Hi All
While Zoltan Balaton is developing further Sam460ex QEMU board, I'm tryng to enable KVM virtualization in all cases where the host cpu is a PowePC.
Until now tests are negative, maybe due the difference of powerpc arch between Book3E (sam460ex emulated board) and Book3S (powermac G5, my host board).
So my idea is to look for at least a tester, real sam460ex owner, with a linux distro installed on it.
The first test to do is very simple: launch QEMU and emulate AmigaOS4.1 with sam460ex board configured in virtualized mode (accel=kvm or kvm-enabled parameter).
Is there someone interested in this?

The goal is to make reusable a lot of very fast and cheap powerpc hardware, like powermacs, and let amiga userbase grow as much as possible.
Obviously new hardware is always welcome (ie. Tabor or Amiga x5000) but I'm sure it's always a good thing have more options to choose.
As "side effect" also sells of OS4 copies will raise.

Is there anyone interested supporting this project?

_________________
Pegasos II G4@1GHz 2GB Radeon 9250 256MB
AmigaOS4.1 fe - MorphOS - Debian 9 Jessie

@Fl@sh

While I don't have a 460ex would it complicate the project to extend the emulation further? To an X1000 for example. Which unlike a 460ex has a full Book3S compatible class CPU to my knowledge.

Also, I thought the Pegasos2, which also runs OS4 would have been an initial target. As it has an OpenFirmware compatible firmware. And a standard PowerPC G4.

Another test would be the grab an amigaboot.of binary, from Pegasos or X1000 build and see if it runs under emulation. Or a real Mac.

@Fl@sh

Is your PMac G5 able to emulate mac99 with MorphOS or MacOSX using KVM or not?


Maybe it easier to test kvm infrastructure on G5 than on Sams.

@Hypex

Belive me if I say it's a hell to set up a new machine type from scratch.
QEMU lacks of any SDK and well dev documentation, the best way to learn something is look inside other sources..
Sam460ex board was choosen due similiarity with other generic ppc developer machines like "bamboo board" and option to boot different os like MOS for example.
As you suggested, due Book3E/Book3S ppc arch difference, Zoltan is looking inside Pegasos 2 emulation too.
He is only at first steps, and he still needs some emulated chipset documentation.
Least maybe some parts of Peg2 firmware are closed sources (can someone confirm this?).
I'm sure he will be glad to have feedback from users about his work, it could be useful also to motivate him to develop further and better.

To run OS4 on a Mac you have to modify sources or emulate another supported board, if possible virtualizing it without speed penality.
The first part looks impossible to me (a first try with project Moana was stopped), but second part is already a real thing.
We need only to develop further the project and got virtualization for full speed
Any help is really well appreciated.

Last edited by Fl@sh on 30-Dec-2018 at 05:26 PM.

_________________
Pegasos II G4@1GHz 2GB Radeon 9250 256MB
AmigaOS4.1 fe - MorphOS - Debian 9 Jessie

@rzookol

Quote:

rzookol wrote: @Fl@sh Is your PMac G5 able to emulate mac99 with MorphOS or MacOSX using KVM or not? Maybe it easier to test kvm infrastructure on G5 than on Sams.

@tlosm it's a nice idea but already tested it
On his youtube channel you can see a nested linux virtualized (ubuntu under fedora if i'm not wrong) on powermac g5 quad, and maybe also morphos was virtualized.

So Kvm works for sure under QEMU ppc on G5, the question is still limited to sam460ex board. In this case we have no evidence.

_________________
Pegasos II G4@1GHz 2GB Radeon 9250 256MB
AmigaOS4.1 fe - MorphOS - Debian 9 Jessie

@Fl@sh

I have a Sam460 and I can help you with this..

_________________
AmigaOS4 Beta-Tester
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Amiga X5000 8GB Radeon RX 560
Amiga A1222 2GB Radeon RX 550
Sam 460 2GB RadeonRX 550

@SinanG

You are welcome, I sent you a PM
Are there others Amiga guys interested in this project?

_________________
Pegasos II G4@1GHz 2GB Radeon 9250 256MB
AmigaOS4.1 fe - MorphOS - Debian 9 Jessie

@Fl@sh

Tell me what I have to do and will try/test it ASAP.

AOS4.1/SAM460ex/PPC460EX-1155MHZ/2048MB/RadeonHD6570

@jabirulo

Glad about your interest, I sent yo a PM

Are there other amiga guys interested? More we are, better we are

_________________
Pegasos II G4@1GHz 2GB Radeon 9250 256MB
AmigaOS4.1 fe - MorphOS - Debian 9 Jessie

@Fl@sh

It sounds like QEMU has become some kind of de facto standard without having any proper building blocks for developers. But still caught on.

