PowerVM Lx86 was a

binary translation In computing, binary translation is a form of binary recompilation where sequences of instructions are translated from a ''source'' instruction set to the ''target'' instruction set. In some cases such as instruction set simulation, the target i ...

layer for IBM's

System p The IBM System p is a high-end line of RISC ( Power)/UNIX-based servers. It was the successor of the RS/6000 line, and predecessor of the IBM Power Systems server series. History The previous RS/6000 line was originally a line of workstations an ...

servers. It enabled

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calcula ...

x86

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which i ...

binaries A binary file is a computer file that is not a text file. The term "binary file" is often used as a term meaning "non-text file". Many binary file formats contain parts that can be interpreted as text; for example, some computer document file ...

to run unmodified on the

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 ISA ...

-based hardware. IBM used this feature to migrate x86 Linux servers to the

PowerVM PowerVM, formerly known as Advanced Power Virtualization (APV), is a chargeable feature of IBM POWER5, POWER6, POWER7, POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 servers and is required for support of micro-partitions and other advanced features. Support is pr ...

virtualized environment; it was supported on all POWER5 and

POWER6 The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor. It is claimed to be part of the eCLipz projec ...

hardware as well as BladeCenter JS21 and JS22 systems. In contrast to regular

emulator In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peri ...

s only the instructions are translated, not the entire system, thus making it fast and flexible. The Lx86 software senses that it is executing x86 code and translates it to PowerPC code at execution, and these instructions are later cached ensuring that the translation process only has to take place once, further reducing the drop in performance usually associated with emulation. Lx86 does not support applications that access hardware directly, like

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine lea ...

modules. Earlier versions of Lx86 did not run code that makes use of SSE instructions, though as of version 1.3.2 the SSE and

SSE2 SSE2 (Streaming SIMD Extensions 2) is one of the Intel SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) processor supplementary instruction sets first introduced by Intel with the initial version of the Pentium 4 in 2000. It extends the earlier SSE ins ...

instruction sets were supported. The product was at first marketed as ''System p AVE'' (System p Application Virtual Environment) and was incorrectly reported as ''PAVE'' (Portable Advanced Virtualization Emulator) in the press but the name has since changed to PowerVM Lx86. Lx86 was based on the

QuickTransit QuickTransit was a cross-platform virtualization program developed by Transitive Corporation. It allowed software compiled for one specific processor and operating system combination to be executed on a different processor and/or operating sys ...

dynamic translator from Transitive, the same that

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

uses for its

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The ...

emulation layer that enables

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

to run unmodified

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– IBM ...

binaries on their Intel-based Macintoshes. All versions and releases of the Lx86 product were withdrawn from marketing in September 2011, with support discontinued in April 2013.

References

{{Reflist
PowerVM Lx86 for x86 Linux applications

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091204015224/http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/lx86/index.html PowerVM Lx86 on IBM's developerWorks
IBM's press release 2007-04-23

X86 applications on IBM's PowerPC servers - Heise online

* ttp://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_ca/0/897/ENUS911-170/ENUS911-170.PDF IBM US Withdrawal Announcement 911-170 Virtualization software X86 emulators IBM software