diff mbox series

[3/5] docs/system/target-arm.rst: Add some introductory text

Message ID 20200309215818.2021-4-peter.maydell@linaro.org
State Superseded
Headers show
Series docs/system: Split target-arm.rst | expand

Commit Message

Peter Maydell March 9, 2020, 9:58 p.m. UTC
Now we've moved the various bits of per-board documentation into
their own files, the top level document is a little bare. Add
some introductory information, including a note that many
of the board models we support are currently undocumented.

(Most sections of this new text were originally written by me
for the wiki page https://wiki.qemu.org/Documentation/Platforms/ARM)

Signed-off-by: Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org>

---
---
 docs/system/target-arm.rst | 66 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

-- 
2.20.1

Comments

Alex Bennée March 10, 2020, 2:54 p.m. UTC | #1
Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org> writes:

> Now we've moved the various bits of per-board documentation into

> their own files, the top level document is a little bare. Add

> some introductory information, including a note that many

> of the board models we support are currently undocumented.

>

> (Most sections of this new text were originally written by me

> for the wiki page https://wiki.qemu.org/Documentation/Platforms/ARM)

>

> Signed-off-by: Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org>


Reviewed-by: Alex Bennée <alex.bennee@linaro.org>


> ---

> ---

>  docs/system/target-arm.rst | 66 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--

>  1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

>

> diff --git a/docs/system/target-arm.rst b/docs/system/target-arm.rst

> index c7df6fc1f97..86ea6f2f568 100644

> --- a/docs/system/target-arm.rst

> +++ b/docs/system/target-arm.rst

> @@ -1,9 +1,71 @@

>  .. _ARM-System-emulator:

>  

> -ARM System emulator

> +Arm System emulator

>  -------------------

>  

> -Use the executable ``qemu-system-arm`` to simulate a ARM machine.

> +QEMU can emulate both 32-bit and 64-bit Arm CPUs. Use the

> +``qemu-system-aarch64`` executable to simulate a 64-bit Arm machine.

> +You can use either ``qemu-system-arm`` or ``qemu-system-aarch64``

> +to simulate a 32-bit Arm machine: in general, command lines that

> +work for ``qemu-system-arm`` will behave the same when used with

> +``qemu-system-aarch64``.

> +

> +QEMU has generally good support for Arm guests. It has support for

> +nearly fifty different machines. The reason we support so many is that

> +Arm hardware is much more widely varying than x86 hardware. Arm CPUs

> +are generally built into "system-on-chip" (SoC) designs created by

> +many different companies with different devices, and these SoCs are

> +then built into machines which can vary still further even if they use

> +the same SoC. Even with fifty boards QEMU does not cover more than a

> +small fraction of the Arm hardware ecosystem.

> +

> +The situation for 64-bit Arm is fairly similar, except that we don't

> +implement so many different machines.

> +

> +As well as the more common "A-profile" CPUs (which have MMUs and will

> +run Linux) QEMU also supports "M-profile" CPUs such as the Cortex-M0,

> +Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M33 (which are microcontrollers used in very

> +embedded boards). For most boards the CPU type is fixed (matching what

> +the hardware has), so typically you don't need to specify the CPU type

> +by hand, except for special cases like the ``virt`` board.

> +

> +Choosing a board model

> +======================

> +

> +For QEMU's Arm system emulation, you must specify which board

> +model you want to use with the ``-M`` or ``--machine`` option;

> +there is no default.

> +

> +Because Arm systems differ so much and in fundamental ways, typically

> +operating system or firmware images intended to run on one machine

> +will not run at all on any other. This is often surprising for new

> +users who are used to the x86 world where every system looks like a

> +standard PC. (Once the kernel has booted, most userspace software

> +cares much less about the detail of the hardware.)

> +

> +If you already have a system image or a kernel that works on hardware

> +and you want to boot with QEMU, check whether QEMU lists that machine

> +in its ``-machine help`` output. If it is listed, then you can probably

> +use that board model. If it is not listed, then unfortunately your image

> +will almost certainly not boot on QEMU. (You might be able to

> +extract the filesystem and use that with a different kernel which

> +boots on a system that QEMU does emulate.)

> +

> +If you don't care about reproducing the idiosyncrasies of a particular

> +bit of hardware, such as small amount of RAM, no PCI or other hard

> +disk, etc., and just want to run Linux, the best option is to use the

> +``virt`` board. This is a platform which doesn't correspond to any

> +real hardware and is designed for use in virtual machines. You'll

> +need to compile Linux with a suitable configuration for running on

> +the ``virt`` board. ``virt`` supports PCI, virtio, recent CPUs and

> +large amounts of RAM. It also supports 64-bit CPUs.

