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+
+ Command Line Options for Linux/m68k
+ ===================================
+
+Last Update: 2 May 1999
+Linux/m68k version: 2.2.6
+Author: Roman.Hodek@informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Roman Hodek)
+Update: jds@kom.auc.dk (Jes Sorensen) and faq@linux-m68k.org (Chris Lawrence)
+
+0) Introduction
+===============
+
+ Often I've been asked which command line options the Linux/m68k
+kernel understands, or how the exact syntax for the ... option is, or
+... about the option ... . I hope, this document supplies all the
+answers...
+
+ Note that some options might be outdated, their descriptions being
+incomplete or missing. Please update the information and send in the
+patches.
+
+
+1) Overview of the Kernel's Option Processing
+=============================================
+
+The kernel knows three kinds of options on its command line:
+
+ 1) kernel options
+ 2) environment settings
+ 3) arguments for init
+
+To which of these classes an argument belongs is determined as
+follows: If the option is known to the kernel itself, i.e. if the name
+(the part before the '=') or, in some cases, the whole argument string
+is known to the kernel, it belongs to class 1. Otherwise, if the
+argument contains an '=', it is of class 2, and the definition is put
+into init's environment. All other arguments are passed to init as
+command line options.
+
+ This document describes the valid kernel options for Linux/m68k in
+the version mentioned at the start of this file. Later revisions may
+add new such options, and some may be missing in older versions.
+
+ In general, the value (the part after the '=') of an option is a
+list of values separated by commas. The interpretation of these values
+is up to the driver that "owns" the option. This association of
+options with drivers is also the reason that some are further
+subdivided.
+
+
+2) General Kernel Options
+=========================
+
+2.1) root=
+----------
+
+Syntax: root=/dev/<device>
+ or: root=<hex_number>
+
+This tells the kernel which device it should mount as the root
+filesystem. The device must be a block device with a valid filesystem
+on it.
+
+ The first syntax gives the device by name. These names are converted
+into a major/minor number internally in the kernel in an unusual way.
+Normally, this "conversion" is done by the device files in /dev, but
+this isn't possible here, because the root filesystem (with /dev)
+isn't mounted yet... So the kernel parses the name itself, with some
+hardcoded name to number mappings. The name must always be a
+combination of two or three letters, followed by a decimal number.
+Valid names are:
+
+ /dev/ram: -> 0x0100 (initial ramdisk)
+ /dev/hda: -> 0x0300 (first IDE disk)
+ /dev/hdb: -> 0x0340 (second IDE disk)
+ /dev/sda: -> 0x0800 (first SCSI disk)
+ /dev/sdb: -> 0x0810 (second SCSI disk)
+ /dev/sdc: -> 0x0820 (third SCSI disk)
+ /dev/sdd: -> 0x0830 (forth SCSI disk)
+ /dev/sde: -> 0x0840 (fifth SCSI disk)
+ /dev/fd : -> 0x0200 (floppy disk)
+
+ The name must be followed by a decimal number, that stands for the
+partition number. Internally, the value of the number is just
+added to the device number mentioned in the table above. The
+exceptions are /dev/ram and /dev/fd, where /dev/ram refers to an
+initial ramdisk loaded by your bootstrap program (please consult the
+instructions for your bootstrap program to find out how to load an
+initial ramdisk). As of kernel version 2.0.18 you must specify
+/dev/ram as the root device if you want to boot from an initial
+ramdisk. For the floppy devices, /dev/fd, the number stands for the
+floppy drive number (there are no partitions on floppy disks). I.e.,
+/dev/fd0 stands for the first drive, /dev/fd1 for the second, and so
+on. Since the number is just added, you can also force the disk format
+by adding a number greater than 3. If you look into your /dev
+directory, use can see the /dev/fd0D720 has major 2 and minor 16. You
+can specify this device for the root FS by writing "root=/dev/fd16" on
+the kernel command line.
+
+[Strange and maybe uninteresting stuff ON]
+
+ This unusual translation of device names has some strange
+consequences: If, for example, you have a symbolic link from /dev/fd
+to /dev/fd0D720 as an abbreviation for floppy driver #0 in DD format,
+you cannot use this name for specifying the root device, because the
+kernel cannot see this symlink before mounting the root FS and it
+isn't in the table above. If you use it, the root device will not be
+set at all, without an error message. Another example: You cannot use a
+partition on e.g. the sixth SCSI disk as the root filesystem, if you
+want to specify it by name. This is, because only the devices up to
+/dev/sde are in the table above, but not /dev/sdf. Although, you can
+use the sixth SCSI disk for the root FS, but you have to specify the
+device by number... (see below). Or, even more strange, you can use the
+fact that there is no range checking of the partition number, and your
+knowledge that each disk uses 16 minors, and write "root=/dev/sde17"
+(for /dev/sdf1).
+
+[Strange and maybe uninteresting stuff OFF]
+
+ If the device containing your root partition isn't in the table
+above, you can also specify it by major and minor numbers. These are
+written in hex, with no prefix and no separator between. E.g., if you
+have a CD with contents appropriate as a root filesystem in the first
+SCSI CD-ROM drive, you boot from it by "root=0b00". Here, hex "0b" =
+decimal 11 is the major of SCSI CD-ROMs, and the minor 0 stands for
+the first of these. You can find out all valid major numbers by
+looking into include/linux/major.h.
