News: 0001616434

  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 Releases Updated CPU Microcode For Xeon 6 SoCs "Granite Rapids D"

([Intel] 3 Hours Ago Functional Issues Resolved)


Catching me by surprise today was a new Intel CPU microcode drop "20260227" for Linux users/administrators outside of their typical Patch Tuesday alignment for CPU microcode releases.

Today's Intel CPU Microcode 20260227 update is just for addressing functional issues affecting Xeon 6 "Granite Rapids D" SoCs. Only the Xeon 6700P-B/6500P-B Series SoC with P-Cores (Granite Rapids D) processors are affected with no other CPU cores/families seeing firmware changes with today's releases.

In going off the [1]Xeon 6 SoC specification updates with the errata most recently published in January, it appears that today's "functional issues" corrected by the new microcode include some or all of:

GNRD40. Remapping Hardware with Major Version Number 6 Incorrectly Advertises the ESRTPS Support

GNRD41. Reserved(0) Check For a PASID Table Entry May Not Happen For a DMA Request

GNRD42. Remapping Hardware Will Not Report The PASID Value For RTA.2 Faults in Modes Other Than Scalable Mode

GNRD43. Remapping Hardware Does Not Perform a Reserved(0) Check in Interrupt Remap Table Entry

The GitHub release announcement doesn't elaborate on the "functional issues" while the current Intel documentation notes no workarounds for the most recent errata. Unfortunately I don't have any Granite Rapids D hardware so unable to confirm any of the changes myself or if there is any performance impact from the updated microcode.

Intel Granite Rapids D customers on Linux wanting the new microcode can find the files on [2]GitHub .



[1] https://edc.intel.com/content/www/us/en/design/products-and-solutions/processors-and-chipsets/granite-rapids-d/xeon-6700p-b-6500p-b-series-soc-with-p-cores-specification-update/revision-history/

[2] https://github.com/intel/Intel-Linux-Processor-Microcode-Data-Files/releases/tag/microcode-20260227


Periphrasis is the putting of things in a round-about way. "The cost may be
upwards of a figure rather below 10m#." is a periphrasis for The cost may be
nearly 10m#. "In Paris there reigns a complete absence of really reliable
news" is a periphrasis for There is no reliable news in Paris. "Rarely does
the 'Little Summer' linger until November, but at times its stay has been
prolonged until quite late in the year's penultimate month" contains a
periphrasis for November, and another for lingers. "The answer is in the
negative" is a periphrasis for No. "Was made the recipient of" is a
periphrasis for Was presented with. The periphrasis style is hardly possible
on any considerable scale without much use of abstract nouns such as "basis,
case, character, connexion, dearth, description, duration, framework, lack,
nature, reference, regard, respect". The existence of abstract nouns is a
proof that abstract thought has occurred; abstract thought is a mark of
civilized man; and so it has come about that periphrasis and civilization are
by many held to be inseparable. These good people feel that there is an almost
indecent nakedness, a reversion to barbarism, in saying No news is good news
instead of "The absence of intelligence is an indication of satisfactory
developments."
-- Fowler's English Usage