Re: [9front] hackathon writeup

[Kurt H Maier <khm@sciops.net>]

On Fri, Aug 19, 2022 at 02:23:53AM +0200, qwx@sciops.net wrote:
> On Fri Aug 19 02:04:48 +0200 2022, khm@sciops.net wrote:
> > On Fri, Aug 19, 2022 at 12:37:04AM +0100, Stuart Morrow wrote:
> > > And VMX doesn't run on my X301 even though virtualisation
> > > exists on Core 2 Duo (and is/was enabled in the BIOS).
> > 
> > VMX requires a Westmere or newer Intel processor.  The earliest
> > generation of Thinkpad X series laptop to support this is the X230, a
> > machine otherwise roundly inferior to the X301.  Core 2 Duo chips
> > support the VT-d instructions but not EPT or unrestricted guests.
> 
> Are you sure about the x230?  I've run vmx on x220 and w520
> (sandybridge) and I see references to westmere for t*10 and x201.  Am
> I confusing things?
> 
> Thanks,
> qwx

The X230 line in the sand is one we hashed out in IRC back when there
was much confusion regarding which SKUs Intel blessed with which
features at which times.  There might be the odd *20-series or older
machine that managed to get a 'good' processor, but the X230 is the
first generation that *for sure* has the features.  The further back in
time you go, the more of a crap shoot it is.  I tend to just claim X230
as the earliest as it greatly simplifies the issue.

All of this stuff is moot on a Core 2 Duo system, as there were no
products based on that architecture to support all the features needed
by vmx(1).

khm