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Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH V2] docs, amd_ucode: Add AMD container file format notes
On 10/03/2014 11:40 AM, Aravind Gopalakrishnan wrote:
This patch introduces documentation notes about AMD container
file formats and where to obtain latest container files from.
Also, We provide a how-to for updating patch level by
concatenating container files along with initrd images.
Misc notes about how Xen handles two containers of same
kind (if/when) they are concatenated together are also included.
Signed-off-by: Aravind Gopalakrishnan <aravind.gopalakrishnan@xxxxxxx>
---
Changes in V2:
- Boris suggested the format part itself is probably better suited
in linux-firmware tree. There was also another idea about getting
it out as a separate vendor doc rather than hanging it off of a
repository. Since this is still WIP, I have removed the ascii art
about the container file format itself here.
- I shall update docs with links to relevant documentation as and
when it is available.
- Including patch header format (as suggested by Boris)
- Provide more accurate description of what was meant by "deadlock"
(as suggested by Boris)
docs/misc/amd-ucode-container.txt | 101 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 101 insertions(+)
create mode 100644 docs/misc/amd-ucode-container.txt
diff --git a/docs/misc/amd-ucode-container.txt
b/docs/misc/amd-ucode-container.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..872b5f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/misc/amd-ucode-container.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+-------------------------------------------------
+AMD Microcode Container File format
+-------------------------------------------------
+Author:
+ Aravind [dot] Gopalakrishnan [at] amd [dot] com
+Initial version:
+ July 2014
+Updated:
+ October 2014
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+Intro to AMD Container Files:
+-----------------------------
+
+* AMD provides microcode patch support for processors belonging to AMD
+ processor families 10h, 11h, 12h, 14h, and 15h.
What about 16h?
Would it be fair to say that beginning with family 10h AMD provides
microcode patch support?
+* There is one single file (container file) containing all microcode patches
+ for AMD families 10h - 14h processors. [microcode_amd.bin]
+* For AMD family 15h processors there is a separate container file.
[microcode_amd_fam15h.bin]
+* Microcode patches are not incremental, therefore you only need to make
+ sure you have the latest container file for your AMD processor family.
+* One can find the latest AMD microcode containers from [1], [2]
+
+Mutual Exclusivity Rule of AMD containers:
+* The patches for families 10h - 14h are guaranteed to be only on
+ microcode_amd.bin
+* Similarly, patches for family 15h will only be on microcode_amd_fam15h.bin
+* This is because, the processes and scripts used to create container files
+ ensure that there is no mix-up
+
+Microcode patch header structure:
+---------------------------------
+struct __packed microcode_header_amd {
+ uint32_t data_code;
+ uint32_t patch_id;
+ uint8_t mc_patch_data_id[2];
+ uint8_t mc_patch_data_len;
+ uint8_t init_flag;
+ uint32_t mc_patch_data_checksum;
+ uint32_t nb_dev_id;
+ uint32_t sb_dev_id;
+ uint16_t processor_rev_id;
+ uint8_t nb_rev_id;
+ uint8_t sb_rev_id;
+ uint8_t bios_api_rev;
+ uint8_t reserved1[3];
+ uint32_t match_reg[8];
+}
+More details about microcode patch header are typically not exposed to public.
+
+Apply microcode updates using initrd:
+-------------------------------------
+Initrd images can be modified to contain AMD microcode containers in cpio
+format at the start of the image.
+
+Following example shows how to generate a combined initrd
+Note: initrd-<val> could be different on your machine. Substitute accordingly
+Example System base: Ubuntu 13.04 with 3.8.0-30-generic kernel
+
+1. mkdir initrd-for-xen-with_append
+2. cd initrd-for-xen-with_append
+3. mkdir -p kernel/x86/microcode
+4. cp /lib/firmware/amd-ucode/microcode_amd.bin .
+5. cp /lib/firmware/amd-ucode/microcode_amd_fam15h.bin .
+6. cat microcode_amd.bin microcode_amd_fam15h.bin > microcode_concatenated.bin
+7. mv microcode_concatenated.bin kernel/x86/microcode/AuthenticAMD.bin
+8. rm microcode_amd.bin microcode_amd_fam15h.bin
Steps 4-8 can be written as
cat /lib/firmware/amd-ucode/microcode_amd.bin \
/lib/firmware/amd-ucode/microcode_amd_fam15h.bin > \
kernel/x86/microcode/AuthenticAMD.bin
+9. find . | cpio -o -H newc > ucode.cpio
+10. cp /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-30-generic .
+11. cat ucode.cpio initrd.img-3.8.0-30-generic > initrd_for_xen_with_ucode
+12. cp initrd_for_xen_with_ucode /boot/
10-12 can be
cat ucode.cpio /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-30-generic >
/boot/initrd_for_xen_with_ucode
+13. On grub.cfg, provide the above initrd name as module.
i.e. 'module /boot/initrd_for_xen_with_ucode'
+14. Use 'ucode=scan' option as Xen boot parameter.
+
+Misc Notes:
+-----------
+It is not recommended to concatenate two(or more) container files of
+the same kind. (two microcode_amd_fam15h.bin for example)
+This is because:
+There is no check in Xen currently to verify this.
+Now, given a situation where
+1. An earlier container has a patch that 'fits' the processor you are
+ currently on,
+2. There is a subsequent container that *also* has a patch that 'fits',
+3. The second patch happens to be an update over the patch found on the
+ first container file.
+
+In such a case, only the patch from the first container is applied.
+This is because Xen assumes that the the containers (if concatenated
+together) are different kinds AND the 'Mutual Exclusivity' rule is
+always true.
I think this whole section can be shortened to:
"It is not recommended to concatenate multiple container files of the
same kind (e.g. two microcode_amd_fam15h.bin) since the hypervisor
will
apply only the first matching patch. If the subsequent file has a
newer update
that update will be ignored."
Or something like that.
-boris
+
+In cases where users are not sure about provenance of containers
+they should obtain a "good" set by downloading them from source links
+[1], [2] since it's not guaranteed that the latest patch will be applied.
+
+Reference(s):
+-------------
+[1] http://www.amd64.org/microcode.html
+[2]
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/amd-ucode
+[3] http://lxr.free-electrons.com/source/Documentation/x86/early-microcode.txt
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