[gentoo-amd64] Re: amd64 and kernel configuration

[Duncan <1i5t5.duncan@cox.net>]

Dulmandakh Sukhbaatar posted <20050727075012.79549.qmail@mail.mng.mn>,
excerpted below,  on Wed, 27 Jul 2005 15:50:12 +0800:

> Thanks. How can I enable hypertransport in kernel or somewhere? Anyone
> knows about NUMA? I read about it, and it seems technology for
> multiprocessor systems. Thus I have single CPU, I don't need it. Right?

NUMA is indeed for multi-processor systems.  NUMA is Non-Uniform Memory
Architecture.  With AMD CPUs that have the memory controller on the same
chip as the CPU, that means that each CPU can control it's own memory.  If
you run NUMA mode in this case (and if your BIOS is set up accordingly),
the kernel will try to keep the memory for each task in the memory handled
by, local to, that CPU.  If either the kernel or BIOS is set to unified
memory, or if you only have memory sticks in the slots for one of the
CPUs, then you won't get NUMA mode and the kernel won't care what memory
addresses the memory for each process lives at.

AFAIK, hypertransport is automatically handled by your choice of chipset. 
If the chipset you configure has it, it will be enabled, if not, it won't.
I was therefore a bit puzzled when you mentioned hypertransport
specifically in the previous post, since I don't believe there's a
specific kernel option for it.  (It's possible, however, that there is and
I've just forgotten about it, since it's been awhile since I reviewed
the settings for the entire kernel -- I just run make oldconfig and deal
with any new options in each newer kernel, and additionally do any
specific tweaking I might want to try.)

-- 
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"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman in
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/12/22/rms_interview.html


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