Determining processor type and compatibility mode

You can determine the actual processor type and processor compatibility mode.

About this task

Power Systems servers have processors that can run either to the full extent of their capabilities, or with capabilities compatible with a previously released processor. When a processor runs with capabilities compatible with a previous processor architecture, it is said to be running in compatibility mode.

Procedure

To display the actual processor type and processor compatibility mode, run the following command:

LD_SHOW_AUXV=1 /bin/true | grep _PLATFORM

The following is an example of output from this command:

AT_BASE_PLATFORM:power7
AT_PLATFORM:     power6

The following fields are shown:

AT_BASE_PLATFORM: Actual processor type
AT_PLATFORM: Processor compatibility mode

The output in the example indicates that the processor is a POWER7® processor that is running in POWER6® compatibility mode.

For more information about how this information is obtained and its significance to library optimization, see Optimized Libraries.