Standardizing CPUID Data for the Open-Source x86 Ecosystem

Explore the complexities of x86 CPU feature identification and the challenges of standardizing CPUID data across the open-source ecosystem in this 47-minute conference talk from the Linux Plumbers Conference. Delve into the extensive x86 architecture, its evolution over 38 years, and the intricacies of the CPUID instruction used for runtime feature identification. Examine the current state of CPUID code in the Linux Kernel, including its limitations and the problems arising from direct CPUID instruction calls. Discover the issues caused by redundant CPUID bitfield descriptions across various open-source projects and the resulting interpretation mistakes. Learn about a proposal for standardizing CPUID information, developed in collaboration with Linux Kernel x86 tree co-maintainers, which includes an extensible data model for all publicly-known CPUID bitfields. Gain insights into the progress made in automatically generating CPUID data structures for Linux, Xen, and kcpuid, and participate in the discussion on potential modifications to the data model design and associated tooling.