Using with Linux 3.13+

[Sait_U_]

Hello,

I just ordered my first Xeon Phi Coprocoessor wtih DELL 7610 workstation. I am planning to install Fedora 20 with linux kernel 3.13.x or 3.14 on this machine. I see that these kernels support MIC architecture and provide the mpss modules etc.

First question is what else do I need to have for an operational co-processor. It would be nice to have a writeup for this setup now that linux has it built in. Does the kernel install the latest flash on the card at boot time. Do I need any other special tools to access the co-processor? I use the latest Intel Fortran XE and MKL so I should be ok there.

Thanks, S. Umar

[Loc_N_Intel]

Hi Sait,

In order to use the coprocessor on Fedora, you need to rebuild the kernel module (see http://software.intel.com/comment/1778966) since Fedora is not the official OS that MPSS supports.

[Sait_U_]

As far as I can tell MIC architecture including the MPSS kernel module is fully included in Linux version 3.13 and up. I see the MPSS module and even the scripts for starting the daemon. This is a 10,000+ line patch to kernel committed by 4-5 Intel developers.

This release adds support for the Intel Many Integrated Core Architecture or MIC, a multiprocessor computer architecture.The MIC family of PCIe form factor coprocessor devices run a 64-bit Linux OS. The driver manages card OS state and enables communication between host and card. More information about the Intel MIC family as well as the Linux OS and tools for MIC to use with this driver are available here. This release currently supports Intel MIC X100 devices, and includes a sample user space daemon.

S. Umar