IRC log of #cubox of Mon 19 Sep 2016. All times are in CEST < Back to index

08:41 topi` we are nearing October; is it possible to ship the Marvell 8040 board with a 8GB DIMM instead of the 4GB one? since it probably limits my ability to compile some of the nasty stuff, some huge projects won't even compile on 4GB :(
08:43 topi` jnettlet: TI used to be good at upstreaming drivers, does it hold true for the Ti WiLink drivers as well?
08:43 topi` I, for one, have no nostalgia about brcm4330, it's an old chip and it needs to die
08:44 jnettlet topi`, the upstream drivers are good. There is a problem with the bluetooth and device tree since upstream doesn't like how the library that manages it is written.
08:44 topi` BT is something we don't use (so far)
08:45 jnettlet then the wifi drivers work great
08:45 topi` BT is always problematic, I remember the Linaro guys took many months to get BT working on apq8064 even though WiFi was no issue
08:48 jnettlet as for the DIMM. You can write to sales. Everything is 4GB by default, but you might be able to order it with none and then buy your own. It is a standard DIMM so you can put 16GB in it if you want.
08:48 topi` I need a Linker that would not require >3GB of memory to be able to link even medium-sized projects, like the PyPy
08:48 topi` maybe gold would be better
08:48 jnettlet gold is better for building chromoium
08:48 jnettlet chromium
08:48 topi` yeah, that's another memory hog to ocmpile
08:48 topi` lately I've tried building Servo for HB quad :)
08:49 topi` it's using OpenGLES for almost everything
08:49 topi` and even DOM parsing gets parallelized over 4 cores
08:49 jnettlet nice. with the imx6 4x4 som you can just about get through Chromium with swap on an SSD
08:49 topi` yeah :) unfortunately I have the 2GB HB
08:50 topi` I tried getting a baremetal armhf server from scaleway.com but even with 1GB of swap it did not succeed :/
08:50 jnettlet the 8040 boards should be just about ready to go. The production run went through while I was down in Israel. Just need to do spot QA and such
08:50 topi` good to hear there's some progress :)
08:51 jnettlet there was a backlog getting chips from Marvell for production.
08:51 topi` I admire how your company has a very open policy on reporting progress :) when I worked on Nokia, we couldn't say shit about the things we saw in the production line, progress, yields...
08:52 topi` jnettlet: well it's also a first for Marvell themselves :)
08:52 topi` I guess nobody is really using those 8xxx chips yet
08:52 jnettlet since we are a smaller company it is much better to be as transparent as possible.
08:52 topi` I totally agree
08:53 jnettlet nope we are the first. this is a reference design
08:53 topi` some of my ex-Nokia colleagues work now at Intel and I hear it's pretty tight there
08:53 topi` they're very reluctant to talk about what they even do there :)
08:53 jnettlet yeah my uncle used to work in chip design at Intel and he couldn't talk about work at all
08:53 jnettlet I still don't know what chips he actually worked on :)
08:54 topi` the chip profession runs in the family, eh? :)
08:54 topi` also my uncle is an electical engineer, I wonder if it has something to do with things...
08:54 jnettlet I am just a software guy.
08:54 wbx i am compiling electron, gold seems to be required ;)
08:54 topi` from all SW guys, you work pretty close to metal
08:54 topi` most of SW guys just build software that runs under some VM, under something called tomcat, and virtualized to the death
08:55 topi` do they know anything about metal? probably not
08:56 wbx topi`: but they know how to write non efficient software, more cpu and more ram is no problem in their world ;)
08:56 topi` :)
08:56 topi` wbx: more cpu and more ram, or then switch to 'gold' :)
08:56 topi` there are options
08:57 wbx but ninja and gold isn't so great. still hours of compiling just when changing one config parameter...
08:57 topi` I feel your pain
08:57 wbx hate to get electron running on the embedded intel board.
08:57 topi` I sincerely hope something comes out of Servo, it's a great project and much less convoluted than Chromium
08:57 wbx i thought openjdk has a fuckuped buildsystem...
08:57 topi` what kind of embedded intel board?
08:58 wbx some kontron device
08:58 topi` probably a Bay Trail :)
08:58 topi` I ordered myself a Marvell 8040 board, should be plenty faster than any high end Atom, but we'll see
08:59 wbx intel atom with two graphic ports, they want to show different websites with different esolutions.
08:59 wbx resolutions..
08:59 topi` why not just bolt together two low-end Hummingboard Edges :) then you have 2x HDMI
09:00 topi` the Kontron products are a bit on the expensive side
09:00 wbx yeah, but I am only involved lately for the buildsystem, the hardware is already ordered.
