News: 0001614264

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Intel Lands Initial Preparations For DSA 3.0 Accelerators In Linux 7.0

([Intel] 6 Hours Ago Intel Data Streaming Accelerators 3.0)


Last year we began seeing Linux patches [1]preparing the kernel for Intel Data Streaming Accelerator "DSA" 3.0 IP . Finally with the Linux 7.0 kernel those patches in updated form have now been merged.

The Intel Data Streaming Accelerator helps [2]offload data movement and transformation tasks from the CPU to the dedicated engine silicon found on recent Xeon CPUs. The Intel Data Streaming Accelerator can provide high performance data copy and analytics acceleration with software adapted to make use of the engine. Intel DSA 3.0 is their next-generation IP presumably to be found with Diamond Rapids processors.

The code merged for Linux 7.0 is a revised form of [3]last year's DSA 3.0 enablement patches . The new code for Linux 7.0 introduces new sysfs interfaces for the DSA 3.0 capability registers for making user-space aware of new hardware features. Plus Max SGL Size support for DSA 3.0 due to some opcodes like Gather copy and Gather reduce requiring the scatter-gather list "SGL" to be properly sized before user-space application use.

The code was merged for Linux 7.0 though the new DSA 3.0 capabilities sysfs interface does break typical Linux kernel practices. Usually only one value is allowed per sysfs file while the new DSA 3.0 capabilities stuffs three values into one sysfs file.

These Intel DSA 3.0 patches were merged as part of the [4]DMA engine pull for Linux 7.0.



[1] https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-Linux-Prep-DSA-3.0-Accel

[2] https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-Data-Streaming-Accel

[3] https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-Linux-Prep-DSA-3.0-Accel

[4] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/aZSTqNXfumiV64jm@vaman/



Microsoft ActivePromo Campaign: "State Innovation Day"

Microsoft has successfully lobbied for the State of Washington to declare
August 24th as State Innovation Day. Efforts are underway to lobby the US
Congress to decree a similar designation nationally. Several events are
scheduled on August 24, 1999 to showcase "innovation" in the computer
industry (in other words, Microsoft), including:

* An "Innovation Day Parade" held in downtown Seattle, featuring
floats and helium-filled balloons representing various Microsoft products
(Dancing Paper Clip, Microsoft Bob, Flying Windows Logo, etc.)

* An "Innovation is Cool" essay contest for high school and
college students. Possible topics include "Why IE Should Be Integrated in
Windows", "Why Bill Gates Is My Hero", "Government Intervention is Evil",
and "Why Monopolies Improve Product Quality and Lower Prices".

* A 24-hour "Innovation in Education" telethon on NBC to raise money for
school districts nationwide to buy new Wintel computer systems and Internet
access through the Microsoft Network.