The Gen-Z Consortium is pleased to announce the first Gen-Z software available from the open-source community. The first-ever public demonstration of this software was part of the newly designed Gen-Z technology demonstration at SC18 in Dallas.

The Gen-Z Fabric Emulation Environment (F.E.E.) provides a switched-fabric emulation for multiple emulated participants. F.E.E. is based on virtual machines under QEMU and its inter-virtual machine communications.

A small fabric with several participants can be hosted on a system as small as a laptop. The new F.E.E. software provides a development platform for OS architects to create a foundational subsystem – including the emerging Gen-Z Linux subsystem prototype. It is expected that the bulk of software produced in this environment will transfer directly to real Gen-Z hardware once it becomes available.

The F.E.E. provides the glue for multiple VMs. It also includes EmerGen-Z – the prototype Linux subsystem run inside the VMs and connected by F.E.E.

Software development during new hardware development can be deadlocked as each team must wait for the other.  This effect is amplified for Gen-Z as the hardware is foreign to the operating system:not only are there no drivers for cards, but this is also no subsystem (like PCI or USB) for the drivers.  The intent of F.E.E. is to break this deadlock and allow creation of a Gen-Z-aware Linux kernel.

The open-source software model provides a number of benefits to users and developers alike, including:

• Choice: The source code of open-source software is available to all, meaning any company can build upon it
• Reliability: Open-source software is peer-reviewed, making it more reliable and robust
• Low-cost: Since open-source software is often developed through community forums, it has a lower overhead cost, which translates to substantial savings
• Secure: The open source code allows anyone to examine the software for security flaws and identify and eliminate issues that may have been overlooked
• Fast deployment: With open-source software, consumers don’t have to wait years for deployment, and it can be test driven prior to procurement

The Gen-Z F.E.E. software is the solution to start Gen-Z software development today, and it is completely free, open-source software. If you are interested in contributing to this project, get started on GitHub today!