This document describes the procedure an independent software vendor (ISV) should use to resolve problems related to porting and supporting applications for the MIPS ABI. It consists of two components:
The intent of this document is to provide ISVs with an understanding of how the ABI group works together to identify, classify and correct technical problems relating to the ABI specification, its interpretation and/or its implementation on various MIPS ABI member company platforms.
The MIPS ABI is dedicated to working with our ISVs to ensure complete customer satisfaction. We realize that we share in common, customers who are equally dependent upon both ISVs and system manufacturers for their complete solutions and success. As such, the goal of the MIPS ABI is to enable both the ISVs and the systems vendors to quickly and successfully resolve any technical problems associated with the MIPS ABI.
The following terms used in this document may be unfamiliar:
An application correctly ported to the MIPS ABI should run, without modification, on a wide variety of MIPS ABI compliant systems. ISVs wanting to port their applications to the MIPS ABI should access an approved application generation platform (or the MIPS ABI reference platform) and should reference the MIPS ABI Conformance Guide, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and any supplemental technical bulletins. These are available from any MIPS ABI Group vendor. In addition, ISVs should reference the generic ABI (gABI) and the MIPS processor supplement (psABI) to the generic ABI and the System V Interface Definition (SVID) edition 3, all of which are publicly available. Conceptually, the MIPS ABI Conformance Guide is a set of extensions to the psABI for MIPS processors which is itself an extension of the gABI for UNIX SVR4.x. As such, an ISV must follow the guidelines of all three documents to produce an application which is MIPS ABI compliant.
ISVs should completely test and QA their MIPS ABI applications on one or more approved generation platforms. ISVs should also use the ACTS to determine if any non-ABI coding was used that would violate the MIPS ABI, gABI and/or psABI.
The MIPS ABI Group selected a reference platform model to implement the MIPS ABI. This model offers ISVs significant advantages over alternative models including the virtual reference model that has used by other ABI organizations. The very nature of an ABI reference model system places responsiblity on the system vendors to ensure that their systems comply with the ABI specification, and on ISVs to ensure that their applications conform to ABI guidelines. The MIPS ABI group's use of a reference model system guarantees to ISVs that ownership of any problem can be determined quickly so that the problem may be quickly identified and corrected. The reference system is used to resolve any ambiguity which may exist in the gABI, psABI or MIPS ABI Conformance Guide.
The MIPS ABI Group has also specifically chosen not to certify applications for compliance. This choice was made for several reasons:
The MIPS ABI Group does ask that ISVs successfully pass the ACTS and then notify the MIPS ABI Group marketing coordinator. This allows the MIPS ABI Group to promote only those applications which have followed the MIPS ABI Conformance Guide and porting guidelines. However, in no way does the MIPS ABI Group certify any application's compliance or guarantee its performance on any given system. What the MIPS ABI Group does guarantee is to work with our ISVs, our customers and each other to promptly address and resolve any technical problems that might arise.
ISVs should contact any MIPS ABI member company for a current list of supported generation and reference platform hardware and software. An online version of this list may be found at http://www.mipsabi.org/Mktg/Conformant.
This document assumes that any problem experienced by a customer relating to application software will first be reported by the customer to the ISV. A problem may reach the ISV either directly, as a result of a difficulty in using the software, or indirectly, from a distributor of the software. In either case, it is the ISV who should follow the procedures described in this document.
Assessing if the Application Has a Bug
The ISV should first determine whether the problem is related to the application itself. This can be done by checking for known bugs in the application or testing the application on a non-MIPS ABI platform of the ISV's choice to determine if the problem can be easily recreated. If the ISV can reproduce the problem on a platform of their choosing, the problem is assumed to be in the application and the ISV is responsible to correct the problem.
Determining if the Application is ABI Compliant
If the problem cannot be recreated on a non-MIPS ABI system (i.e. the application performs correctly), the ISV should ensure that their application is MIPS ABI compliant and that it has not used any code or facilities not supported by the version of the ABI implemented. This can be determined by use of the ACTS and by referencing the gABI, psABI and MIPS ABI Conformance Guide. This means that the application can only use the interfaces, libraries, commands and file formats specified in the MIPS ABI Conformance Guide, psABI and gABI. The ACTS should be performed on all applications before the ISV ships them. Many problems are due to applications attempting to utilize a facility not supported by the Conformance Guide and/or the ABIs.
If the application was not developed in conformance to the MIPS ABI Conformance Guide, the ISV should modify the port of their application so that it is in compliance with the specification.
Testing on the Reference Platform
If it appears that the application does conform to the MIPS ABI Conformance Guide and passes the ACTS, the ISV should then attempt to recreate the problem on a MIPS ABI reference platform. (If the ISV does not have such a system at their location, they should contact the customer's platform supplier for assistance in accessing a system.) If the problem cannot be recreated on the reference platform (i.e. it performs correctly), the problem is assumed to be with the vendor of the system on which the application fails. The ISV should contact the system vendor immediately.