+
+In addition to major and minor numbers, if the device containing your
+root partition uses a partition table format with unique partition
+identifiers, then you may use them. For instance,
+"root=PARTUUID=00112233-4455-6677-8899-AABBCCDDEEFF". It is also
+possible to reference another partition on the same device using a
+known partition UUID as the starting point. For example,
+if partition 5 of the device has the UUID of
+00112233-4455-6677-8899-AABBCCDDEEFF then partition 3 may be found as
+follows:
+ PARTUUID=00112233-4455-6677-8899-AABBCCDDEEFF/PARTNROFF=-2
+
+Authoritative information can be found in
+"Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt".
+
+
+2.2) ro, rw
+-----------
+
+Syntax: ro
+ or: rw
+
+These two options tell the kernel whether it should mount the root
+filesystem read-only or read-write. The default is read-only, except
+for ramdisks, which default to read-write.
+
+
+2.3) debug
+----------
+
+Syntax: debug
+
+This raises the kernel log level to 10 (the default is 7). This is the
+same level as set by the "dmesg" command, just that the maximum level
+selectable by dmesg is 8.
+
+
+2.4) debug=
+-----------
+
+Syntax: debug=<device>
+
+This option causes certain kernel messages be printed to the selected
+debugging device. This can aid debugging the kernel, since the
+messages can be captured and analyzed on some other machine. Which
+devices are possible depends on the machine type. There are no checks
+for the validity of the device name. If the device isn't implemented,
+nothing happens.
+
+ Messages logged this way are in general stack dumps after kernel
+memory faults or bad kernel traps, and kernel panics. To be exact: all
+messages of level 0 (panic messages) and all messages printed while
+the log level is 8 or more (their level doesn't matter). Before stack
+dumps, the kernel sets the log level to 10 automatically. A level of
+at least 8 can also be set by the "debug" command line option (see
+2.3) and at run time with "dmesg -n 8".
+
+Devices possible for Amiga:
+
+ - "ser": built-in serial port; parameters: 9600bps, 8N1
+ - "mem": Save the messages to a reserved area in chip mem. After
+ rebooting, they can be read under AmigaOS with the tool
+ 'dmesg'.
+
+Devices possible for Atari:
+
+ - "ser1": ST-MFP serial port ("Modem1"); parameters: 9600bps, 8N1
+ - "ser2": SCC channel B serial port ("Modem2"); parameters: 9600bps, 8N1
+ - "ser" : default serial port
+ This is "ser2" for a Falcon, and "ser1" for any other machine
+ - "midi": The MIDI port; parameters: 31250bps, 8N1
+ - "par" : parallel port
+ The printing routine for this implements a timeout for the
+ case there's no printer connected (else the kernel would
+ lock up). The timeout is not exact, but usually a few
+ seconds.
+
+
+2.6) ramdisk_size=
+-------------
+
+Syntax: ramdisk_size=<size>
+
+ This option instructs the kernel to set up a ramdisk of the given
+size in KBytes. Do not use this option if the ramdisk contents are
+passed by bootstrap! In this case, the size is selected automatically
+and should not be overwritten.
+
+ The only application is for root filesystems on floppy disks, that
+should be loaded into memory. To do that, select the corresponding
+size of the disk as ramdisk size, and set the root device to the disk
+drive (with "root=").
+
+
+2.7) swap=
+2.8) buff=
+-----------
+
+ I can't find any sign of these options in 2.2.6.
+
+
+3) General Device Options (Amiga and Atari)
+===========================================
+
+3.1) ether=
+-----------
+
+Syntax: ether=[<irq>[,<base_addr>[,<mem_start>[,<mem_end>]]]],<dev-name>
+
+ <dev-name> is the name of a net driver, as specified in
+drivers/net/Space.c in the Linux source. Most prominent are eth0, ...
+eth3, sl0, ... sl3, ppp0, ..., ppp3, dummy, and lo.
+
+ The non-ethernet drivers (sl, ppp, dummy, lo) obviously ignore the
+settings by this options. Also, the existing ethernet drivers for
+Linux/m68k (ariadne, a2065, hydra) don't use them because Zorro boards
+are really Plug-'n-Play, so the "ether=" option is useless altogether
+for Linux/m68k.
+
+
+3.2) hd=
+--------
+
+Syntax: hd=<cylinders>,<heads>,<sectors>
+
+ This option sets the disk geometry of an IDE disk. The first hd=
+option is for the first IDE disk, the second for the second one.
+(I.e., you can give this option twice.) In most cases, you won't have
+to use this option, since the kernel can obtain the geometry data
+itself. It exists just for the case that this fails for one of your
+disks.
+
+
+3.3) max_scsi_luns=
+-------------------
+
+Syntax: max_scsi_luns=<n>
+
+ Sets the maximum number of LUNs (logical units) of SCSI devices to
+be scanned. Valid values for <n> are between 1 and 8. Default is 8 if
+"Probe all LUNs on each SCSI device" was selected during the kernel
+configuration, else 1.
+
+
+3.4) st=
+--------
+
+Syntax: st=<buffer_size>,[<write_thres>,[<max_buffers>]]
+
+ Sets several parameters of the SCSI tape driver. <buffer_size> is
+the number of 512-byte buffers reserved for tape operations for each
+device. <write_thres> sets the number of blocks which must be filled
+to start an actual write operation to the tape. Maximum value is the
+total number of buffers. <max_buffer> limits the total number of
+buffers allocated for all tape devices.
