Monday, July 10, 2017

Changes of the _OSI object in ACPI spec 6.1a & 6.2 and in Linux

ACPI _OSI is the most controversial object in my opinions. Not only _OSI was not welcomed by Linux kernel but also it has been discussed multiple times in ACPI Spec Work Group (ASWG) meetings. Many spec contributers tried to remove _OSI from ACPI spec, but the impacts were too great to depreciate _OSI...

Until _OSI is now redefined in ACPI 6.1a & ACPI 6.2 as below



Still confused? Let's take a look at "Table 5-163 Predefined Operating System Vendor String Prefixes" in ACPI 6.1a below:

Operating System Vendor String Prefix Description
“FreeBSD” <FeatureGroupString> Free BSD OS features/interfaces
“HP-UX” <FeatureGroupString> HP Unix Operating Environment OS features/interfaces
“Linux” <FeatureGroupString> GNU/Linux Operating system OS features/interfaces
“OpenVMS” <FeatureGroupString> HP OpenVMS Operating Environment OS features/interfaces
“Windows” <FeatureGroupString> Microsoft Windows OS features/interfaces

While <FeatureGroupString> looks like something new, this addition is backward-compatible - it is very common to see "Windows 2009" (Windows 7), "Windows 2013" (Windows 8.1) and "Windows 2015" (Windows 10). 2009, 2013 and 2015 are sets of new features provided by each new Windows OS and is more than a name of each new OS. Does this make sense?

In fact, the main purpose of this _OSI change is to clarify "_OSI is not to be used to detect operating systems but feature sets supported by operating systems" - these aren't my words but the words of spec contributers in ASWG's meetings. In other words, please stop complaining why OSI("Linux") doesn't work - this usage is never the intention of ACPI spec.

While _OSI("Linux") does NOT  work in Linux kernel by default, kernel maintainers now agree Linux isn't always compatible with Windows and using _OSI("Windows xxxx") isn't the best idea. Each OEM can define different "Linux <FeatureGroupString>" in their ACPI BIOS, and OEM can submit patches so new strings will be recognized by Linux kernel.

The string should be in the format "Linux-OEM-my_interface_name" as defined here. I would guess a valid string can be something like "Linux-Dell-SuperVGA" or "Linux-HP-CrystalAudio" (I made them up, and they aren't recognized by Linux kernel). The kernel document discusses the history and the rules, and BIOS engineers should not abuse this mechanism - if you want to a workaround, create a new string for it, ex. "Linux-Dell-VGA-Workaround" and submit a new patch to Linux kernel. DO NOT use unrelated OEM strings for other purposes.

The new _OSI is introduced for very short time and no ACPI BIOS uses new Linux strings yet. It is our hope this can provide better compatibilities between ACPI BIOS and non-Windows OS's. If anyone has any feedbacks or concerns about this new _OSI thing, I am happy to answer or forward to ACPI Work Group for more discussion.

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