Re: Intel Microcode loader, tg3 driver, and the -rc8-mmotd New WorldOrder firmware...

[Giacomo A. Catenazzi]

[ Added Arjan and the relevant Intel contact]

Tigran Aivazian wrote:
> On Thu, 3 Jul 2008 Valdis.Kletnieks@xxxxxx wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:17:16 BST, Tigran Aivazian said:
> > > Hi Valdis,
> > >
> > > On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 Valdis.Kletnieks@xxxxxx wrote:
> > >
> > > > I built the -rc8-mmotd kernel, and built it with 
> > > > 'CONFIG_FIRMWARE_IN_KERNEL
> > =n'.
> > > > Lo and behold, the microcode.ko was now doing a request_firmware for
> > > > 'intel-ucode/06-0f-06' (which makes sense, the Core2 Duo in this 
> > > > laptop is
> > > > family 6, model 15, stepping 6).  However, what I had in 
> > > > /lib/firmware was
> > > > the Intel-distributed 'microcode.dat' with updates for all the CPUs 
> > > > (which
> > > > used to work in times past).
> > > >
> > > > What's the magic incantation to take the microcode.dat and create 
> > > > something
> > > > that the firmware driver is willing to use, or is this all borked up 
> > > > and
> > > > I need to do a major rethink or fix my config?
> > >
> > > that's because it expects the Intel-supplied microcode data and you are
> > > using the old style microcode.dat data.
> >
> > I fed it the stuff I downloaded today from this URL:
> >
> > http://downloadcenter.intel.com/filter_results.aspx?strTypes=all&ProductID=2643&OSFullName=Linux*&lang=eng&strOSs=39&submit=Go! 
> >
> >
> > which gets me a microcode-20080401.dat that does the same thing.  Is 
> > there
> > some *other* Intel-supplied microcode data I should be getting instead?
>
> Oh, sorry, I assumed that Intel distribute the data in the format that 
> driver expects.

There are two format of Intel CPU microcode and two methods to load it.
- old: the microcodes are in a big file, which include multiple
  microcodes (for multiple CPU).  The driver require a char device
  and a user space loader ("microcode_ctl")
- new: one microcode per file, using the 'request_firmware'
  infrastructure. No user space support needed.

Actually Intel provides only the old methods.
There was talks with Arjan and Intel about the distribution format
for the new methods. But I don't have any new.
I think that when the new format is fully specified (directory
structure, tar, gzip,...) Intel will distribute the microcodes
in the new form.

ciao
	cate

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