+
+
+3.5) dmasound=
+--------------
+
+Syntax: dmasound=[<buffers>,<buffer-size>[,<catch-radius>]]
+
+ This option controls some configurations of the Linux/m68k DMA sound
+driver (Amiga and Atari): <buffers> is the number of buffers you want
+to use (minimum 4, default 4), <buffer-size> is the size of each
+buffer in kilobytes (minimum 4, default 32) and <catch-radius> says
+how much percent of error will be tolerated when setting a frequency
+(maximum 10, default 0). For example with 3% you can play 8000Hz
+AU-Files on the Falcon with its hardware frequency of 8195Hz and thus
+don't need to expand the sound.
+
+
+
+4) Options for Atari Only
+=========================
+
+4.1) video=
+-----------
+
+Syntax: video=<fbname>:<sub-options...>
+
+The <fbname> parameter specifies the name of the frame buffer,
+eg. most atari users will want to specify `atafb' here. The
+<sub-options> is a comma-separated list of the sub-options listed
+below.
+
+NB: Please notice that this option was renamed from `atavideo' to
+ `video' during the development of the 1.3.x kernels, thus you
+ might need to update your boot-scripts if upgrading to 2.x from
+ an 1.2.x kernel.
+
+NBB: The behavior of video= was changed in 2.1.57 so the recommended
+option is to specify the name of the frame buffer.
+
+4.1.1) Video Mode
+-----------------
+
+This sub-option may be any of the predefined video modes, as listed
+in atari/atafb.c in the Linux/m68k source tree. The kernel will
+activate the given video mode at boot time and make it the default
+mode, if the hardware allows. Currently defined names are:
+
+ - stlow : 320x200x4
+ - stmid, default5 : 640x200x2
+ - sthigh, default4: 640x400x1
+ - ttlow : 320x480x8, TT only
+ - ttmid, default1 : 640x480x4, TT only
+ - tthigh, default2: 1280x960x1, TT only
+ - vga2 : 640x480x1, Falcon only
+ - vga4 : 640x480x2, Falcon only
+ - vga16, default3 : 640x480x4, Falcon only
+ - vga256 : 640x480x8, Falcon only
+ - falh2 : 896x608x1, Falcon only
+ - falh16 : 896x608x4, Falcon only
+
+ If no video mode is given on the command line, the kernel tries the
+modes names "default<n>" in turn, until one is possible with the
+hardware in use.
+
+ A video mode setting doesn't make sense, if the external driver is
+activated by a "external:" sub-option.
+
+4.1.2) inverse
+--------------
+
+Invert the display. This affects both, text (consoles) and graphics
+(X) display. Usually, the background is chosen to be black. With this
+option, you can make the background white.
+
+4.1.3) font
+-----------
+
+Syntax: font:<fontname>
+
+Specify the font to use in text modes. Currently you can choose only
+between `VGA8x8', `VGA8x16' and `PEARL8x8'. `VGA8x8' is default, if the
+vertical size of the display is less than 400 pixel rows. Otherwise, the
+`VGA8x16' font is the default.
+
+4.1.4) hwscroll_
+----------------
+
+Syntax: hwscroll_<n>
+
+The number of additional lines of video memory to reserve for
+speeding up the scrolling ("hardware scrolling"). Hardware scrolling
+is possible only if the kernel can set the video base address in steps
+fine enough. This is true for STE, MegaSTE, TT, and Falcon. It is not
+possible with plain STs and graphics cards (The former because the
+base address must be on a 256 byte boundary there, the latter because
+the kernel doesn't know how to set the base address at all.)
+
+ By default, <n> is set to the number of visible text lines on the
+display. Thus, the amount of video memory is doubled, compared to no
+hardware scrolling. You can turn off the hardware scrolling altogether
+by setting <n> to 0.
+
+4.1.5) internal:
+----------------
+
+Syntax: internal:<xres>;<yres>[;<xres_max>;<yres_max>;<offset>]
+
+This option specifies the capabilities of some extended internal video
+hardware, like e.g. OverScan. <xres> and <yres> give the (extended)
+dimensions of the screen.
+
+ If your OverScan needs a black border, you have to write the last
+three arguments of the "internal:". <xres_max> is the maximum line
+length the hardware allows, <yres_max> the maximum number of lines.
+<offset> is the offset of the visible part of the screen memory to its
+physical start, in bytes.
+
+ Often, extended interval video hardware has to be activated somehow.
+For this, see the "sw_*" options below.
+
+4.1.6) external:
+----------------
+
+Syntax:
+ external:<xres>;<yres>;<depth>;<org>;<scrmem>[;<scrlen>[;<vgabase>\
+ [;<colw>[;<coltype>[;<xres_virtual>]]]]]
+
+[I had to break this line...]
+
+ This is probably the most complicated parameter... It specifies that
+you have some external video hardware (a graphics board), and how to
+use it under Linux/m68k. The kernel cannot know more about the hardware
+than you tell it here! The kernel also is unable to set or change any
+video modes, since it doesn't know about any board internal. So, you
+have to switch to that video mode before you start Linux, and cannot
+switch to another mode once Linux has started.
+
+ The first 3 parameters of this sub-option should be obvious: <xres>,
+<yres> and <depth> give the dimensions of the screen and the number of
+planes (depth). The depth is the logarithm to base 2 of the number
+of colors possible. (Or, the other way round: The number of colors is
+2^depth).
+
+ You have to tell the kernel furthermore how the video memory is
+organized. This is done by a letter as <org> parameter:
+
+ 'n': "normal planes", i.e. one whole plane after another
+ 'i': "interleaved planes", i.e. 16 bit of the first plane, than 16 bit
+ of the next, and so on... This mode is used only with the
+ built-in Atari video modes, I think there is no card that
+ supports this mode.
