lkml.org 
[lkml]   [2002]   [Mar]   [10]   [last100]   RSS Feed
Views: [wrap][no wrap]   [headers]  [forward] 
 
Messages in this thread
    /
    From
    SubjectRe: [PATCH] Futexes IV (Fast Lightweight Userspace Semaphores)
    Date
    In article <E16jVSZ-0008FH-00@the-village.bc.nu>,
    Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk> wrote:
    >
    >So if anything its just not worth the effort of breaking the 386 setup
    >either 8). 386 SMP is a different issue but I don't see any lunatics doing
    >a 386 based sequent port thankfully.

    Since the only person that comes to mind that would be crazy enough to
    even _try_ to use Linux on 386-SMP is you, Alan, I'm really relieved to
    hear you say that ;)

    And no, it's not worth discontinuing i386 support. It just isn't
    painful enough to maintain.

    Note that the i386 has _long_ been a "stepchild", though: because of the
    lack of WP, the kernel simply doesn't do threaded MM correctly on a 386.
    Never has, and never will.

    However, the known "incorrect" case is so obscure that it's not even an
    issue - although I suspect that it means that you should not let
    untrusted users run on a i386 server machine that contains any sensitive
    data. I could cerrtainly come up with exploits that would work at least
    in theory (whether they are workable in practice I don't know).

    Using i386's for network servers is fine, of course. Just don't use
    them for cpu farms (not that I think anybody is - it takes quite a big
    farm of i386 machines to equal even _one_ PII ;)

    Linus


    -
    To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
    the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
    More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
    Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/

    \
     
     \ /
      Last update: 2005-03-22 13:24    [W:4.098 / U:0.020 seconds]
    ©2003-2020 Jasper Spaans|hosted at Digital Ocean and TransIP|Read the blog|Advertise on this site