If any thing in the Pegasos is closed source it would in the least be in the initialising routines. Though as a whole that should just be resetting all the hardware on board. And all the hardware should be known. Aside from that the Pegasos used SmartFirmware which is open source. If indeed the SmartFirmware online is the one they used.

I'm aware of Moana, though it's old now, but have only seen it breaking on a laptop. For what I was thinking I wasn't even going as far running OS4 but just the boot loader. The OF amigaboot.of binary from the Pegasos can also run on the X1000. It gives some device error but can run. The CFE firmware on the X1000 is strange as it exports some kind of OF compatible interface so OF client binaries can run. Well some at least. The yaboot loader crashes. LOL.

For a time PPC Linux CDs supported the Pegasos. At least on Debian. It used a CHRP kernel. Loaded in by some forth script.

So, I am thinking the OS4 OF boot loader could be a good starting point. Generally any PPC emulator or virtualiser would be based on OpenFirmware. And seeing if and how amigaboot.of runs would be a good starting point. Even duplicating it's process.

Last edited by Hypex on 05-Jan-2019 at 12:19 PM.

@Fl@sh

Sorry for so loooong delay. Change from an 120GB ssd to a 240GB took me more that I thought (aka too lazy to clone/backup data and so).

Reinstalled linux on my sam460ex /Ubuntu mate) it runs quite fast as I first thought.

About KVM kernel support, I think the kernel I'm using doesn't have it (and in other thread I read kvm support doesn't work)

usuario@Sam460ex:~$ uname -a
Linux Sam460ex 4.14.6-sam460ex-jm #1 Thu Dec 14 07:51:40 AST 2017 ppc ppc ppc GNU/Linux

I load it using tftp. If you need more test I'll be glad to help.

@jabirulo

I know, in latest kernels for PPC_4xx the KVM module was dropped.
You have to look for latest kernel with KVM support enabled, or contact kernel maintainer and ask about continue support for KVM and PPC460ex board, or recompile one yourself from scratch with module enabled.

Alexander Graf, a major coder in KVM stuff, wrote me about QEMU, he is sure when cpu host == cpu guest you are able to run AmigaOS4 in KVM mode, without major speed penality.
You need just the right kernel!

The mail goal is to run AmigaOS4 with a powermac, ..we are working on it and all is possible!

Meanwhile I want share a little news:
Just few minutes ago I finally got a AmigaOS4fe4.1 Update1 installation on my sam 460ex board under QEMU.

Zoltan Balaton released a quick patch to avoid a ppc 460 illegal instrucion witch generated a guru during update process

Qemu project is in fast development and we can expect great news in next weeks!

_________________
Pegasos II G4@1GHz 2GB Radeon 9250 256MB
AmigaOS4.1 fe - MorphOS - Debian 9 Jessie

@Fl@sh

..."You need just the right kernel!"...
Which one is??? So i guess it'll a try&error method to find such kernel.

when you said "run AOS4 with powermac" is as standalone or by using QEMU?
Using QEMU just download from git and compile softmmu-ppc version it should work.

THX just did some websearch and see that. Is such patch added into main QEMU branch?

I already recompile QEMU on linux x86 a couple of months ago and works fine, a bit slow on gfx stuff, but works quite fine.

@jabirulo

Zoltan Balaton wrote on his qemu support page 3.16 linux kernel could be fine, it should be latest with kvm enabled.

About OS4 on powermacs, I whould intend in "KVM mode" so with only minor speed penalities.
It could be "fastest amiga ever seen" on pa PwerMac G5@2.5MHz.

The QEMU patch applyed by Zoltan is about "msync" ppc4xx cpu instruction, now updating OS4.1fe to update1 on sam460ex emulated board leads no more to a guru and install finish ok.

On X86 I use ubuntu 18.10 on an I5 6700 and usually I customize optimizations for my pc to get as much as possible speed improvements.

If you want try latest patches:
git clone git://github.com/dgibson/qemu.git tags/ppc-for-4.0-20190109
cd tags/ppc-for-4.0-20190109
git submodule init
git submodule update --recursive
./configure
sudo make -j4 install

I hope there'll be a QEMU next release in few weeks.

_________________
Pegasos II G4@1GHz 2GB Radeon 9250 256MB
AmigaOS4.1 fe - MorphOS - Debian 9 Jessie