Microcodes - coreboot

6 Apr 2013


      Hi,
In src/cpu/intel/model_6fx/model_6fx_init.c there is:
/*
 * This file is part of the coreboot project.
 *
 * Copyright (C) 2007-2009 coresystems GmbH
 *
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
 * published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2 of
 * the License.
 *
 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 * GNU General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston,
 * MA 02110-1301 USA
 */
[...]
static const uint32_t microcode_updates[] = {
        #include "microcode-1624-m206e839.h"
        #include "microcode-1729-m206ec54.h"
        #include "microcode-1869-m806ec59.h"
        /*  Dummy terminator  */
        0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0,
        0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0,
        0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0,
        0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0,
};
[...]
static void model_6ex_init(device_t cpu)
{
        [...]
        /* Update the microcode */
        intel_update_microcode(microcode_updates);
        [...]
}
[...]
That raises some questions:
The first one is the following:
Is the inclusion of the microcode in GPLv2 source code compatible with
the GPLv2?
Because the microcode-1624-m206e839.h has:
//+++
//      Copyright (c) <1995-2010>, Intel Corporation.
//      All rights reserved.
//
//      Redistribution. Redistribution and use in binary form, without
modification, are //      permitted provided that the following
conditions are met: //              .Redistributions must reproduce the
above copyright notice and the following //      disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the //
distribution. //              .Neither the name of Intel Corporation
nor the names of its suppliers may be used //      to endorse or
promote products derived from this software without specific
prior //      written permission. //              .No reverse
engineering, decompilation, or disassembly of this software is //
permitted. //              ."Binary form" includes any format commonly
used for electronic conveyance //      which is a reversible, bit-exact
translation of binary representation to ASCII or //      ISO text, for
example, "uuencode." //
//      DISCLAIMER. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT
//      HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
//      WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
//      WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
//      PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER
//      OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
//      SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
//      NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
//      LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
//      CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
//      STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
//      ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
//      ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
//
//---
/*  Tue Feb 9 12:54:50 CST 2010  */
/*  1624-m206e839.inc  */
which prevents:
* modification
* reverse engineering, decompilation, disassembly
The second question is about Kconfig:
In the CPU section in make menuconfig there is a choice about
microcode:
Include CPU microcode in CBFS (Do not include microcode updates)
--->
That is misleading, because according to the code that is before, it
does include the microcode,not even in CBFS(but included in the code
like before), and it also updates it.
The third question is the following:
Which CPU(or laptop, or mainboard+CPU) still work without the microcode
and which doesn't.
Denis.