+ 'p': "packed pixels", i.e. <depth> consecutive bits stand for all
+ planes of one pixel; this is the most common mode for 8 planes
+ (256 colors) on graphic cards
+ 't': "true color" (more or less packed pixels, but without a color
+ lookup table); usually depth is 24
+
+For monochrome modes (i.e., <depth> is 1), the <org> letter has a
+different meaning:
+
+ 'n': normal colors, i.e. 0=white, 1=black
+ 'i': inverted colors, i.e. 0=black, 1=white
+
+ The next important information about the video hardware is the base
+address of the video memory. That is given in the <scrmem> parameter,
+as a hexadecimal number with a "0x" prefix. You have to find out this
+address in the documentation of your hardware.
+
+ The next parameter, <scrlen>, tells the kernel about the size of the
+video memory. If it's missing, the size is calculated from <xres>,
+<yres>, and <depth>. For now, it is not useful to write a value here.
+It would be used only for hardware scrolling (which isn't possible
+with the external driver, because the kernel cannot set the video base
+address), or for virtual resolutions under X (which the X server
+doesn't support yet). So, it's currently best to leave this field
+empty, either by ending the "external:" after the video address or by
+writing two consecutive semicolons, if you want to give a <vgabase>
+(it is allowed to leave this parameter empty).
+
+ The <vgabase> parameter is optional. If it is not given, the kernel
+cannot read or write any color registers of the video hardware, and
+thus you have to set appropriate colors before you start Linux. But if
+your card is somehow VGA compatible, you can tell the kernel the base
+address of the VGA register set, so it can change the color lookup
+table. You have to look up this address in your board's documentation.
+To avoid misunderstandings: <vgabase> is the _base_ address, i.e. a 4k
+aligned address. For read/writing the color registers, the kernel
+uses the addresses vgabase+0x3c7...vgabase+0x3c9. The <vgabase>
+parameter is written in hexadecimal with a "0x" prefix, just as
+<scrmem>.
+
+ <colw> is meaningful only if <vgabase> is specified. It tells the
+kernel how wide each of the color register is, i.e. the number of bits
+per single color (red/green/blue). Default is 6, another quite usual
+value is 8.
+
+ Also <coltype> is used together with <vgabase>. It tells the kernel
+about the color register model of your gfx board. Currently, the types
+"vga" (which is also the default) and "mv300" (SANG MV300) are
+implemented.
+
+ Parameter <xres_virtual> is required for ProMST or ET4000 cards where
+the physical linelength differs from the visible length. With ProMST,
+xres_virtual must be set to 2048. For ET4000, xres_virtual depends on the
+initialisation of the video-card.
+If you're missing a corresponding yres_virtual: the external part is legacy,
+therefore we don't support hardware-dependent functions like hardware-scroll,
+panning or blanking.
+
+4.1.7) eclock:
+--------------
+
+The external pixel clock attached to the Falcon VIDEL shifter. This
+currently works only with the ScreenWonder!
+
+4.1.8) monitorcap:
+-------------------
+
+Syntax: monitorcap:<vmin>;<vmax>;<hmin>;<hmax>
+
+This describes the capabilities of a multisync monitor. Don't use it
+with a fixed-frequency monitor! For now, only the Falcon frame buffer
+uses the settings of "monitorcap:".
+
+ <vmin> and <vmax> are the minimum and maximum, resp., vertical frequencies
+your monitor can work with, in Hz. <hmin> and <hmax> are the same for
+the horizontal frequency, in kHz.
+
+ The defaults are 58;62;31;32 (VGA compatible).
+
+ The defaults for TV/SC1224/SC1435 cover both PAL and NTSC standards.
+
+4.1.9) keep
+------------
+
+If this option is given, the framebuffer device doesn't do any video
+mode calculations and settings on its own. The only Atari fb device
+that does this currently is the Falcon.
+
+ What you reach with this: Settings for unknown video extensions
+aren't overridden by the driver, so you can still use the mode found
+when booting, when the driver doesn't know to set this mode itself.
+But this also means, that you can't switch video modes anymore...
+
+ An example where you may want to use "keep" is the ScreenBlaster for
+the Falcon.
+
+
+4.2) atamouse=
+--------------
+
+Syntax: atamouse=<x-threshold>,[<y-threshold>]
+
+ With this option, you can set the mouse movement reporting threshold.
+This is the number of pixels of mouse movement that have to accumulate
+before the IKBD sends a new mouse packet to the kernel. Higher values
+reduce the mouse interrupt load and thus reduce the chance of keyboard
+overruns. Lower values give a slightly faster mouse responses and
+slightly better mouse tracking.
+
+ You can set the threshold in x and y separately, but usually this is
+of little practical use. If there's just one number in the option, it
+is used for both dimensions. The default value is 2 for both
+thresholds.
+
+
+4.3) ataflop=
+-------------
+
+Syntax: ataflop=<drive type>[,<trackbuffering>[,<steprateA>[,<steprateB>]]]
+
+ The drive type may be 0, 1, or 2, for DD, HD, and ED, resp. This
+ setting affects how many buffers are reserved and which formats are
+ probed (see also below). The default is 1 (HD). Only one drive type
+ can be selected. If you have two disk drives, select the "better"
+ type.
