Power Firmware(tm) Boot Firmware

System ROM Code

Power Firmware(tm) boot firmware is a complete Open Firmware ROM implementation for the PowerPC(tm).

Open Firmware, formally described by IEEE Standard 1275-1994, is the first non-proprietary open-standard boot firmware that is usable on different processors and buses.

Open Firmware includes:

A processor-independent "device interface" that enables an add-in peripheral card to identify itself and to supply a single boot driver that can be used, unchanged, on any CPU using Open Firmware.
A "user interface" with powerful scripting and debugging capabilities.
A "client interface" that enables operating systems and their loaders to make use of Open Firmware services to assist in the configuration and initialization process.

Open Firmware is required by the PowerPC Reference Platform (PR*P) and the Common Hardware Reference Platform (CHRP) specifications.

Power Firmware complies with:

IEEE Std 1275-1994 Standard for Boot (Initialization Configuration) Firmware: Core Requirements and Practices
PowerPC Binding Specification
PCI Binding Specification
PowerPC Reference Platform Specification

Power Firmware supports:

601, 603, 604 and 750 Processors (For more information see IBM or Motorola.)
PCI, ISA and other buses
NT, AIX, Solaris, LynxOS, VxWorks, Mac OS

The core technology of Power Firmware is a small, fast, efficient Forth micro-kernel enabling powerful, interactive debugging and automated system configuration.

This mature code is based on a field-proven implementation and can be easily ported to your specific system architecture.

Features:

Provides machine-independent configuration and booting support for plug-in devices.
Provides a framework for plug-in drivers so that user-installed peripherals boot "out-of-the-box".
Provides a standard set of firmware functions for use by "client programs": operating systems, loaders, diagnostics, etc.
Provides complete run-time configuration information to client programs.
Contains a full ANS Forth interpreter for interactive programming, debugging and configuration.
Off-the-shelf drivers are available for many commonly-used devices. (And, if we don't have what you need, we can create it for you easily.)
Development environments for a wide range of processors and operating systems.

Technical Support Available:

Consulting services.
Training:
- At FirmWorks.
- At your site.
Porting to your system:
- Modifications for your architecture.
- Creation of custom drivers.
Bring-up assistance with new systems.

Availability:

Available now. And, shipping since February, 1994.

Licensing:

Source code licenses and object code distribution licenses are available.

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