From 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Linus Torvalds Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 15:20:36 -0700 Subject: Linux-2.6.12-rc2 Initial git repository build. I'm not bothering with the full history, even though we have it. We can create a separate "historical" git archive of that later if we want to, and in the meantime it's about 3.2GB when imported into git - space that would just make the early git days unnecessarily complicated, when we don't have a lot of good infrastructure for it. Let it rip! --- Documentation/voyager.txt | 95 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 95 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Documentation/voyager.txt (limited to 'Documentation/voyager.txt') diff --git a/Documentation/voyager.txt b/Documentation/voyager.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..2749af552cd --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/voyager.txt @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +Running Linux on the Voyager Architecture +========================================= + +For full details and current project status, see + +http://www.hansenpartnership.com/voyager + +The voyager architecture was designed by NCR in the mid 80s to be a +fully SMP capable RAS computing architecture built around intel's 486 +chip set. The voyager came in three levels of architectural +sophistication: 3,4 and 5 --- 1 and 2 never made it out of prototype. +The linux patches support only the Level 5 voyager architecture (any +machine class 3435 and above). + +The Voyager Architecture +------------------------ + +Voyager machines consist of a Baseboard with a 386 diagnostic +processor, a Power Supply Interface (PSI) a Primary and possibly +Secondary Microchannel bus and between 2 and 20 voyager slots. The +voyager slots can be populated with memory and cpu cards (up to 4GB +memory and from 1 486 to 32 Pentium Pro processors). Internally, the +voyager has a dual arbitrated system bus and a configuration and test +bus (CAT). The voyager bus speed is 40MHz. Therefore (since all +voyager cards are dual ported for each system bus) the maximum +transfer rate is 320Mb/s but only if you have your slot configuration +tuned (only memory cards can communicate with both busses at once, CPU +cards utilise them one at a time). + +Voyager SMP +----------- + +Since voyager was the first intel based SMP system, it is slightly +more primitive than the Intel IO-APIC approach to SMP. Voyager allows +arbitrary interrupt routing (including processor affinity routing) of +all 16 PC type interrupts. However it does this by using a modified +5259 master/slave chip set instead of an APIC bus. Additionally, +voyager supports Cross Processor Interrupts (CPI) equivalent to the +APIC IPIs. There are two routed voyager interrupt lines provided to +each slot. + +Processor Cards +--------------- + +These come in single, dyadic and quad configurations (the quads are +problematic--see later). The maximum configuration is 8 quad cards +for 32 way SMP. + +Quad Processors +--------------- + +Because voyager only supplies two interrupt lines to each Processor +card, the Quad processors have to be configured (and Bootstrapped) in +as a pair of Master/Slave processors. + +In fact, most Quad cards only accept one VIC interrupt line, so they +have one interrupt handling processor (called the VIC extended +processor) and three non-interrupt handling processors. + +Current Status +-------------- + +The System will boot on Mono, Dyad and Quad cards. There was +originally a Quad boot problem which has been fixed by proper gdt +alignment in the initial boot loader. If you still cannot get your +voyager system to boot, email me at: + + + + +The Quad cards now support using the separate Quad CPI vectors instead +of going through the VIC mailbox system. + +The Level 4 architecture (3430 and 3360 Machines) should also work +fine. + +Dump Switch +----------- + +The voyager dump switch sends out a broadcast NMI which the voyager +code intercepts and does a task dump. + +Power Switch +------------ + +The front panel power switch is intercepted by the kernel and should +cause a system shutdown and power off. + +A Note About Mixed CPU Systems +------------------------------ + +Linux isn't designed to handle mixed CPU systems very well. In order +to get everything going you *must* make sure that your lowest +capability CPU is used for booting. Also, mixing CPU classes +(e.g. 486 and 586) is really not going to work very well at all. -- cgit v1.2.3