Re: [PATCH] x86: update mptable v7

From: Ingo Molnar
Date: Fri Jun 20 2008 - 02:48:29 EST



* Len Brown <lenb@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> > the patch did print out the old and updated mptable.
> >
> > and that feature is enabled via "update_mptable" command line.
> >
> >
> > also it is useful for kexec from acpi kernel to no acpi kernel on MB
> > with nvidia chipset with AMI BIOS.
> > becuase irq routing is different from mptable and acpi.
> >
> > amd8111/amd8131 chipset with AMI bios has same irq routing from
> > mptable and acpi.
> >
> > Phonix BIOS, has one setup option APIC/PIC, and if select APIC, then
> > irq routing from mptable and acpi is the same with
> > nvidia chipset.
>
> So you know this can't NEVER be reliable, yet you continue to push for
> upstream changes that carry risk for all systems that DO work.

Yinghai: Len has a point, could you please double-check that no
potentially risky code runs by default anywhere, without a specific boot
option? update_mptable is supposed to achieve that, but lets make sure
it does its job.

I.e. the option should be like acpi=off - risky to do as it could break
some systems, and it should not run by default. I have 3 systems myself
where acpi=off results in a non-working system (hard hangs, non-detected
devices, etc.).

Len: while i probably wont use the update_mptable option myself (i wont
ever want to kexec into an OS with broken ACPI support), Yinghai's
changes nevertheless have some use as they solve an external problem,
and they also clean up a crufty area of code. Due to them we already
found pre-existing bugs.

Ingo
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