Time sources
| Source | Driver | Command | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | kernel/core/core_timer.c | timer | THE tick: 100 Hz, scheduler, soft timers |
| HPET | drivers/time/driver_hpet.c | hpet | high-res counter |
| ACPI PM timer | drivers/time/driver_pmtimer.c | pmtimer | legacy fallback |
| TSC | drivers/time/driver_tsc.c | tsc | cycle counter |
| CMOS RTC | drivers/time/driver_cmos_rtc.c | rtc | wall clock |
The tick stays PIT - one 10 ms heartbeat for the whole machine; the others are read-only precision sources (and rtc sets/reads wall time). The E2E timer suite verifies monotonicity and cross-source consistency.