+
+ The second parameter <trackbuffer> tells the kernel whether to use
+ track buffering (1) or not (0). The default is machine-dependent:
+ no for the Medusa and yes for all others.
+
+ With the two following parameters, you can change the default
+ steprate used for drive A and B, resp.
+
+
+4.4) atascsi=
+-------------
+
+Syntax: atascsi=<can_queue>[,<cmd_per_lun>[,<scat-gat>[,<host-id>[,<tagged>]]]]
+
+ This option sets some parameters for the Atari native SCSI driver.
+Generally, any number of arguments can be omitted from the end. And
+for each of the numbers, a negative value means "use default". The
+defaults depend on whether TT-style or Falcon-style SCSI is used.
+Below, defaults are noted as n/m, where the first value refers to
+TT-SCSI and the latter to Falcon-SCSI. If an illegal value is given
+for one parameter, an error message is printed and that one setting is
+ignored (others aren't affected).
+
+ <can_queue>:
+ This is the maximum number of SCSI commands queued internally to the
+ Atari SCSI driver. A value of 1 effectively turns off the driver
+ internal multitasking (if it causes problems). Legal values are >=
+ 1. <can_queue> can be as high as you like, but values greater than
+ <cmd_per_lun> times the number of SCSI targets (LUNs) you have
+ don't make sense. Default: 16/8.
+
+ <cmd_per_lun>:
+ Maximum number of SCSI commands issued to the driver for one
+ logical unit (LUN, usually one SCSI target). Legal values start
+ from 1. If tagged queuing (see below) is not used, values greater
+ than 2 don't make sense, but waste memory. Otherwise, the maximum
+ is the number of command tags available to the driver (currently
+ 32). Default: 8/1. (Note: Values > 1 seem to cause problems on a
+ Falcon, cause not yet known.)
+
+ The <cmd_per_lun> value at a great part determines the amount of
+ memory SCSI reserves for itself. The formula is rather
+ complicated, but I can give you some hints:
+ no scatter-gather : cmd_per_lun * 232 bytes
+ full scatter-gather: cmd_per_lun * approx. 17 Kbytes
+
+ <scat-gat>:
+ Size of the scatter-gather table, i.e. the number of requests
+ consecutive on the disk that can be merged into one SCSI command.
+ Legal values are between 0 and 255. Default: 255/0. Note: This
+ value is forced to 0 on a Falcon, since scatter-gather isn't
+ possible with the ST-DMA. Not using scatter-gather hurts
+ performance significantly.
+
+ <host-id>:
+ The SCSI ID to be used by the initiator (your Atari). This is
+ usually 7, the highest possible ID. Every ID on the SCSI bus must
+ be unique. Default: determined at run time: If the NV-RAM checksum
+ is valid, and bit 7 in byte 30 of the NV-RAM is set, the lower 3
+ bits of this byte are used as the host ID. (This method is defined
+ by Atari and also used by some TOS HD drivers.) If the above
+ isn't given, the default ID is 7. (both, TT and Falcon).
+
+ <tagged>:
+ 0 means turn off tagged queuing support, all other values > 0 mean
+ use tagged queuing for targets that support it. Default: currently
+ off, but this may change when tagged queuing handling has been
+ proved to be reliable.
+
+ Tagged queuing means that more than one command can be issued to
+ one LUN, and the SCSI device itself orders the requests so they
+ can be performed in optimal order. Not all SCSI devices support
+ tagged queuing (:-().
+
+4.5 switches=
+-------------
+
+Syntax: switches=<list of switches>
+
+ With this option you can switch some hardware lines that are often
+used to enable/disable certain hardware extensions. Examples are
+OverScan, overclocking, ...
+
+ The <list of switches> is a comma-separated list of the following
+items:
+
+ ikbd: set RTS of the keyboard ACIA high
+ midi: set RTS of the MIDI ACIA high
+ snd6: set bit 6 of the PSG port A
+ snd7: set bit 6 of the PSG port A
+
+It doesn't make sense to mention a switch more than once (no
+difference to only once), but you can give as many switches as you
+want to enable different features. The switch lines are set as early
+as possible during kernel initialization (even before determining the
+present hardware.)
+
+ All of the items can also be prefixed with "ov_", i.e. "ov_ikbd",
+"ov_midi", ... These options are meant for switching on an OverScan
+video extension. The difference to the bare option is that the
+switch-on is done after video initialization, and somehow synchronized
+to the HBLANK. A speciality is that ov_ikbd and ov_midi are switched
+off before rebooting, so that OverScan is disabled and TOS boots
+correctly.
+
+ If you give an option both, with and without the "ov_" prefix, the
+earlier initialization ("ov_"-less) takes precedence. But the
+switching-off on reset still happens in this case.
+
+5) Options for Amiga Only:
+==========================
+
+5.1) video=
+-----------
+
+Syntax: video=<fbname>:<sub-options...>
+
+The <fbname> parameter specifies the name of the frame buffer, valid
+options are `amifb', `cyber', 'virge', `retz3' and `clgen', provided
+that the respective frame buffer devices have been compiled into the
+kernel (or compiled as loadable modules). The behavior of the <fbname>
+option was changed in 2.1.57 so it is now recommended to specify this
+option.
+
+The <sub-options> is a comma-separated list of the sub-options listed
+below. This option is organized similar to the Atari version of the
+"video"-option (4.1), but knows fewer sub-options.
+
+5.1.1) video mode
+-----------------
+
+Again, similar to the video mode for the Atari (see 4.1.1). Predefined
+modes depend on the used frame buffer device.
