Re: [Qemu-devel] [RFC PATCH 0/9] Configurable PCI device addresses

[Paul Brook <paul@codesourcery.com>]

> I think we're starting to get to the tipping point where we really just
> need to introduce a machine config file.
>
> Paul, you mentioned you were working on something before?  Care to
> update us on the status?
>
> I know there was a fair bit of support before for a FDT based machine
> config.

I have a FDT based machine descriptions working locally.

Currently it's only capable of generating a small subset ARM embedded boards. 
There are a few issues that need to be resolved before it can replace most of 
the current qemu machines:

- How to handle "plug-n-play" busses like PCI. The FDT provided to the kernel 
generally just describes the host bridge, and the kernel/bios figures 
everything else out using the normal PCI config mechanisms.
- How it will interact with commandline options like -nic that modify which 
hardware is present. One possibility is to remove these options (remove -net 
nic, but leave -net tap, etc.). If users want different numbers/types of NICs 
they should use a different machine config.
- How to handle GPIO pins, and other interconnects like I2S, SSI and I2C. I 
guess this is mainly coming up with suitable FDT representations.

I have not implemented a user level config file. My work effectively just 
replaces integratorcp_init and friends.

Paul