German software developer and Linux distributor Suse is already established on Intel and other servers. It is now extending its franchise to AMD's first 64bit processor, the Opteron, with a new product called Suse Linux Enterprise Server 8 for AMD64, Powered by UnitedLinux. IT Week spoke to Markus Rex, Suse vice president of development, about the prospects for Linux on Opteron.

IT Week: What is the current situation with Suse Linux on AMD's Opteron?

Markus Rex: We have ported Suse Linux Enterprise 8 over to the Opteron architecture from AMD and we think this is the first enterprise-class operating system for Opteron. The reason we think Opteron is an interesting platform is that it allows a seamless migration from the 32bit platform, where applications are now, to the 64bit platform, which is going to be interesting in the future. You can take your current 32bit applications and run them at the same speed, and port what you need onto 64bit when you need it. This is something other architectures can't do...

You say you can run 32bit applications at the same speed - do you mean the same speed as an Intel Xeon server?

Yes, but of course you have to compare similar machines. An 8GHz Xeon is not going to match an 800MHz Opteron. But AMD really built 32bit support in from the bottom up. It's not soft emulation.

What was the background to your support for Opteron?

We've been working since the beginning of 2000 to make the Linux port for Opteron. AMD brought us into the game very early when Opteron was only a specification. We talked to the designers to be sure there was nothing there that would be bad for Linux. Later we got the simulator and got everything up to the login shell working by the end of 2000 or early 2001. As soon as we got the first silicon chip, it took us just three days to get it running and compiling on 64bit. It booted out of the box. We build all of our products out of one software base and since we had a basic port of Opteron, we developed every version for Opteron - although obviously we didn't release it. This means that we have had 18 months to really work with the architecture and have a really well-tuned operating system for the platform.

How complex was the port?

We ported the Linux kernel, ported the 32bit environment, the 64bit environment, the debugger, assembler, linker, Glibc [GNU Linux library], the drivers. [Opteron is] really a different architecture. In order to make sure it's a stable product we switched some workstations from x86 to the Opteron architecture six months ago, some with 32bit binary apps like [Sun] StarOffice and Netscape, and it just works flawlessly. It's a unique capability - we couldn't do it with Itanium.

Did you take advantage of the memory latency efficiencies AMD says it has achieved by integrating the memory controller on the processor silicon?

Yes, we did that. We have been able to move some functionality onto the chip to really increase performance of the operating system. The chip has a lot more registers than the standard x86 architecture and we've been able to move some system calls down into the hardware, so instead of 300 to 500 CPU cycles they take 30 to 50.

Will Opteron be the best environment for 64bit Linux applications?

We tend to be fairly neutral but the real strong point is the migration it allows. We're fairly confident it will have some attraction for IT vendors and system integrators. It also makes the Itanium more viable because it opens up the mind to the fact that there is a need for 64bit applications.

From your point of view, is the Opteron a more attractive environment than Itanium?

We can't make any predictions of which will win [but I think] Opteron will attract [more sales] in the first year than Itanium did. To be honest, that's not very difficult.

What will be the applications that drive sales of Linux on Opteron?

At the beginning I think it will be mostly databases and some sort of high-performance scientific computing applications. They will mostly need to be ported over.

The Opteron is not the first 64bit micro-architecture on which you have developed Linux. How did your past 64bit experience contribute to the Opteron project?

It's [just the latest] 64bit environment we're ported to. The first was Alpha [developed by Digital and now owned by HP], then Itanium, the [IBM mainframe] zSeries, the [Sun] Sparc and the [IBM] PowerPC. It was very helpful for us to have done these other ports. We were the first to do 32bit applications on a 64bit mainframe, where you need the same kind of support [as for Opteron].

Will your partners in UnitedLinux gain access to the Opteron modifications?

Yes, UnitedLinux was always expected to contain both Intel and AMD support. Everything is standard open-source and everyone can download it. MandrakeSoft will do something and all the UnitedLinux vendors will.

Did UnitedLinux partners contribute to the Opteron project?

It was a pure Suse thing. We are the integrator for UnitedLinux.

What other hardware ports do you have planned?

Apart from the six we cover today, and the Sparc port that we have running in our labs, there are four other hardware architectures we're working on.

Will there be Transmeta support or PDA support?

I can't comment on that but we're looking to expand.

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ABOUT MARKUS REX
Markus Rex is vice president for development at Suse Linux.

He is responsible for all engineering and research.

He joined Suse Linux in 1999, after working as a technician at the multimedia department of the University of Erlangen in Germany.