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AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture (AGESA) is a procedure library developed by
Advanced Micro Devices Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufact ...
(AMD), used to perform the Platform Initialization (PI) on mainboards using their
AMD64 x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit version of the x86 instruction set, first released in 1999. It introduced two new modes of operation, 64-bit mode and compatibility mode, along with a new 4-level paging mod ...
architecture. As part of the
BIOS In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...
of such mainboards, AGESA is responsible for the initialization of the CPU cores, chipset, main memory, and the
HyperTransport HyperTransport (HT), formerly known as Lightning Data Transport, is a technology for interconnection of computer processors. It is a bidirectional serial/parallel high-bandwidth, low- latency point-to-point link that was introduced on April 2 ...
controller.


History

AGESA was open sourced in early 2011, aiming to aid in the development of
coreboot coreboot, formerly known as LinuxBIOS, is a software project aimed at replacing proprietary firmware (BIOS or UEFI) found in most computers with a lightweight firmware designed to perform only the minimum number of tasks necessary to load and r ...
, a project attempting to replace PC's proprietary
BIOS In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...
. However, such releases never became the basis for the development of coreboot beyond AMD's family 15h, as they were subsequently halted. AGESA became particularly relevant with the AM4 platform, which AMD designed for futureproofing, and as of May 2019 has served as the base for three different generations of CPUs based on its Zen architecture. For each of these generations, a new branch of AGESA code has been released. AGESA versioning often runs separately for each of these three releases, so numbering regressions are bound to happen when going from one generation to the next. The first version, named "Summit PI", launched in February 2017. It was targeted at the first generation Zen chips, and started with version 1.0.0.4. In December 2017, when Summit PI reached version 1.0.0.7, the branch was renamed to "Raven PI" (its version numbering was not reset), and it was released as the first version of AGESA to support Raven Ridge APUs. The second version, supporting the Zen's second generation, known as
Zen+ Zen+ is the codename for a computer processor microarchitecture by AMD. It is the successor to the first gen Zen microarchitecture, first released in April 2018, powering the second generation of Ryzen processors, known as Ryzen 2000 for mainstre ...
, is named "Pinnacle PI", after the Ryzen processors' codename, Pinnacle Ridge. It launched in February 2018 with an initial version of 1.0.0.0a. Then in March 2019, the third iteration of AGESA, named "ComboAM4 PI", was released, starting at version 0.0.7.0, introducing support for
Zen 2 Zen 2 is a computer processor microarchitecture by AMD. It is the successor of AMD's Zen and Zen+ microarchitectures, and is fabricated on the 7 nanometer MOSFET node from TSMC. The microarchitecture powers the third generation of Ryzen proces ...
-based processors. "ComboAM4v2" supports Zen 3-based processors while "ComboAM5PI" supports Zen 4-based processors in socket AM5 motherboards.


See also

*
Bootstrapping (computing) In general, bootstrapping usually refers to a self-starting process that is supposed to continue or grow without external input. Etymology Tall boots may have a tab, loop or handle at the top known as a bootstrap, allowing one to use fingers ...
*
Coreboot coreboot, formerly known as LinuxBIOS, is a software project aimed at replacing proprietary firmware (BIOS or UEFI) found in most computers with a lightweight firmware designed to perform only the minimum number of tasks necessary to load and r ...
*
Memory Reference Code The Memory Reference Code (or MRC) is a fundamental component in the design of some computers, and is "one of the most important aspects of the BIOS" for an Intel-based motherboard. It is the part of an Intel motherboard's firmware that determin ...


References


External links


Specification document by AMD
(2008)
ThomasNet
General Software, Inc. First BIOS Provider to Support AMD Barcelona
coreboot
LinuxBIOS Enablement Strategy @AMD & AGESA Info (PDF)
AGESA source code
Link to AGESA source code in coreboot. The repository history contains AGESA source code for previously-supported platforms. Advanced Micro Devices technologies {{Compu-hardware-stub BIOS