09:01 suihkulokki is there some "vendor tree" for the 8040 board available already?
09:01 wbx jnettlet: you work for solidrun?
09:01 wbx jnettlet: i will try the wifi today on my cubox-i
09:02 suihkulokk 09:02 * suihkulokki thinks "the 8040" is a bit boring name - we need a nickname for the beast ;)
09:02 wbx haven't tried further, the electron stuf keeps be busy.
09:02 topi` wbx: how many boards do you ship+configure usually per project?
09:02 wbx topi`: this project will be more then 3000 boards.
09:02 topi` we're now starting to aim 100 devices for one customer... and lots of problems because we lack infrastructure. So I created a "small" python script that does deployment, install, config based on parameter files
09:03 topi` previously, we just did everything by hand , editing a master clone image
09:03 topi` which is, of course, stupid
09:03 topi` but we never had the time to do things properly :(
09:03 wbx topi`: last time we had 70 devices and done the firmware install manually by changing the sdcard. and a 10 port usb hub to write the cards ;)
09:04 wbx topi`: a friend of mine has a nfs boot setup and a small dialog script, so that EVERYONE can configure and install devices for him ;)
09:05 topi` nfs boot can also be useful
09:05 wbx but the most important thing is always a dual-partition setup with the possibility to safely update. (like cisco is doing it.)
09:05 wbx last time with u-boot, now with grub2.
09:06 topi` but even now, we're happy to be able to ssh to a new box and run the superdeployment.py with proper parameters and it does everything
09:06 topi` it's also versioned
09:06 topi` an upgrade operation is just a "inspect checksums; uninstall; install" process
09:07 wbx so incremental inplace updates of the firmware?
09:07 topi` we have plans for a dual-partition setup, to switch between upgraded systems and facilitate failover, but we lack manpower to really do it
09:08 topi` we ship just a modified debian/jessie with openvpn and some hardening
09:08 wbx topi`: we are only two and managed it ;) with kexec and some sort of verify script after booting the new system
09:08 topi` yeah I've looked into kexec, looks simple enough
09:08 topi` it's harder to verify that it actually does the things
09:08 topi` without a HW watchdog
09:09 wbx topi`: debian is to big. the last firmware I created was under 20 megabyte and the pdf docs where more than 50 % ;)
09:10 wb 09:10 * wbx is getting some breakfast
09:16 jnettlet wbx, yes I work for SR. let me know about the wifi.
09:18 jnettlet wbx, for safe updates I am working on integrating gpt partitioning and the swupd client/server that intel has built into the ostroproject
09:18 jnettlet of course google also has their reliable update system they built for chrome and are integrating into Android now.
09:26 topi` jnettlet: do you think it'd be possible to integrate GPT partitioning for the i.mx6 series as well?
09:26 topi` the i.mx6 booting not being wholly compatible with GPT...
09:27 jnettlet topi`, yes.
09:27 jnettlet it just requires a custom tool set. Once I have everything patched I will try and get it pushed into upstream tools.
09:29 topi` cool
09:30 jnettlet topi`, here is an existing utility you can use if you want to try GPT partitioning on iMX6. https://github.com/dereulenspiegel/tableknife
09:30 topi` it will streamline things for us, since every other piece of HW we use is using GPT
09:30 jnettlet I just need to integrate this functionality into gdisk.
09:31 topi` tableknife :D
09:31 topi` it's like surgery
09:32 jnettlet yeah. This lets you stick a binary in between the header and partition table. I want to specify the offset in GPT and then let you write a partition table like normal. Then you can flash any binary you want in between the two
09:33 jnettlet for most SDHC cards I recommend starting your partitions at 4MB for performance reasons so there is lots of dead space there.
09:34 jnettlet without getting this upstreamed, making sure you have a compatible disk partitioning tool would be a nightmare
09:35 topi` the other complication might be the UBOOT
09:35 topi` it needs to know where the rootfs is located :)
09:36 jnettlet well u-boot just needs to be built with GPT partition support
09:37 jnettlet that is just a config option that needs to be enabled
09:42 topi` it seems this SR image is using a rather old uboot, 2013.10-rc4
09:43 topi` admittedly, this is installed from a year-old SR .dd
09:43 topi` i'm lazy to upgrade ;)
09:44 topi` is it possible to swap the HB Gate SoM for the new one with TI WiLink so we can test it?
10:30 wbx jnettlet: http://pastebin.com/BKDiEXUU
10:30 wbx kernel config: http://debug.openadk.org/cubox/cfg
10:32 wbx dmesg: http://debug.openadk.org/cubox/dmesg.txt
10:32 wbx do you see anything that might be a problem with this minimal kernel config?
10:34 jnettlet so is the wifi module not being detected, or not loading the firmware?
