Support for free and open source silicon in the Linux kernel took a jump this week with the merging of contributions for OpenRISC symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and the first upstream RISC-V port.
Support for symmetric multiprocessing on the OpenRISC platform comes courtesy of developer Stafford Horne, based on patches originally written in 2014. Visible in a merge commit message, the pull by Linux creator Linus Torvalds adds support for running multiple OpenRISC cores in a single Linux system. “It took time to get it just right,” says Michael of the pull, following his announcement on Twitter of Linus’ acceptance.
Linus has also formally merged support for a RISC-V port of the Linux kernel, announcing the move via the Linux Kernel Mailing List. While the port had been sent upstream previously, it required additional work before finally being accepted into the Linux 4.15 tree – meaning that the next release of the kernel will be the first to boast mainstream RISC-V support alongside its OpenRISC SMP support.
Gareth Halfacree is a technology journalist and technical author best known for his work on the Raspberry Pi User Guide and an upcoming book covering the BBC’s micro:bit project. A keen open source advocate and RISC-V fan, Gareth is responsible for curating our fortnightly community round-up posts.