+
+OCS, ECS and AGA machines all use the color frame buffer. The following
+predefined video modes are available:
+
+NTSC modes:
+ - ntsc : 640x200, 15 kHz, 60 Hz
+ - ntsc-lace : 640x400, 15 kHz, 60 Hz interlaced
+PAL modes:
+ - pal : 640x256, 15 kHz, 50 Hz
+ - pal-lace : 640x512, 15 kHz, 50 Hz interlaced
+ECS modes:
+ - multiscan : 640x480, 29 kHz, 57 Hz
+ - multiscan-lace : 640x960, 29 kHz, 57 Hz interlaced
+ - euro36 : 640x200, 15 kHz, 72 Hz
+ - euro36-lace : 640x400, 15 kHz, 72 Hz interlaced
+ - euro72 : 640x400, 29 kHz, 68 Hz
+ - euro72-lace : 640x800, 29 kHz, 68 Hz interlaced
+ - super72 : 800x300, 23 kHz, 70 Hz
+ - super72-lace : 800x600, 23 kHz, 70 Hz interlaced
+ - dblntsc-ff : 640x400, 27 kHz, 57 Hz
+ - dblntsc-lace : 640x800, 27 kHz, 57 Hz interlaced
+ - dblpal-ff : 640x512, 27 kHz, 47 Hz
+ - dblpal-lace : 640x1024, 27 kHz, 47 Hz interlaced
+ - dblntsc : 640x200, 27 kHz, 57 Hz doublescan
+ - dblpal : 640x256, 27 kHz, 47 Hz doublescan
+VGA modes:
+ - vga : 640x480, 31 kHz, 60 Hz
+ - vga70 : 640x400, 31 kHz, 70 Hz
+
+Please notice that the ECS and VGA modes require either an ECS or AGA
+chipset, and that these modes are limited to 2-bit color for the ECS
+chipset and 8-bit color for the AGA chipset.
+
+5.1.2) depth
+------------
+
+Syntax: depth:<nr. of bit-planes>
+
+Specify the number of bit-planes for the selected video-mode.
+
+5.1.3) inverse
+--------------
+
+Use inverted display (black on white). Functionally the same as the
+"inverse" sub-option for the Atari.
+
+5.1.4) font
+-----------
+
+Syntax: font:<fontname>
+
+Specify the font to use in text modes. Functionally the same as the
+"font" sub-option for the Atari, except that `PEARL8x8' is used instead
+of `VGA8x8' if the vertical size of the display is less than 400 pixel
+rows.
+
+5.1.5) monitorcap:
+-------------------
+
+Syntax: monitorcap:<vmin>;<vmax>;<hmin>;<hmax>
+
+This describes the capabilities of a multisync monitor. For now, only
+the color frame buffer uses the settings of "monitorcap:".
+
+ <vmin> and <vmax> are the minimum and maximum, resp., vertical frequencies
+your monitor can work with, in Hz. <hmin> and <hmax> are the same for
+the horizontal frequency, in kHz.
+
+ The defaults are 50;90;15;38 (Generic Amiga multisync monitor).
+
+
+5.2) fd_def_df0=
+----------------
+
+Syntax: fd_def_df0=<value>
+
+Sets the df0 value for "silent" floppy drives. The value should be in
+hexadecimal with "0x" prefix.
+
+
+5.3) wd33c93=
+-------------
+
+Syntax: wd33c93=<sub-options...>
+
+These options affect the A590/A2091, A3000 and GVP Series II SCSI
+controllers.
+
+The <sub-options> is a comma-separated list of the sub-options listed
+below.
+
+5.3.1) nosync
+-------------
+
+Syntax: nosync:bitmask
+
+ bitmask is a byte where the 1st 7 bits correspond with the 7
+possible SCSI devices. Set a bit to prevent sync negotiation on that
+device. To maintain backwards compatibility, a command-line such as
+"wd33c93=255" will be automatically translated to
+"wd33c93=nosync:0xff". The default is to disable sync negotiation for
+all devices, eg. nosync:0xff.
+
+5.3.2) period
+-------------
+
+Syntax: period:ns
+
+ `ns' is the minimum # of nanoseconds in a SCSI data transfer
+period. Default is 500; acceptable values are 250 - 1000.
+
+5.3.3) disconnect
+-----------------
+
+Syntax: disconnect:x
+
+ Specify x = 0 to never allow disconnects, 2 to always allow them.
+x = 1 does 'adaptive' disconnects, which is the default and generally
+the best choice.
+
+5.3.4) debug
+------------
+
+Syntax: debug:x
+
+ If `DEBUGGING_ON' is defined, x is a bit mask that causes various
+types of debug output to printed - see the DB_xxx defines in
+wd33c93.h.
+
+5.3.5) clock
+------------
+
+Syntax: clock:x
+
+ x = clock input in MHz for WD33c93 chip. Normal values would be from
+8 through 20. The default value depends on your hostadapter(s),
+default for the A3000 internal controller is 14, for the A2091 it's 8
+and for the GVP hostadapters it's either 8 or 14, depending on the
+hostadapter and the SCSI-clock jumper present on some GVP
+hostadapters.
+
+5.3.6) next
+-----------
+
+ No argument. Used to separate blocks of keywords when there's more
+than one wd33c93-based host adapter in the system.