MIPS ABI system vendors are aware that a problem may also exist on other platforms. As such, they will immediately notify the MIPS ABI group so that any problem can be corrected on all offending platforms. Each platform vendor will also notify the MIPS ABI group regarding any ambiguities in the Conformance Guide.
The ISV should consult the second section of this document for
information on contacting each particular compliant system vendor and
for information on their respective technical support policies.
Generation platforms are designed be used for generating MIPS ABI
compliant binaries. While they can be used for determining problem
resolution, it is more efficient to access a reference platform, which
can immediatly determine the cause for the problem.
If the application fails on the reference platform the problem is known to be either that:
Any ISV who feels that the process is not being properly adhered to or
disagrees with an implementation or specification component has the
right to appeal to the MIPS ABI Group. This can be done either by
contacting any member of the MIPS ABI Group or by sending email to the
MIPS ABI Technical Support Program at
mipsts@engr.sgi.com. The MIPS
ABI Groups technical staff are in frequent contact with each other via
email and will acknowledge and respond to all ISV requests within one
business day.
ISVs should not use this email address
to request technical support or porting assistance. Please refer to
section 4.6
ISVs who are porting to the MIPS ABI should be members of the SGI Developer Program. The SGI Developer Program provides technical and marketing assistance to all qualified developers. To become a member of the Developer Program, developers must complete a Developer Program Application, pay an annual membership fee and have products which will be available within one year of the date of registration.
ISVs who are members of the SGI Developer Program may direct their technical support questions to devprogram@sgi.com. All email requesting ABI technical support, should include 'ABI' in the email's subject line.
In addition to technical support, developers will also receive the Developer News, Developer Toolbox CD-ROM, system software updates, Applications Directory entry, development product discounts, access to porting centers and other benefits. For more information, ISVs may contact any of the MIPS ABI Group member companies or contact the SGI Developer Program directly at:
Concurrent Computer Corporation is a leading worldwide supplier of
networked and distributed, high performance, real-time, fault-tolerant
computing systems. Concurrent offers products and services for
real-time solutions in weather and airspace management, simulation and
training, signal intelligence and analysis, measurement and control,
and other markets.
Concurrent provides ISVs with full technical support, both during the
porting of the products and throughout the life cycle of their products
on Concurrent platforms.
Concurrent is an active member of the MIPS ABI group. The recent
release of the MAX/OS, based on SVR4.2MP, is compliant with the MIPS
ABI specification.
Support Policy
ISV porting and technical support issues are managed through our
technical support center in Oceanport, NJ. The support center works
closely with operating system and networking engineering groups in
Westford, MA., and in England.
Issued will be acknowledged and often resolved within one business day.
Software problem reports will be acknowledged within one day, and are
then classified as one of the following:
If an update or patch is required for a level 1 or 2 problem, an
estimate of the delivery time will be provided. These patches are
normally provided in the 'pkgadd' format for easier update and control
of the Concurrent platform.
Technical Support Contact
ISVs should contact Concurrent Technical Support Center at 800-732-2737,
and identify themselves as part of the ABI program. The Center is
staffed during normal business hours, 8:00am-5:00pm (local US time).
Calls are logged 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
As an integral part of its support services, Control Data offers
software support which incorporates its long history of solving
customers' complex computing problems. Unique among systems
integrators, Control Data has its own fully trained professional staff
of technical experts who can provide high quality software support for
any Control Data-implemented solution. To ensure that this quality
service level is monitored and continually improved, we survey our
customers on an ongoing basis.
We offer flexible software support for the diverse needs of our systems
integration customers. Backed by a highly capable staff of support
professionals, Control Data delivers a wide range of support options
such as:
By checking the boxes on the Service Order which correspond to the
offerings below, you can customize the software support which best
meets your business needs for operating systems, applications or
software development.
Our standard coverage period is from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Central Time,
Monday through Friday. However, we will support you around the clock
when you have a critical software problem that gravely impairs system
use and requires immediate assistance.
A single call gets you the appropriate Control Data software support
professionals for questions on software covered in your agreement.
Once called into action, they have access to:
For your special software support needs. Control Data also offers
hourly rate- based support to round out its fully comprehensive service
offerings. Instead of forcing you to worry about potential costs and
coverage, Control Data offers these services at a rate and term to be
determined at the time of this agreement's signing and identified
Product Listing of this agreement. Also, these offerings would be
effective the day we sign a service agreement, since they are not
typically covered as part of a product warranty.
