SMMUMAN Architecture

Updated: October 28, 2024

This chapter presents the architecture of the SMMUMAN, and its responsibilities and behavior.

The QNX System Memory Management Unit Manager (SMMUMAN) is a system memory management unit (IOMMU/SMMU) manager that runs on the ARM and x86 board architectures. This manager makes use of the DMA containment and memory-management features when they're available on supported boards.

Note:

On ARM platforms, IOMMU/SMMU components are usually called “System Memory Management Units” (SMMUs); on Intel x86 platforms, this technology is usually called “Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O” (VT-d).

In this document we use “IOMMU/SMMU” to refer to the component on any supported hardware platform, unless referring to a component for a specific architecture or board, exclusive of other architectures or boards, in which case we use the architecture-specific or board-specific acronym (e.g., “VT-d” (Intel x86), “SMMU” (ARM), “IPMMU” (ARM: Renesas R-Car boards)).

Supported board architectures and required hardware

The SMMUMAN can run on ARM or x86 platforms. If it is running in a guest in a hypervisor VM, that VM must be configured to present the functional equivalent of the underlying hardware platform to its guest.

ARM

To support the SMMUMAN, ARM platforms require the following:

x86

To support the SMMUMAN, x86 platforms require the following:

Supported OSs

The SMMUMAN can be included in:

It is intended for use on the supported hardware platforms with the following software:

Design Safe State (DSS)

When the SMMUMAN or any of its components meets an unknown or undefined condition, it attempts to enter its Design Safe State (DSS). This DSS is to exit.

DANGER
If you are using SMMUMAN for Safety, see the Safety Manual for more information about the DSS.