> +

> +Board-specific documentation

> +============================

> +

> +Unfortunately many of the Arm boards QEMU supports are currently

> +undocumented; you can get a complete list by running

> +``qemu-system-aarch64 --machine help``.

>  

>  .. toctree::



-- 
Alex Bennée
Niek Linnenbank March 10, 2020, 8:58 p.m. UTC | #2
Reviewed-by: Niek Linnenbank <nieklinnenbank@gmail.com>


On Mon, Mar 9, 2020 at 10:58 PM Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org>
wrote:

> Now we've moved the various bits of per-board documentation into

> their own files, the top level document is a little bare. Add

> some introductory information, including a note that many

> of the board models we support are currently undocumented.

>

> (Most sections of this new text were originally written by me

> for the wiki page https://wiki.qemu.org/Documentation/Platforms/ARM)

>

> Signed-off-by: Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org>

> ---

> ---

>  docs/system/target-arm.rst | 66 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--

>  1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

>

> diff --git a/docs/system/target-arm.rst b/docs/system/target-arm.rst

> index c7df6fc1f97..86ea6f2f568 100644

> --- a/docs/system/target-arm.rst

> +++ b/docs/system/target-arm.rst

> @@ -1,9 +1,71 @@

>  .. _ARM-System-emulator:

>

> -ARM System emulator

> +Arm System emulator

>  -------------------

>

> -Use the executable ``qemu-system-arm`` to simulate a ARM machine.

> +QEMU can emulate both 32-bit and 64-bit Arm CPUs. Use the

> +``qemu-system-aarch64`` executable to simulate a 64-bit Arm machine.

> +You can use either ``qemu-system-arm`` or ``qemu-system-aarch64``

> +to simulate a 32-bit Arm machine: in general, command lines that

> +work for ``qemu-system-arm`` will behave the same when used with

> +``qemu-system-aarch64``.

> +

> +QEMU has generally good support for Arm guests. It has support for

> +nearly fifty different machines. The reason we support so many is that

> +Arm hardware is much more widely varying than x86 hardware. Arm CPUs

> +are generally built into "system-on-chip" (SoC) designs created by

> +many different companies with different devices, and these SoCs are

> +then built into machines which can vary still further even if they use

> +the same SoC. Even with fifty boards QEMU does not cover more than a

> +small fraction of the Arm hardware ecosystem.

> +

> +The situation for 64-bit Arm is fairly similar, except that we don't

> +implement so many different machines.

> +

> +As well as the more common "A-profile" CPUs (which have MMUs and will

> +run Linux) QEMU also supports "M-profile" CPUs such as the Cortex-M0,

> +Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M33 (which are microcontrollers used in very

> +embedded boards). For most boards the CPU type is fixed (matching what

> +the hardware has), so typically you don't need to specify the CPU type

> +by hand, except for special cases like the ``virt`` board.

> +

> +Choosing a board model

> +======================

> +

> +For QEMU's Arm system emulation, you must specify which board

> +model you want to use with the ``-M`` or ``--machine`` option;

> +there is no default.

> +

> +Because Arm systems differ so much and in fundamental ways, typically

> +operating system or firmware images intended to run on one machine

> +will not run at all on any other. This is often surprising for new

> +users who are used to the x86 world where every system looks like a

> +standard PC. (Once the kernel has booted, most userspace software

> +cares much less about the detail of the hardware.)

> +

> +If you already have a system image or a kernel that works on hardware

> +and you want to boot with QEMU, check whether QEMU lists that machine

> +in its ``-machine help`` output. If it is listed, then you can probably

> +use that board model. If it is not listed, then unfortunately your image

> +will almost certainly not boot on QEMU. (You might be able to

> +extract the filesystem and use that with a different kernel which

> +boots on a system that QEMU does emulate.)

> +

> +If you don't care about reproducing the idiosyncrasies of a particular

> +bit of hardware, such as small amount of RAM, no PCI or other hard

> +disk, etc., and just want to run Linux, the best option is to use the

> +``virt`` board. This is a platform which doesn't correspond to any

> +real hardware and is designed for use in virtual machines. You'll

> +need to compile Linux with a suitable configuration for running on

> +the ``virt`` board. ``virt`` supports PCI, virtio, recent CPUs and

> +large amounts of RAM. It also supports 64-bit CPUs.

