__NOTOC__ Common Hardware Reference Platform (CHRP) is a standard

system architecture A system architecture is the conceptual model that defines the structure, behavior, and more views of a system. An architecture description is a formal description and representation of a system, organized in a way that supports reasoning about the ...

for

PowerPC PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...

-based computer systems published jointly by IBM and

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

in 1995. Like its predecessor

PReP PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allo ...

, it was conceptualized as a design to allow various operating systems to run on an industry standard hardware platform, and specified the use of

Open Firmware Open Firmware is a standard defining the interfaces of a computer firmware system, formerly endorsed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It originated at Sun Microsystems, where it was known as OpenBoot, and has bee ...

and RTAS for machine abstraction purposes. Unlike

, CHRP incorporated elements of the

Power Macintosh The Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer as the core of the Macintosh brand from March 1994 until August 2006. Described by ''MacWorld'' as "the most important te ...

architecture and was intended to support the

classic Mac OS Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The ...

and

NetWare NetWare is a discontinued computer network operating system developed by Novell, Inc. It initially used cooperative multitasking to run various services on a personal computer, using the IPX network protocol. The original NetWare product in 19 ...

, in addition to the four operating systems that had been ported to PReP at the time (

Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems sc ...

OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...

Solaris Solaris may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...

, and

AIX Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set * Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belgi ...

). CHRP did not receive industry-wide adoption, however. The only systems to ship with actual CHRP hardware are certain members of IBM's

RS/6000 The RISC System/6000 (RS/6000) is a family of Reduced instruction set computer, RISC-based Unix Server (computing), servers, workstations and supercomputers made by IBM in the 1990s. The RS/6000 family replaced the IBM RT PC computer platform in ...

series running

, and small amount of Motorola PowerStack workstations. Mac OS 8 contains support for CHRP and

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

Power Macintosh computers are partially based on CHRP and PReP.

Power.org Power.org was an organization to develop and promote Power Architecture technology by establishing its open standards, guidelines, best practices, and certifications. Power.org was founded in 2004 by IBM and 15 other companies. Freescale (later ...

has a new

Power Architecture Platform Reference Power Architecture Platform Reference (PAPR) is an initiative from Power.org to make a new open computing platform based on Power ISA processors. It follows two previous attempts made in the 1990s, PReP and CHRP. The PAPR specification provides t ...

(PAPR) that provides the foundation for development of

Power ISA Power ISA is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) currently developed by the OpenPOWER Foundation, led by IBM. It was originally developed by IBM and the now-defunct Power.org industry group. Power IS ...

-based computers running the Linux operating system. The PAPR was released fourth quarter of 2006.

References

* tp://ftp.software.ibm.com/rs6000/technology/spec/chrp/ CHRP Specification Version 1.0 and related documents* tp://ftp.software.ibm.com/rs6000/technology/spec/jointhrp.ps The PowerPC (TM) Hardware Reference Platform an overview of CHRP *
PREP / CHRP / ofppc / macppc confusion
on NetBSD port-powerpc mailing list. {{refend

External links

penguinppc.org description of CHRP

Motorola StarMax 6000 at Low End Mac
A CHRP machine that never shipped. PowerPC mainboards IBM computer hardware

See also

References

External links