Re: and emulators to try?

[Tobias Nygren <tnn%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:41:22 +0900
"Toru Nishimura" <locore64%alkyltechnology.com@localhost> wrote:

> Guys,
> 
> >>  I have installed NetBSD on i386 hundreds of times. And on amd64 maybe 10
> >>  to 20 times. I don't have much familarity with installing NetBSD on other
> >>  ports.
> >
> > under simh-vax:
> >
> > vaxnbsd# uname -a
> > NetBSD vaxnbsd 4.0 NetBSD 4.0 (GENERIC) #0: Sun Dec 16 01:45:50 PST 2007  
> > vaxnbsd# dmesg
> > ...
> 
> It's always interesting to see how NetBSD boots on exotic computers.  dmesg
> output is fun for NetBSD geeks who know what it means.  Now I would like
> to dream a larger picture.  There are many "computer emulators" on screen,
> however, their implementations and approachs are scattered at best.
> Technically speaking it should be possible to try 
> coordiation/merge/unification
> to make a foundation for 'virtual computers'.  Just out of my head, well
> articulated components should be like;
> 
> - CPU instruction emulator w/ various super-speedy-runtime technics
> - framework to minics computer internals; whole interrupt scheme,
>   bus orignizations and of course popular and/or exotic devices.
> 
> It might be more promising and challenging to aim beyond to build
> "obsolute computer shop."  The market success of VMware and Xen
> has shown people a clear perspective on how computer HW/SW can
> be emulated and utilized on different breed systems.  NetBSD/xen
> has a special signicance that the very same approach could be
> extended to foster 'specially designed emulated computers built
> upon Xen micro kernel .'  Existing "emulators" run as a userland
> application.  Though the design is handy and useful to run, it has
> subtile limitations by being so.  Then it' should be possible to build
> "a guest OS to pretend other CPU and other computer" with
> sophisticated instruction emulators/interpreters to do clockwork
> ticking userlands.  It's norm today a modern computer to have at
> least two CPU core inside.  Any taker?
> 
> Toru Nishimura / ALKYL Technology

So basically something like an emulator kernel running on bare amd64
xen DOMU, providing a bintrans/JIT environment that can run unmodified
alpha operating systems with acceptable speed? I want it, badly.
(This should be a Summer Of Code project!)

-Tobias