Bringing ARM servers to the cloud: insights into the ARM Linux kernel standardization process

The introduction of ARM based machines in networking/server markets segments has fostered a standardization process of the ARM software ecosystem aimed at providing a software stack on top of which virtualization and cloud services can be built seamlessly using existing hypervisors and standard software libraries.

This talk will highlight the process through which the ARM Linux kernels, starting from ARM 32-bit kernels up to the latest ARM 64-bit ones, integrated firmware standards such as device tree, UEFI, ACPI, Trusted Firmware and its PSCI (Power State Coordination Interface) implementation, in order to explain the ongoing effort aimed at building machines suitable for supporting standardized virtualization and cloud services in the ARM ecosystem.

The talk will also provide details on how the ARM v8 architecture, ARM IPs (IOMMU) and busses such as PCI express targeted at building ARM enterprise systems were integrated in the ARM 64-bit kernel code and device drivers to support standard virtualization software stack subsystems (eg VFIO).