> +

> +Board-specific documentation

> +============================

> +

> +Unfortunately many of the Arm boards QEMU supports are currently

> +undocumented; you can get a complete list by running

> +``qemu-system-aarch64 --machine help``.

>

>  .. toctree::

>

> --

> 2.20.1

>

>


-- 
Niek Linnenbank
<div dir="ltr">Reviewed-by: Niek Linnenbank &lt;<a href="mailto:nieklinnenbank@gmail.com">nieklinnenbank@gmail.com</a>&gt;<br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Mar 9, 2020 at 10:58 PM Peter Maydell &lt;<a href="mailto:peter.maydell@linaro.org">peter.maydell@linaro.org</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Now we&#39;ve moved the various bits of per-board documentation into<br>
their own files, the top level document is a little bare. Add<br>
some introductory information, including a note that many<br>
of the board models we support are currently undocumented.<br>
<br>
(Most sections of this new text were originally written by me<br>
for the wiki page <a href="https://wiki.qemu.org/Documentation/Platforms/ARM" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://wiki.qemu.org/Documentation/Platforms/ARM</a>)<br>
<br>
Signed-off-by: Peter Maydell &lt;<a href="mailto:peter.maydell@linaro.org" target="_blank">peter.maydell@linaro.org</a>&gt;<br>

---<br>
---<br>
 docs/system/target-arm.rst | 66 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--<br>
 1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)<br>
<br>
diff --git a/docs/system/target-arm.rst b/docs/system/target-arm.rst<br>
index c7df6fc1f97..86ea6f2f568 100644<br>
--- a/docs/system/target-arm.rst<br>
+++ b/docs/system/target-arm.rst<br>
@@ -1,9 +1,71 @@<br>
 .. _ARM-System-emulator:<br>
<br>
-ARM System emulator<br>
+Arm System emulator<br>
 -------------------<br>
<br>
-Use the executable ``qemu-system-arm`` to simulate a ARM machine.<br>
+QEMU can emulate both 32-bit and 64-bit Arm CPUs. Use the<br>
+``qemu-system-aarch64`` executable to simulate a 64-bit Arm machine.<br>
+You can use either ``qemu-system-arm`` or ``qemu-system-aarch64``<br>
+to simulate a 32-bit Arm machine: in general, command lines that<br>
+work for ``qemu-system-arm`` will behave the same when used with<br>
+``qemu-system-aarch64``.<br>
+<br>
+QEMU has generally good support for Arm guests. It has support for<br>
+nearly fifty different machines. The reason we support so many is that<br>
+Arm hardware is much more widely varying than x86 hardware. Arm CPUs<br>
+are generally built into &quot;system-on-chip&quot; (SoC) designs created by<br>
+many different companies with different devices, and these SoCs are<br>
+then built into machines which can vary still further even if they use<br>
+the same SoC. Even with fifty boards QEMU does not cover more than a<br>
+small fraction of the Arm hardware ecosystem.<br>
+<br>
+The situation for 64-bit Arm is fairly similar, except that we don&#39;t<br>
+implement so many different machines.<br>
+<br>
+As well as the more common &quot;A-profile&quot; CPUs (which have MMUs and will<br>
+run Linux) QEMU also supports &quot;M-profile&quot; CPUs such as the Cortex-M0,<br>
+Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M33 (which are microcontrollers used in very<br>
+embedded boards). For most boards the CPU type is fixed (matching what<br>
+the hardware has), so typically you don&#39;t need to specify the CPU type<br>
+by hand, except for special cases like the ``virt`` board.<br>
+<br>
+Choosing a board model<br>
+======================<br>
+<br>
+For QEMU&#39;s Arm system emulation, you must specify which board<br>
+model you want to use with the ``-M`` or ``--machine`` option;<br>
+there is no default.<br>
+<br>
+Because Arm systems differ so much and in fundamental ways, typically<br>
+operating system or firmware images intended to run on one machine<br>
+will not run at all on any other. This is often surprising for new<br>
+users who are used to the x86 world where every system looks like a<br>
+standard PC. (Once the kernel has booted, most userspace software<br>
+cares much less about the detail of the hardware.)<br>
+<br>
+If you already have a system image or a kernel that works on hardware<br>
+and you want to boot with QEMU, check whether QEMU lists that machine<br>
+in its ``-machine help`` output. If it is listed, then you can probably<br>
+use that board model. If it is not listed, then unfortunately your image<br>
+will almost certainly not boot on QEMU. (You might be able to<br>
+extract the filesystem and use that with a different kernel which<br>
+boots on a system that QEMU does emulate.)<br>
+<br>
+If you don&#39;t care about reproducing the idiosyncrasies of a particular<br>
+bit of hardware, such as small amount of RAM, no PCI or other hard<br>
+disk, etc., and just want to run Linux, the best option is to use the<br>
+``virt`` board. This is a platform which doesn&#39;t correspond to any<br>
+real hardware and is designed for use in virtual machines. You&#39;ll<br>
+need to compile Linux with a suitable configuration for running on<br>
+the ``virt`` board. ``virt`` supports PCI, virtio, recent CPUs and<br>
+large amounts of RAM. It also supports 64-bit CPUs.<br>
+<br>
+Board-specific documentation<br>
+============================<br>
+<br>
+Unfortunately many of the Arm boards QEMU supports are currently<br>
+undocumented; you can get a complete list by running<br>
+``qemu-system-aarch64 --machine help``.<br>
<br>
 .. toctree::<br>
<br>
-- <br>
2.20.1<br>
<br>
</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Niek Linnenbank<br><br></div></div></div>
diff mbox series