Introduction
Dansk Data Elektronik A/S (DDE) is a member of the MIPS ABI group. The DDE
Supermax with its SVR4 operating system is fully compliant with the MIPS ABI
specification.
With subsidiaries in 8 countries and joint ventures and partners worldwide, DDE is
an international supplier of advanced information systems. DDE has the technical
expertise and capability to provide ISVs with the necessary technical support.
Support Policy
Support for ISVs is done through the main office in Herlev, Copenhagen,
Denmark. The support program has the following elements:
The error reports are classified as follows:
Contact Information
ISVs may contact the DDE ISV support at:
Phones are answered during normal business hours Danish time. Emails are
accepted and acknowledged 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Introduction
NEC Systems Laboratory is a marketing and technical consulting
subsidiary of NEC Corporation. In conjunction with NEC Technologies,
NEC Systems Laboratory works with many leading software developers to
help make their products available on NEC systems in Japan and the
Asia-Pacific markets. NEC is committed to providing ISVs with premium
technical support, both during the porting of their products and
throughout the life of the products.
NEC is an active member of the MIPS ABI group. Our UNIX SVR4 operating
systems are fully compliant with the MIPS ABI specification. NEC is
also a founding member of the OCMP (Open Computing environment for the
MIPS platform). OCMP provides a common set of double-byte support and
Japanese language extensions to the MIPS ABI.
Policy
ISV porting and technical support problems are managed by our technical
support center in Boxborough, MA. Boxborough works closely with NEC
operating system and compiler engineering groups at NEC headquarters in
Tokyo, Japan.
All problem reports are acknowledged within one business day. Problems
are then classified according to the following scale:
If a patch is required, an estimate of the patch delivery will be
provided to the vendor. Patches are sent from Tokyo to our technical
support center in Massachusetts. Patches are then created in a
'package add' format to make it easier for the vendor to track and
update their system.
Contacting Support
Vendors may contact the NEC EWS/UP4800 Series ISV Technical Support Program
at:
The center is staffed during normal business hours. Voice mail and email are
accepted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Marketing support is available from the NEC Systems Laboratory Application
Group.
Pyramid Technology, A Siemens Nixdorf Company, and our valued software
partners join together to provide many of the industry's most powerful
open systems solutions, enabling Global 2000 customers to meet the
information management demands of high-performance, open computing
across the enterprise.
Pyramid Technology has supported the MIPS ABI since its inception and
continues to be an active member.
Policy
Pyramid Technologys' PRISM Program is committed to assisting software
partners in successfully marketing their applications to Pyramid's and
Siemens Nixdorf's growing customer base. This commitment includes
providing limited technical assistance for porting and
post-installation issues. The PRISM Technical Liaison is the dedicated
technical interface between partners and Pyramid engineering,
benchmarking and support experts.
Pyramid Technology and the PRISM team look forward to working with you.
Please feel welcome to call us with your questions.
Kathy Tally - PRISM Technical Liason
Mark Otto - PRISM Program Marketing Manager
General
Siemens-Nixdorf (SNI) is an active member of the MIPS ABI group.
All systems RM600, RM400, RM200 with operating system SINIX V5.42 and
the workstations RW3xx, RW4xx with operating system IRI V5.2 are fully
compliant with MIPS SVR4 ABI specifications.
Support for ISVs
SNI offers following support to ISV's:
Porting Systems
Marketing
Contacting Support
For further information please contact Mr. Kuballa:
Introduction
Silicon Graphics is an active member of the ABI group. Silicon Graphics
IRIX 5.3 with the IRIS Development Option 3.19 is the Reference
Platform.
Policy
MIPS ABI developers needing technical and porting assistance are managed
within the developer technical program group. This group works with
the SGI operating system and compiler teams. This group is located in
Mountain View, California.
Problem reports are acknowledged within 24 hours from the receipt of the
problem during normal business hours. Problems are classified into
four levels:
SGI makes available patches to fix specific problems between releases.
These patches can be installed/identified by the customer. SGI will
work directly with the MIPS developer to determine the delivery of the
patch.
Contacting Support
MIPS developers may contact the SGI Developer Technical Program at:
Please specify 'ABI' in the subject header of the message to help
expedite a resolution to the problem. The program is staffed during
normal business hours (PST). Voice mail and email are accepted 24
hours a day, 7 days a week.
Statement of Policy
Sony Corporation commits to offering hardware and software of full-range
line-up, and to serving our customers. Additionally to customers in
the User Support Agreement, we distribute current NEWS-OS softwares and
booklets of product information. We also take on consultation and
system construction, as well as solve troubles of our products to meet
our Customer Satisfaction (CS) policy.
Customer Support Program
OS Development and Release Plan
We regularly release a new version NEWS-OS three times each year.
