Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 12:49:04 -0700 From: "Jeremiah Gowdy" <jgowdy@home.com> To: <freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: x86-64 Hammer and IA64 Itainium Message-ID: <000001c0c777$f9529b30$215778d8@cx443070b> References: <200104171836.LAA06378@akira.lanfear.com>
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I'd like to know if anyone's considering support for the new AMD Sledgehammer/Clawhammer/*hammer with x86-64 architecture. I know the new hammer cpus will run as _very_ fast x86-32 processors, and FreeBSD would run happily under that, however, the x86-64 architecture offers major advantages over the 32bit architecture. More than simply 64bit integers. Like the Itainium, the Hammer has more registers. Not as many as Itainium's 128 64bit general purpose registers, but a good 16 64bit registers rather than the 8 32bit that exist now. I would love to see FreeBSD running natively (64bit) under the x86-64 architecture, and unlike the Itainium, it's differences with x86-32 seem to be few (of course). From what I understand of the FreeBSD kernel, the parts of the system which are platform specific are somewhat abstracted from the rest. And since it's really just the next revision of the 'same' platform, I'm hoping it would not be excessively difficult. There is coming a time soon when IA32/x86-32 production will be coming to an end, and since all of the processors FreeBSD supports are IA32, a decision will have to be made on where to move next. I've read the data sheet (read: book) Intel sent me on the Itainium, and if it performs as they say it does, it will be an excellent offering. As an x86 assembly programmer, the idea of 128 64bit registers makes me happy. However, there's not much room for an assembly language programmer in the bundled instruction world of the Itainium. Porting FreeBSD to Itainium would/will/could be a much much larger project than the port to x86-64. Linux/GNU people in association with AMD have already begun work on x86-64 versions of gcc and binutils. If Linux ports first, which in my opinion they probably will since they are working on it actively, FreeBSD can only gain from the work already done by the Linux/GNU/x86-64 group. http://www.x86-64.org Another group, supporting the IA64/Itainium architecture for Linux and GNU also exists. From reading their wish list for the IA64 gcc compiler, I can see they haven't really mastered the architecture with ILP, but instead are merely working on a functioning version first, with architectural optimizations coming later. As far as I can see, their work is benefitting future versions of FreeBSD as well. http://www.linuxia64.org/ I'm studying the AMD architecture in an effort to port my x86 assembly skills to x86-64. Learning IA64 assembly seems pointless since they want everything done with an ILP capable compiler for maximum performance. Although my kernel programming skills are in their infancy, I am a good C and assembly language programmer. Perhaps I could contribute to the FreeBSD x86-64 project, if and when there was one. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
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