa is as critical as you say
then there is certainly no other option in the foreseeable future.

(But someone (Tom?) wrote something to give me the impression that
the LX would actually run well also without geode-vsa?)


//Peter




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