RE: [Xen-devel] OS/2 and eComStation

["Petersson, Mats" <mats.petersson@xxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: xen-devel-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:xen-devel-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ecs user
> Sent: 12 December 2005 17:26
> To: xen-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Xen-devel] OS/2 and eComStation
> 
> Hi, 
> 
> Hoping someone can help me with some question on Xen 3.x and 
> Intel VT (Vanderpool) hardware.

I can't speak for Intel as such, but I do know how the technology works
from an external view, and I (should!) know how the AMD technology
works.

> 
> Can IBM OS/2 or Serenity Systems eComStation now be run with 
> Xen and Intel Vanderpool enabled CPUs?

I don't see why it shouldn't work. However, it's not what I'd call a
"targetted OS", in that OS/2 and eComstation aren't the first things
that someone would try out once they got unmodified Linux running on the
system. Since some special instructions has to be emulated when running
the OS in virtual mode, there may be special instructions that are
either not supported, or variations of instructions where the
instruction itself is supported, but the way it's used in for example
OS/2 is not [1]. This may cause problems. They aren't BIG problems, but
if you're not able to debug and perhaps even fix the problem yourself,
it may take a long time until someone else comes around to fix them...
Chances are pretty good that the OS doesn't do anything "strange", but
you don't know until you've tried it... 

It is of course also possible that the OS uses some hardware in a
different settings than normally - this hardware is emulated in QEMU,
and it may not have been tested for this different setting. Again, it's
not likely, but possible that this scenario will throw up some problems.


> 
> If not, what is needed?
> 
> Are any drivers needed?

Not specifically for the VT. However, your OS will have to support a
specific set of hardware, including particular models of network cards.
If there's no driver for the "right" network card, it may turn out that
your OS installation will work just fine, except it can't talk to the
rest of the world because there's no network card driver. I can't
remember at the moment which network card is emulated in QEMU, but it
shouldn't be too hard to find out. 

> 
> Do you know of anyone working on getting Xen to support OS/2 
> or eComStation?

I haven't heard of anyone, but that's not to say that it's not being
done. 

[1] Some instructions have literally dozens of different variations of
addressing modes, size/segment overrides, different registers being
used, etc, etc. Sometimes the programmer may, intentionally or by
mistake, take shortcusts in implementing the emulation of the
instruction, and it may mean that some variation of the instruction is
not supported/broken. If this particular variation is used by your OS,
it won't work.

--
Mats
> 
> 
> > Jan 21,2004, Mark A. Williamson wrote:
> > Afraid so.
> > With the Intel Vanderpool support you'll be able to run unmodified 
> > guests once Vanderpool hardware is available.
> 
> >> I want to use Linux or FreeBSSD as domain 0 operating 
> system but have 
> >> IBM OS/2 Warp in the other domains. To run OS/2 in domain 
> 1-..., does 
> >> it need to have a modified kernel?
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection 
> around http://mail.yahoo.com 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Xen-devel mailing list
> Xen-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://lists.xensource.com/xen-devel
> 
> 


_______________________________________________
Xen-devel mailing list
Xen-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.xensource.com/xen-devel