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MultiProcessor Specification 1.4% }. h( J" E7 b! |3 o
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The MultiProcessor Specification, hereafter known as the “MP specification,” defines an, `; i5 }7 V3 O, D) D0 T# V
enhancement to the standard to which PC manufacturers design DOS-compatible systems.
, r L2 A w2 L- G' e" KMP-capable operating systems will be able to run without special customization on multiprocessor
8 M4 V' B) K4 }systems that comply with this specification. End users who purchase a compliant multiprocessor
0 I+ C: n5 ?5 o( s6 k4 g( zsystem will be able to run their choice of operating systems.
6 \: v. \9 S! Z0 f) d PThe MP specification covers PC/AT-compatible MP platform designs based on Intel processor- p" j: ^, W/ b
architectures and Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) architectures. The term
# ?8 l! w/ ^8 z: c P7 \ ^8 j“PC/AT-compatible” here refers to the software-visible components of the PC/AT, not to hardware8 f! h: C7 K \' Q" Q: B
features, such as the bus implementation, that are not visible to software. An implementation of3 ?. ?0 @! Z( P( p8 B2 u
this specification may incorporate one or more industry standard buses, such as ISA, EISA, MCA,
- W* |+ p( s7 XPCI, or other OEM-specific buses. |
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