There are three ranks of version-ups: major-up, minor-up and
level-up. They respectively represent versions with specification
revised, functions extended, and bug fixed. Installation media and
manual are contained in CD-ROM.
ABI Support
We support the MIPS ABI programs. From NEWS-OS Release 6.0's, NEWS-OS is
compliant to MIPS ABI reference OS. We reflect the latest MIPS ABI
specifications on our newly released OS by verification at PTVS ahead of
its release.
ISV Support
Porting Support Activity:
Joint Marketing Activity:
2. Seminar/Exhibition
Sony Electronics, Inc. CPPC
They will support ISVs in the USA closely.
Introduction
Tandem Computers markets the Integrity family of fault tolerant and high
performance systems that run the UNIX operating system. Tandem works
with many leading software developers to help make their products
available on the Integrity systems. Tandem's goal is to ensure that all
Tandem software products operate at a high quality level and that all
problems are quickly resolved.
Tandem has been an active member of the MIPS ABI group since its
inception and supports its goals and objectives. Tandem's NonStop-UX
operating system is an SVR4 version that is compliant with the MIPS ABI
specification.
Tandem National Support Center
Tandem software support system consists of three tiers of support for
maximum responsiveness and effective problem resolution. Customers
covered by Tandem's Standard Support or Support Center Assistance call
a single 800 number at the Tandem NonStop Support Center (TNSC).
Service at the TNSC is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All
problem reports are acknowledged within one business day. Problems are
then classified according to the following scale:
The response time to fix a problem is determined by its severity.
Tandem has an objective to provide relief for critical problems within
8 hours. The objective for major and minor problems are 16 hours and 5
business days, respectively.
System Support Group/Sustaining Engineering
If a problem cannot be resolved by a TNSC representative it will be
escalated to the System Support Group (SSG) where product specialists
with detailed knowledge of the products will perform problem
determination and resolution.
If the SSG determines that the problem is a new defect, the situation is
escalated to the Sustaining Engineering Group, where a solution will be
developed.
Problem Resolution
The TNSC will track the resolution of the problem through all stages of
the process until the problem is closed. Product experts at different
levels in the support hierarchy will become involved as appropriate to
insure that an effective solution is delivered. At Tandem, the goal is
to meet your requirements and expectations for software support with
outstanding service.
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MIPS ABI Companies
Technical Support Policies and ContactsConcurrent Computer Corporation
Introduction
1) Severe: no useful work is possible
2) Serious: some work is possible
3) Moderate: most work is possible
4) Minor: all work is possible
Control Data Systems
ISV Technical Support Program
For this service, Control Data has skilled support professionals
available to tackle general use or applications software questions for
the latest release and the immediate prior level from designated
individuals in your organization.
Control Data notifies you of updates available for your supported
software. You notify us if you want it.
Control Data automatically sends updates to you as they become
available.
Additional Support Options
Dansk Data Elektronik
ISV Support Program
Solutions to the problem will be provided through workarounds, or, if
necessary, through patches or new software releases. The delivery time
for these will be estimated and provided to the ISV.
Level 1: system down
Level 2: serious, but with workaround
Level 3: small problem
Phone (Danish): +45 4494 5300
Phone (English): +45 4284 6667
Fax: +45 4453 2416
email: support@dde.dk
NEC EWS/UP 4800 Series
ISV Technical Support Program
1) Severe: development has stopped
2) Critical: serious problem but a workaround presently
exists, or vendor can continue to work
3) Small Problem: product can be released with or without
fix to problem
Phone: 800-533-7539 or 508-635-6038
email: jpolick@nectech.com
Contact:
Phone: 408-434-7179
email:
solutions@syl.nj.nec.com
Pyramid Technology
Introduction
(408)428-8121
ktally@pyramid.com
(408)428-8018
motto@pyramid.com
Siemens-Nixdorf
ISV Program
Training
Phone: ++49 89-636-44916
Fax: ++49 89-636-44102
Silicon Graphics
MIPS ABI Developer Technical Program
Priority 1: Catastrophic failures.
The system cannot be used for any meaningful work.
Priority 2: Major loss of functionality
Priority 3: Minor loss of functionality
Priority 4: Nuisance
email: devprogram@sgi.com
(preferred)
Phone: 800-770-3033
Sony Corporation
Technical Support Policy
1. Technical Support: Quick Response and Close Relationship to ISVs
% Consulting by Engineering Specialist
% Reply to Technical Question/Request
2. Technical Information: Technical Manual
New Product Information
Developer's Conference
3. Release of NEWS-OS: The latest OS (inc. Early Access) Information
4. Porting Environment: Special Price Offer for Porting Machine
1. Application Information (CD-ROM Disk)
SEL is an affiliated company of Sony Tokyo and is located in San Jose, CA.
Tandem Computers
ISV Technical Support Program