IBM RS/6000 - Manual (Page 32)

so on) and newer bus architectures, interfaces and protocols (PCI, PC Card,
IrDA, and so forth) provide higher levels of performance or utility that are not
achievable by the older standards. The architecture allows platform and
system designers to determine which buses, interfaces and protocols best suit
their target environment.
To provide a flexible address map. Another key attribute of this specification is
the relocatability of devices and subsystems within the PowerPC address
space. Subsystem address information, which defines where I/O devices
reside, is detected by the Open Firmware and passed to the operating systems
in the device tree. The architecture accommodates the use of multiple identical
buses and adapters in the same platform without address conflicts.
To build upon the Open Firmware boot environment defined in IEEE 1275,
IEEE Standard for Boot (Initialization Configuration) Firmware, Core
Requirements and Practices. Currently, the abstraction approach for some
operating systems uses platform description information discovered by a legacy
boot process and passed to the operating system in data structures. With
these systems, operating systems and platforms will migrate to the Open
Firmware boot process and device tree.
To architect the control of power management by different operating systems.
It is important that the combination of hardware and software be allowed to
minimize power consumption through automatic or programmed power-saving
methods. Power management of systems will reduce the operational cost for
the user and reduce the impact of the system on the environment.
To provide an architecture which can evolve as technology changes. The
creators of the architecture invite industry participation in evolving future
versions of it.
To minimize the support cost for multiple operating systems through the
definition of common platform abstraction techniques. Common and compatible
approaches to the abstraction of hardware will reduce the burden on hardware
vendors who produce differentiated machines.
To architect a mechanism for error handling, error reporting and fault isolation.
The architecture provides for the implementation of more robust systems if
desired by the system developers.
PowerPC Platform on the Internet
A Personal use Only copy of the PowerPC Platform can be found on the
following Internet site:
http://www.austin.ibm.com/tech/chrp/chrp_book.html
Morgan Kaufmann Publishers provides hardcopies of the specification which
has the number ISBN 1-55860-394-8.
1.3.4 CHRP Certification
Currently, a team is in place to address the CHRP certification process. The
definition of this process is not yet finished; thus the information included below is
preliminary and subject to change.
Requirements for PowerPC Platform (CHRP) systems are established by the AIM
(Apple, IBM, Motorola) Alliance CHRP Specification Committee and defined in the
8 Introduction to PCI-Based RS/6000 Servers