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27329ed9-2211-a1ba-9371-e2641bf0dcb6
@niconiconi @Moon >You may as well just use a Linux kernel with kexec() as the bootloader. This is exactly the motivation of recently launched projects like LinuxBoot.

As far as I know, the reason why newer Elbrus machines has a 64 MB of on-board flash memory is to replace their bootloader with just Linux, that will do kexec().
6 comments
Pete Zaitcev
@a1ba @niconiconi @Moon
> the reason why newer Elbrus machines has a 64 MB of on-board flash memory is to replace their bootloader with just Linux
When I worked in MCST in 1996, I made a proposal to use Linux on Baget-11S. The CEO, A.K. Kim, declined, with the rationale that he was going to be laughed out of the room by all the generals and colonels, if he presented them a computer with OS written by a Finnish student. MCST bought a source license for Solars 2 instead, for $200,000. I was far ahead of my time. Mua ha ha ha ... hah. He was right though. It was too early, I even recognized it at the time.
@a1ba @niconiconi @Moon
> the reason why newer Elbrus machines has a 64 MB of on-board flash memory is to replace their bootloader with just Linux
When I worked in MCST in 1996, I made a proposal to use Linux on Baget-11S. The CEO, A.K. Kim, declined, with the rationale that he was going to be laughed out of the room by all the generals and colonels, if he presented them a computer with OS written...
27329ed9-2211-a1ba-9371-e2641bf0dcb6
@zaitcev @niconiconi @Moon Baget is the earliest computer on R500, right? I think I saw it mentioned somewhere once. I'm not sure if they maintain Solaris port for their SPARC machines nowadays.
Pete Zaitcev
@a1ba @niconiconi @Moon It was even earlier than R500. We made a batch of an earlier chip in France in 1997. I don't remember the design parameters of that. But it went into a box that still had SBus. We made adapters for all the weird Elbrus-2 peripherals to SBus. The R500 came later, I'm pretty sure.

The theme "Baget" included 3 branches: 11P was a clone of Pentium, designed in Ukraine somewhere. Not sure if it was ever made. The 11S was SPARC by MCST. And the final one (11M?) was a MIPS made in Zelenograd. A whole production line and the design were bought abroad.
@a1ba @niconiconi @Moon It was even earlier than R500. We made a batch of an earlier chip in France in 1997. I don't remember the design parameters of that. But it went into a box that still had SBus. We made adapters for all the weird Elbrus-2 peripherals to SBus. The R500 came later, I'm pretty sure.
Pete Zaitcev
@a1ba @Moon @niconiconi Here's a photo that I found. My note says "New spin of Baget-S after original version missed its clock target. 2.8M transistors, 150MHz, 0.35um CMOS process with 4 layers of metal.
1999-2001". I can't believe we could not crack 200 MHz. I thought we did, but that's how I wrote it down.
Pete Zaitcev
@Moon @a1ba @niconiconi And the previous one was

"100 MHz (Actually - only 60)
0.5 um 3-layers CMOS
~2 M transistors
2 W
Late 1997"
27329ed9-2211-a1ba-9371-e2641bf0dcb6
@zaitcev @niconiconi @Moon R500 also used SBus, as they tell. But R1000 and forward uses PCI, and their southbridge. I recently got my hands on their SPARC port of Linux and the bootloader, trying to implement emulation for it in QEMU, it has nothing about SBus anymore.

>And the final one (11M?) was a MIPS made in Zelenograd
I wonder if 11M was a KOMDIV related thing.
@zaitcev @niconiconi @Moon R500 also used SBus, as they tell. But R1000 and forward uses PCI, and their southbridge. I recently got my hands on their SPARC port of Linux and the bootloader, trying to implement emulation for it in QEMU, it has nothing about SBus anymore.
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