On Tue, 9 May 2000, Antony Platt wrote:
> The problem
>
> On a Compaq Proliant 4500R
> Linux only recognises 1 CPU
>
> it has 4 x 133Mhz boards in it
[...]
> Here is a response from the Compaq 7 linux mailing list I received
>
> > The problem is that the PL4500 is an entirely EISA based system. This
> came
> > out before the current methods used today which are "Full Table" and "Full
> > Table Mapped." In this case, even if there was a choice for APIC mode on
> > the PL4500, it would have only 1 selection: "EISA Mapped" Linux is
> > currently unable to use processors under this mapping scheme (as far as I
> > know). Maybe someone is willing to devote some time, effort, and skill to
> > allow Linux to run on the "EISA Mapped" de of multiprocessing. The only
> > systems affected by this are most of the EISA only based servers.
I don't know what "EISA Mapped" means and how it relates to SMP.
Linux supports EISA-only i386/SMP systems since 2.0 provided they are
Intel "Multiprocessor Specification" (MPS) compliant. In particular, it
means a BIOS needs to set up at least a valid "MP floating pointer" and
optionally an "MP table" which together define MP resources available in a
given system and how they are located. This requirement is completely
unrelated to EISA presence or absence -- MPS fully defines the handling of
about any bus in existence.
Ask them if the sytem is Intel-MP compliant -- if not, it will only boot
UP. If it is, then try the 2.3.99-pre6 kernel as someone already
suggested.
> So my question is, does the kernel tree for future Linux's have a plan to
> implement these types of machines??
If the system is not Intel-MP compliant, then ask them for a pointer to a
specification the system adheres to. Given appropriate docs we might
consider writing code to support your system.
> As there is many brands (HP Digital Compaq etc) that have servers based on
> this type of config.
Almost all systems in existence are Intel MPS compliant. Given the spec
is available since 1995 and hardware recommendations for platform-wide
compatibility are available since 1992 (specified in docs for 82489DX APIC
chips), I see no point for the manufacturer in making a system non Intel
MPS compliant. Implementing of the aforementioned "MP floating pointer"
and "MP table" is a trivial task for a BIOS programmer.
--
+ Maciej W. Rozycki, Technical University of Gdansk, Poland +
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+ e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED], PGP key available +
-
Linux SMP list: FIRST see FAQ at http://www.irisa.fr/prive/dmentre/smp-howto/
To Unsubscribe: send "unsubscribe linux-smp" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