Patch

diff --git a/docs/system/target-arm.rst b/docs/system/target-arm.rst
index c7df6fc1f97..86ea6f2f568 100644
--- a/docs/system/target-arm.rst
+++ b/docs/system/target-arm.rst
@@ -1,9 +1,71 @@ 
 .. _ARM-System-emulator:
 
-ARM System emulator
+Arm System emulator
 -------------------
 
-Use the executable ``qemu-system-arm`` to simulate a ARM machine.
+QEMU can emulate both 32-bit and 64-bit Arm CPUs. Use the
+``qemu-system-aarch64`` executable to simulate a 64-bit Arm machine.
+You can use either ``qemu-system-arm`` or ``qemu-system-aarch64``
+to simulate a 32-bit Arm machine: in general, command lines that
+work for ``qemu-system-arm`` will behave the same when used with
+``qemu-system-aarch64``.
+
+QEMU has generally good support for Arm guests. It has support for
+nearly fifty different machines. The reason we support so many is that
+Arm hardware is much more widely varying than x86 hardware. Arm CPUs
+are generally built into "system-on-chip" (SoC) designs created by
+many different companies with different devices, and these SoCs are
+then built into machines which can vary still further even if they use
+the same SoC. Even with fifty boards QEMU does not cover more than a
+small fraction of the Arm hardware ecosystem.
+
+The situation for 64-bit Arm is fairly similar, except that we don't
+implement so many different machines.
+
+As well as the more common "A-profile" CPUs (which have MMUs and will
+run Linux) QEMU also supports "M-profile" CPUs such as the Cortex-M0,
+Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M33 (which are microcontrollers used in very
+embedded boards). For most boards the CPU type is fixed (matching what
+the hardware has), so typically you don't need to specify the CPU type
+by hand, except for special cases like the ``virt`` board.
+
+Choosing a board model
+======================
+
+For QEMU's Arm system emulation, you must specify which board
+model you want to use with the ``-M`` or ``--machine`` option;
+there is no default.
+
+Because Arm systems differ so much and in fundamental ways, typically
+operating system or firmware images intended to run on one machine
+will not run at all on any other. This is often surprising for new
+users who are used to the x86 world where every system looks like a
+standard PC. (Once the kernel has booted, most userspace software
+cares much less about the detail of the hardware.)
+
+If you already have a system image or a kernel that works on hardware
+and you want to boot with QEMU, check whether QEMU lists that machine
+in its ``-machine help`` output. If it is listed, then you can probably
+use that board model. If it is not listed, then unfortunately your image
+will almost certainly not boot on QEMU. (You might be able to
+extract the filesystem and use that with a different kernel which
+boots on a system that QEMU does emulate.)
+
+If you don't care about reproducing the idiosyncrasies of a particular
+bit of hardware, such as small amount of RAM, no PCI or other hard
+disk, etc., and just want to run Linux, the best option is to use the
+``virt`` board. This is a platform which doesn't correspond to any
+real hardware and is designed for use in virtual machines. You'll
+need to compile Linux with a suitable configuration for running on
+the ``virt`` board. ``virt`` supports PCI, virtio, recent CPUs and
+large amounts of RAM. It also supports 64-bit CPUs.
+
+Board-specific documentation
+============================
+
+Unfortunately many of the Arm boards QEMU supports are currently
+undocumented; you can get a complete list by running
+``qemu-system-aarch64 --machine help``.
 
 .. toctree::