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x86/build: Rework CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU compiler flags
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Building an x86-64 kernel with CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU is documented to
run on all CPUs, but the Makefile does not actually pass an -march=
argument, instead relying on the default that was used to configure
the toolchain.

In many cases, gcc will be configured to -march=x86-64 or -march=k8
for maximum compatibility, but in other cases a distribution default
may be either raised to a more recent ISA, or set to -march=native
to build for the CPU used for compilation. This still works in the
case of building a custom kernel for the local machine.

The point where it breaks down is building a kernel for another
machine that is older the the default target. Changing the default
to -march=x86-64 would make it work reliable, but possibly produce
worse code on distros that intentionally default to a newer ISA.

To allow reliably building a kernel for either the oldest x86-64
CPUs, pass the -march=x86-64 flag to the compiler. This was not
possible in early versions of x86-64 gcc, but works on all currently
supported versions down to at least gcc-5.

Signed-off-by: Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de>
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org>
Cc: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250226213714.4040853-4-arnd@kernel.org
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Arnd Bergmann authored and Ingo Molnar committed Feb 27, 2025
1 parent 0abf508 commit fc2d5cb
Showing 1 changed file with 2 additions and 2 deletions.
4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions arch/x86/Makefile
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -183,14 +183,14 @@ else
cflags-$(CONFIG_MPSC) += -march=nocona
cflags-$(CONFIG_MCORE2) += -march=core2
cflags-$(CONFIG_MATOM) += -march=atom
cflags-$(CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU) += -mtune=generic
cflags-$(CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU) += -march=x86-64 -mtune=generic
KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)

rustflags-$(CONFIG_MK8) += -Ctarget-cpu=k8
rustflags-$(CONFIG_MPSC) += -Ctarget-cpu=nocona
rustflags-$(CONFIG_MCORE2) += -Ctarget-cpu=core2
rustflags-$(CONFIG_MATOM) += -Ctarget-cpu=atom
rustflags-$(CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU) += -Ztune-cpu=generic
rustflags-$(CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU) += -Ctarget-cpu=x86-64 -Ztune-cpu=generic
KBUILD_RUSTFLAGS += $(rustflags-y)

KBUILD_CFLAGS += -mno-red-zone
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