46 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
46 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
CPU microcode is a mechanism to correct certain errata in existing
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systems. The normal preferred method to apply microcode updates is
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using the system BIOS, but for a subset of Intel processors this
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can be done at runtime using the operating system. This package
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contains those processors that support OS loading of microcode
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updates.
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Linux can update processor microcode very early in the kernel boot
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sequence. In situations when the BIOS update isn't available, early
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loading is the next best alternative to updating processor microcode.
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Microcode states are reset on a power reset, hence it is required to
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be updated every time during the boot process.
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Loading microcode using the initrd method is recommended so that
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the microcode is loaded at the earliest time for best coverage.
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Systems that cannot tolerate downtime may use the late reload
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method to update a running system without a reboot.
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This SlackBuild repackages the official Intel microcode archive.
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NOTES:
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1. microcode_ctl utility is no longer supported.
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2. Microcodes with the file names as expected by the Linux kernel
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firmware loader are placed under /lib/firmware/intel-ucode
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directory. The correct microcode is uploaded when the Intel
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microcode driver kernel's module is loaded.
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3. An early initramfs archive: /boot/intel-ucode.cpio is created.
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This archive can be prepended to the regular initramfs to allow
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the kernel to update the processor microcode early during boot.
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For example, on systems using syslinux, this can be done with
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a config line that reads something like that:
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INITRD /boot/intel-ucode.cpio,/boot/initrd-generic.gz
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4. Microcodes for some processors require special attention. To find
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out if you're affected, read the release notes for the particular
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microcode release. The release notes file (releasenote) can be
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found in the microcode tarball file.
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To include these special microcodes files, run the script like that:
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$ INCLUDE_UCODE_WITH_CAVEATS=yes ./intel-microcode.SlackBuild
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