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MultiProcessor Specification 1.4
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# Z. v7 Z+ [8 D7 ~" nThe MultiProcessor Specification, hereafter known as the “MP specification,” defines an. S3 _, J+ k- Z# y
enhancement to the standard to which PC manufacturers design DOS-compatible systems.3 Q# R9 w: W) M1 _5 R# e
MP-capable operating systems will be able to run without special customization on multiprocessor* f& i3 L" ^/ T- e* `" \
systems that comply with this specification. End users who purchase a compliant multiprocessor/ u0 r- u% m7 F; B; _4 x* t5 ]$ ~1 I
system will be able to run their choice of operating systems.: Q. U7 F/ B* w; s7 t. T7 t6 g
The MP specification covers PC/AT-compatible MP platform designs based on Intel processor$ h( L$ u9 b8 F& F
architectures and Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) architectures. The term1 h/ i2 [* \; T
“PC/AT-compatible” here refers to the software-visible components of the PC/AT, not to hardware! ^0 ~, y6 |, S- f, z3 m( w% G
features, such as the bus implementation, that are not visible to software. An implementation of
5 r' Q t* n8 d g# m9 _8 kthis specification may incorporate one or more industry standard buses, such as ISA, EISA, MCA,
4 q4 y+ V. z, {# b( [PCI, or other OEM-specific buses. |
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