Creating a 64-bit Kernel Tutorial

[Zenith]

I just finished a rough draft of a tutorial on how to compile and link a 64-bit kernel. It covers compilation, linking (as a higher-half elf64), and three different ways of loading the kernel (including how to include a 32-bit bootstrap into an elf64 executable).

Hope this reduces the number of people who have trouble with x86-64 kernels, like relocation issues and loading.

The article is here.

Thoughts/improvements?

[zerosum]

Looks good to me at a glance

As you know, I had many issues while trying to do this, and you've covered them, which is fantastic. If only you'd written it earlier, it would have saved me a lot of time

I might have to go back and add to my 32-bit kernel stub, so that it can read the GRUB2 multiboot information tags, because at the moment I've got no support for that... just for the old structure.

Cheers,
Lee

[slide_rule]

Sorry to ressurect the thread, but I ran across this thread that describes how opensolaris loads a 64-bit elf into grub. If I'm understanding correctly, they set bit 16 in the multiboot flags, which forces grub to look at the header address fields specified in the multiboot header rather than parse out the elf. So they set all the address info at link time and then give grub physical start/end and entry addresses themselves.

Thoughts? Perhaps something to add to the wiki? (I haven't been approved for editing yet, otherwise I'd love to help.)[/url]

I'm going to try and test this when I get home from work this afternoon.

[xyzzy]

This is what I do on my 64-bit port, works nicely. Doesn't require any special patches to GRUB so it's easy to implement. I have the following in my multiboot header:

Code: Select all

multiboot_header:
	.long MB_KERNEL_MAGIC
	.long (MB_HFLAG_MODALIGN|MB_HFLAG_MEMINFO|MB_HFLAG_KLUDGE)
	.long -(MB_KERNEL_MAGIC + (MB_HFLAG_MODALIGN|MB_HFLAG_MEMINFO|MB_HFLAG_KLUDGE))
	.long KA2P(multiboot_header)
	.long KA2P(__text_start)
	.long KA2P(__data_end)
	.long KA2P(__end)
	.long KA2P(_start)

The KA2P macro just converts a virtual address to a physical address, and the MB_HFLAG defines are as follows:

Code: Select all

/* Flags for the multiboot header */
#define MB_HFLAG_MODALIGN	(1<<0)		/* Align loaded modules on page boundaries */
#define MB_HFLAG_MEMINFO	(1<<1)		/* Memory map */
#define MB_HFLAG_KLUDGE		(1<<16)		/* Use a.out kludge */

[slide_rule]

Cool, works for me as well. Interestingly enough, NASM & ld balked when I tried to extern the _start _edata and _end symbols (relocation truncated error), but gas has no problems. Looks like I'm switching assemblers.

Could those with edit permissions add this to the wiki entry?

[Brynet-Inc]

Could those with edit permissions add this to the wiki entry?

I do believe you can do so yourself, http://www.osdev.org/phpBB2/groupcp.php

[slide_rule]

I'd love to, but...

Perhaps something to add to the wiki? (I haven't been approved for editing yet, otherwise I'd love to help.)

...my membership is still pending.

[frank]

Have you tried just logging in yet? I was told at one point in time that as soon as you apply for permission you are given it.

[slide_rule]

Just tried: claims my user name is invalid, so I assume no go just yet. No worries.

[gurugio]

Hi, I build x86_64-pc-elf-gcc and x86_64-pc-linux-ld successfully.
And I use the same link script with your document.

But I set the KERNEL_VMA as 0xFFFF800000000000 (same with linux kernel),
then I meet this error.


x86_64-pc-elf-gcc -Wall -Winline -I./include -fno-stack-protector -O2 -nostdinc -nostdlib -m64 -ffreestanding -nostdlib -mcmodel=large -c printf.c
x86_64-pc-linux-ld -nodefaultlibs -nostdlib -Map link_map.txt --defsym KERNEL_VMA=0xFFFF800000000000 -o main.tmp -T ld-script.ld head.o main.o screen.o io.o printf.o string.o
head.o: In function `_start':
head.asm:(.text+0xd): relocation truncated to fit: R_X86_64_32 against `.text


Could you guess my fault? Gcc Option or ld optioin?

[01000101]

could you post your link.ld and batch/makefile?

[Love4Boobies]

Enter Protected Mode (or skip this step and enter long mode directly)

I don't think that that should point on the forum. Perhaps the forum thread should be in the See also section or smth like that and your link should point here.

[vinaychandra]

Could you please provide the links for the code of elf.c and elf.h used in the option of using a separate loader for creating the 64 bit kernel?

[max]

Could you please provide the links for the code of elf.c and elf.h used in the option of using a separate loader for creating the 64 bit kernel?

This thread is 9 years old..

[vinaychandra]

Yes, but this is the link to it i can find and also, the latest modification is a month ago