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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+.. _cpuhp_index:
+
+====================
+CPU Hotplug and ACPI
+====================
+
+CPU hotplug in the arm64 world is commonly used to describe the kernel taking
+CPUs online/offline using PSCI. This document is about ACPI firmware allowing
+CPUs that were not available during boot to be added to the system later.
+
+``possible`` and ``present`` refer to the state of the CPU as seen by linux.
+
+
+CPU Hotplug on physical systems - CPUs not present at boot
+----------------------------------------------------------
+
+Physical systems need to mark a CPU that is ``possible`` but not ``present`` as
+being ``present``. An example would be a dual socket machine, where the package
+in one of the sockets can be replaced while the system is running.
+
+This is not supported.
+
+In the arm64 world CPUs are not a single device but a slice of the system.
+There are no systems that support the physical addition (or removal) of CPUs
+while the system is running, and ACPI is not able to sufficiently describe
+them.
+
+e.g. New CPUs come with new caches, but the platform's cache toplogy is
+described in a static table, the PPTT. How caches are shared between CPUs is
+not discoverable, and must be described by firmware.
+
+e.g. The GIC redistributor for each CPU must be accessed by the driver during
+boot to discover the system wide supported features. ACPI's MADT GICC
+structures can describe a redistributor associated with a disabled CPU, but
+can't describe whether the redistributor is accessible, only that it is not
+'always on'.
+
+arm64's ACPI tables assume that everything described is ``present``.
+
+
+CPU Hotplug on virtual systems - CPUs not enabled at boot
+---------------------------------------------------------
+
+Virtual systems have the advantage that all the properties the system will
+ever have can be described at boot. There are no power-domain considerations
+as such devices are emulated.
+
+CPU Hotplug on virtual systems is supported. It is distinct from physical
+CPU Hotplug as all resources are described as ``present``, but CPUs may be
+marked as disabled by firmware. Only the CPU's online/offline behaviour is
+influenced by firmware. An example is where a virtual machine boots with a
+single CPU, and additional CPUs are added once a cloud orchestrator deploys
+the workload.
+
+For a virtual machine, the VMM (e.g. Qemu) plays the part of firmware.
+
+Virtual hotplug is implemented as a firmware policy affecting which CPUs can be
+brought online. Firmware can enforce its policy via PSCI's return codes. e.g.
+``DENIED``.
+
+The ACPI tables must describe all the resources of the virtual machine. CPUs
+that firmware wishes to disable either from boot (or later) should not be
+``enabled`` in the MADT GICC structures, but should have the ``online capable``
+bit set, to indicate they can be enabled later. The boot CPU must be marked as
+``enabled``.  The 'always on' GICR structure must be used to describe the
+redistributors.
+
+CPUs described as ``online capable`` but not ``enabled`` can be set to enabled
+by the DSDT's Processor object's _STA method. On virtual systems the _STA method
+must always report the CPU as ``present``. Changes to the firmware policy can
+be notified to the OS via device-check or eject-request.
+
+CPUs described as ``enabled`` in the static table, should not have their _STA
+modified dynamically by firmware. Soft-restart features such as kexec will
+re-read the static properties of the system from these static tables, and
+may malfunction if these no longer describe the running system. Linux will
+re-discover the dynamic properties of the system from the _STA method later
+during boot.