10:37 wbx it is not being detected. i have a working 4.1.x kernel and I see brcmfmac dmesg messages.
10:37 wbx jnettlet: the 4.1.x was patched. with xbian patches.
10:37 wbx jnettlet: the 4.7.3 is plain vanilla
10:37 wbx jnettlet: is something in the dts files missing in plain vanilla?
10:38 jnettlet for which board?
10:38 wbx cubox-i ultra2
10:38 wbx the first cubox-i with two cores.
10:38 jnettlet nope, the brcmfmac is loaded through the microsom dtsi file
10:40 jnettlet there are no messages at all. also check dmesg for mmc messages
10:40 wbx in this one? arch/arm/boot/dts/imx6qdl-microsom.dtsi . i see.
10:40 jnettlet yes
10:41 wbx any special options in MMC needed for Wifi? is wifi connected to the second mmc controller?
10:41 jnettlet it is connected to the first. All the patches needed for wifi support should be upstsream
10:43 wbx MMC_SDHCI_ESDHC_IMX is active.
10:46 wbx oh, in the working kernel two mmc controllers are found, in the non-working just one
10:47 jnettlet hmmm, I wonder if the regulator isn't being enabled
10:49 wbx what is the name of the config symbol?
10:52 jnettlet everything looks to be there, which I would expect
10:52 jnettlet if you modprobe brcmfmac manually nothing happens?
10:55 wbx i have no modprobe and no unloading active ;)
10:56 wbx i can try, but i think the problem is earlier. only mmc0 in SDCARD mode found. on 4.1 mmc0 is SDIO and mmc1 SDCARD
10:56 jnettlet wbx, how are you loading modules? the config showed they were built as modules
10:56 wbx jnettlet: via insmod and a shell script
10:56 wbx just really simple.
10:57 wbx is there a defconfig for 4.7.x I can compare with?
10:58 jnettlet arch/arm/configs/imx_v6_v7_defconfig
10:59 wbx okay. CONFIG_PWRSEQ_EMMC=m
10:59 wbx CONFIG_PWRSEQ_SIMPLE=m
10:59 wbx they are missing. i try
11:10 wbx jnettlet: GREAT man! it is working
11:11 jnettlet excellent
11:13 wbx shouldn't such symbols be selected or depends on?
11:13 wbx jnettlet: you said yesterday everything gets autoselected ;)
11:14 jnettlet wbx, not those options. They are added to the defconfig
11:14 jnettlet they are not board or chip specific.
11:14 wbx not?
11:15 jnettlet so they are only needed for our microsom with wireless enabled.
11:16 wbx yeah, so they are not enabled , because they are chip specific.
11:16 wbx whatever. thanks a lot. now i can use latest OpenADK on my cubox-i again.
11:16 jnettlet great
11:17 jnettlet is it working well?
11:20 wbx jnettlet: it is my main router for my lab. with 4.1 it worked very well. will see how 4.7.3 performs
11:21 wbx jnettlet: i no longer use kodi on it. too much patching involved.
11:21 jnettlet interesting. I wonder if we should get OpenADK running on our clearfog platforms
11:22 wbx the intel stuff?
11:22 wbx jnettlet: at least last time I got a 3000 devices customer convinced to use OpenADK :)
11:23 jnettlet wbx, clearfog is our Armada platform. headless very fast router and storage
11:23 wbx jnettlet: may be you could get me a device? last time I got a hummingboard1 from rabeeh/malte. and I personal bought a cubox-i
11:23 wbx jnettlet: ah, nice.
11:24 wbx solidrun got so many devices out, I didn't followed the last two years ;)
11:24 jnettlet wbx, if you can port to it and wouldn't mind doing a short write up we can probably send you a clearfog base
11:24 jnettlet all this has happened in the last year. it has been hectic
11:24 wbx ah. should I send an email to you?
11:25 wbx [11/11] LINK electron
11:25 wbx make[6]: Nothing to be done for 'post-build'.
11:25 jnettlet yeah, send me an email [email protected]
11:25 wbx finally after two weeks hacking ;)
11:26 wbx jnettlet: i can also prepare a buildroot patch later. I have a good connection to them.
11:26 jnettlet wbx, I think we have a buildroot patch, but I will want it updated. I am in the middle of getting upstream u-boot 100% supported.
11:27 wbx jnettlet: cool. cubox-i is working with upstream u-boot, too. that is really cool.
11:27 jnettlet wbx, it is not working optimally though. there are known bugs and the memory timings are very sub-optimal
11:29 wbx jnettlet: for cubox-i or clearfog?
11:29 jnettlet cubox-i
11:30 vpeter That's good news indeed.