+
+5.3.7) nodma
+------------
+
+Syntax: nodma:x
+
+ If x is 1 (or if the option is just written as "nodma"), the WD33c93
+controller will not use DMA (= direct memory access) to access the
+Amiga's memory. This is useful for some systems (like A3000's and
+A4000's with the A3640 accelerator, revision 3.0) that have problems
+using DMA to chip memory. The default is 0, i.e. to use DMA if
+possible.
+
+
+5.4) gvp11=
+-----------
+
+Syntax: gvp11=<addr-mask>
+
+ The earlier versions of the GVP driver did not handle DMA
+address-mask settings correctly which made it necessary for some
+people to use this option, in order to get their GVP controller
+running under Linux. These problems have hopefully been solved and the
+use of this option is now highly unrecommended!
+
+ Incorrect use can lead to unpredictable behavior, so please only use
+this option if you *know* what you are doing and have a reason to do
+so. In any case if you experience problems and need to use this
+option, please inform us about it by mailing to the Linux/68k kernel
+mailing list.
+
+ The address mask set by this option specifies which addresses are
+valid for DMA with the GVP Series II SCSI controller. An address is
+valid, if no bits are set except the bits that are set in the mask,
+too.
+
+ Some versions of the GVP can only DMA into a 24 bit address range,
+some can address a 25 bit address range while others can use the whole
+32 bit address range for DMA. The correct setting depends on your
+controller and should be autodetected by the driver. An example is the
+24 bit region which is specified by a mask of 0x00fffffe.
+
+
+/* Local Variables: */
+/* mode: text */
+/* End: */
diff --git a/speculation.txt b/speculation.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9e6cba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/speculation.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+This document explains potential effects of speculation, and how undesirable
+effects can be mitigated portably using common APIs.
+
+===========
+Speculation
+===========
+
+To improve performance and minimize average latencies, many contemporary CPUs
+employ speculative execution techniques such as branch prediction, performing
+work which may be discarded at a later stage.
+
+Typically speculative execution cannot be observed from architectural state,
+such as the contents of registers. However, in some cases it is possible to
+observe its impact on microarchitectural state, such as the presence or
+absence of data in caches. Such state may form side-channels which can be
+observed to extract secret information.
+
+For example, in the presence of branch prediction, it is possible for bounds
+checks to be ignored by code which is speculatively executed. Consider the
+following code:
+
+ int load_array(int *array, unsigned int index)
+ {
+ if (index >= MAX_ARRAY_ELEMS)
+ return 0;
+ else
+ return array[index];
+ }
+
+Which, on arm64, may be compiled to an assembly sequence such as:
+
+ CMP <index>, #MAX_ARRAY_ELEMS
+ B.LT less
+ MOV <returnval>, #0
+ RET
+ less:
+ LDR <returnval>, [<array>, <index>]
+ RET
+
+It is possible that a CPU mis-predicts the conditional branch, and
+speculatively loads array[index], even if index >= MAX_ARRAY_ELEMS. This
+value will subsequently be discarded, but the speculated load may affect
+microarchitectural state which can be subsequently measured.
+
+More complex sequences involving multiple dependent memory accesses may
+result in sensitive information being leaked. Consider the following
+code, building on the prior example:
+
+ int load_dependent_arrays(int *arr1, int *arr2, int index)
+ {
+ int val1, val2,
+
+ val1 = load_array(arr1, index);
+ val2 = load_array(arr2, val1);
+
+ return val2;
+ }
+
+Under speculation, the first call to load_array() may return the value
+of an out-of-bounds address, while the second call will influence
+microarchitectural state dependent on this value. This may provide an
+arbitrary read primitive.
+
+====================================
+Mitigating speculation side-channels
+====================================
+
+The kernel provides a generic API to ensure that bounds checks are
+respected even under speculation. Architectures which are affected by
+speculation-based side-channels are expected to implement these
+primitives.
+
+The array_index_nospec() helper in <linux/nospec.h> can be used to
+prevent information from being leaked via side-channels.
+
+A call to array_index_nospec(index, size) returns a sanitized index
+value that is bounded to [0, size) even under cpu speculation
+conditions.
+
+This can be used to protect the earlier load_array() example:
+
+ int load_array(int *array, unsigned int index)
+ {
+ if (index >= MAX_ARRAY_ELEMS)
+ return 0;
+ else {
+ index = array_index_nospec(index, MAX_ARRAY_ELEMS);
+ return array[index];
+ }
+ }
diff --git a/spinlocks.txt b/spinlocks.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..97eaf57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spinlocks.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+Lesson 1: Spin locks
+
+The most basic primitive for locking is spinlock.
+
+static DEFINE_SPINLOCK(xxx_lock);
+
+ unsigned long flags;
+
+ spin_lock_irqsave(&xxx_lock, flags);
+ ... critical section here ..
+ spin_unlock_irqrestore(&xxx_lock, flags);
+
+The above is always safe. It will disable interrupts _locally_, but the
+spinlock itself will guarantee the global lock, so it will guarantee that
+there is only one thread-of-control within the region(s) protected by that
+lock. This works well even under UP also, so the code does _not_ need to
+worry about UP vs SMP issues: the spinlocks work correctly under both.
+
+ NOTE! Implications of spin_locks for memory are further described in:
+
+ Documentation/memory-barriers.txt
+ (5) LOCK operations.
+ (6) UNLOCK operations.
+
+The above is usually pretty simple (you usually need and want only one
+spinlock for most things - using more than one spinlock can make things a
+lot more complex and even slower and is usually worth it only for
+sequences that you _know_ need to be split up: avoid it at all cost if you
+aren't sure).
+
+This is really the only really hard part about spinlocks: once you start
+using spinlocks they tend to expand to areas you might not have noticed
+before, because you have to make sure the spinlocks correctly protect the
+shared data structures _everywhere_ they are used. The spinlocks are most
+easily added to places that are completely independent of other code (for
+example, internal driver data structures that nobody else ever touches).
+
+ NOTE! The spin-lock is safe only when you _also_ use the lock itself
+ to do locking across CPU's, which implies that EVERYTHING that
+ touches a shared variable has to agree about the spinlock they want
+ to use.
+
+----
+
+Lesson 2: reader-writer spinlocks.
+
+If your data accesses have a very natural pattern where you usually tend
+to mostly read from the shared variables, the reader-writer locks
+(rw_lock) versions of the spinlocks are sometimes useful. They allow multiple
+readers to be in the same critical region at once, but if somebody wants
+to change the variables it has to get an exclusive write lock.
+
+ NOTE! reader-writer locks require more atomic memory operations than
+ simple spinlocks. Unless the reader critical section is long, you
+ are better off just using spinlocks.
+
+The routines look the same as above:
+
+ rwlock_t xxx_lock = __RW_LOCK_UNLOCKED(xxx_lock);
+
+ unsigned long flags;
+
+ read_lock_irqsave(&xxx_lock, flags);
+ .. critical section that only reads the info ...
+ read_unlock_irqrestore(&xxx_lock, flags);
+
+ write_lock_irqsave(&xxx_lock, flags);
+ .. read and write exclusive access to the info ...
+ write_unlock_irqrestore(&xxx_lock, flags);
+
+The above kind of lock may be useful for complex data structures like
+linked lists, especially searching for entries without changing the list
+itself. The read lock allows many concurrent readers. Anything that
+_changes_ the list will have to get the write lock.
+
+ NOTE! RCU is better for list traversal, but requires careful
+ attention to design detail (see Documentation/RCU/listRCU.txt).
+
+Also, you cannot "upgrade" a read-lock to a write-lock, so if you at _any_
+time need to do any changes (even if you don't do it every time), you have
+to get the write-lock at the very beginning.
+
+ NOTE! We are working hard to remove reader-writer spinlocks in most
+ cases, so please don't add a new one without consensus. (Instead, see
+ Documentation/RCU/rcu.txt for complete information.)
+
+----
+
+Lesson 3: spinlocks revisited.
+
+The single spin-lock primitives above are by no means the only ones. They
+are the most safe ones, and the ones that work under all circumstances,
+but partly _because_ they are safe they are also fairly slow. They are slower
+than they'd need to be, because they do have to disable interrupts
+(which is just a single instruction on a x86, but it's an expensive one -
+and on other architectures it can be worse).
+
+If you have a case where you have to protect a data structure across
+several CPU's and you want to use spinlocks you can potentially use
+cheaper versions of the spinlocks. IFF you know that the spinlocks are
+never used in interrupt handlers, you can use the non-irq versions:
+
+ spin_lock(&lock);
+ ...
+ spin_unlock(&lock);
+
+(and the equivalent read-write versions too, of course). The spinlock will
+guarantee the same kind of exclusive access, and it will be much faster.
+This is useful if you know that the data in question is only ever
+manipulated from a "process context", ie no interrupts involved.
+
+The reasons you mustn't use these versions if you have interrupts that
+play with the spinlock is that you can get deadlocks:
+
+ spin_lock(&lock);
+ ...
+ <- interrupt comes in:
+ spin_lock(&lock);
+
+where an interrupt tries to lock an already locked variable. This is ok if
+the other interrupt happens on another CPU, but it is _not_ ok if the
+interrupt happens on the same CPU that already holds the lock, because the
+lock will obviously never be released (because the interrupt is waiting
+for the lock, and the lock-holder is interrupted by the interrupt and will
+not continue until the interrupt has been processed).
+
+(This is also the reason why the irq-versions of the spinlocks only need
+to disable the _local_ interrupts - it's ok to use spinlocks in interrupts
+on other CPU's, because an interrupt on another CPU doesn't interrupt the
+CPU that holds the lock, so the lock-holder can continue and eventually
+releases the lock).
+
+Note that you can be clever with read-write locks and interrupts. For
+example, if you know that the interrupt only ever gets a read-lock, then
+you can use a non-irq version of read locks everywhere - because they
+don't block on each other (and thus there is no dead-lock wrt interrupts.
+But when you do the write-lock, you have to use the irq-safe version.
+
+For an example of being clever with rw-locks, see the "waitqueue_lock"
+handling in kernel/sched/core.c - nothing ever _changes_ a wait-queue from
+within an interrupt, they only read the queue in order to know whom to
+wake up. So read-locks are safe (which is good: they are very common
+indeed), while write-locks need to protect themselves against interrupts.
+
+ Linus
+
+----
+
+Reference information:
+
+For dynamic initialization, use spin_lock_init() or rwlock_init() as
+appropriate:
+
+ spinlock_t xxx_lock;
+ rwlock_t xxx_rw_lock;
+
+ static int __init xxx_init(void)
+ {
+ spin_lock_init(&xxx_lock);
+ rwlock_init(&xxx_rw_lock);
+ ...
+ }
+
+ module_init(xxx_init);
+
+For static initialization, use DEFINE_SPINLOCK() / DEFINE_RWLOCK() or
+__SPIN_LOCK_UNLOCKED() / __RW_LOCK_UNLOCKED() as appropriate.