PPC405 system slow boot

PPC405 system slow boot

[Clint Thomas]

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Hey guys,

I've run through the loops to try and figure what could be wrong with
this system. The board in question is modeled after the Xilinx ML300
board. It uses a Xilinx System ACE chip to load a FPGA / Kernel image
from compact flash. Originally, I was trying to use the CompactFlash as
the root file system, but because of issues in either the design or
software, this would only work if SysAce was in polled I/O mode. To
circumvent this, I built my root filesystem into an initrd image and
built a single ELF file with the Kernel and RFS, then strapped that to
the FPGA bit file to make a single FPGA/Kernel/RFS SysAce file.

Upon decompression, the Linux kernel boots quickly and loads all of the
device drivers. However when it gets to the prompt, it starts slowing
down. Output and input to and from the board becomes very very slow (it
displays 2 characters roughly every 20 seconds). Originally I believed
this to be the CPU still polling SystemAce, so I disabled the Linux
System ACE drivers to remove that as a possibility, however after doing
this, the problem still persists, even with the RFS in ram! Has anybody
encountered a similar situation to this before, with possible insight
towards a solution? Thank you for your time.
 
Clinton Thomas
cthomas@soneticom.com
 

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Re: PPC405 system slow boot

[Peter Ryser]

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Clint,

check the interrupt sub-system of your design. What you describe 
typically happens when the PPC does not get any interrupts from the 
UART. It's most likely a mismatch between your hardware and the 
xparameters.h.

- Peter


Clint Thomas wrote:

> Hey guys,
>
> I've run through the loops to try and figure what could be wrong with 
> this system. The board in question is modeled after the Xilinx ML300 
> board. It uses a Xilinx System ACE chip to load a FPGA / Kernel image 
> from compact flash. Originally, I was trying to use the CompactFlash 
> as the root file system, but because of issues in either the design or 
> software, this would only work if SysAce was in polled I/O mode. To 
> circumvent this, I built my root filesystem into an initrd image and 
> built a single ELF file with the Kernel and RFS, then strapped that to 
> the FPGA bit file to make a single FPGA/Kernel/RFS SysAce file.
>
> Upon decompression, the Linux kernel boots quickly and loads all of 
> the device drivers. However when it gets to the prompt, it starts 
> slowing down. Output and input to and from the board becomes very very 
> slow (it displays 2 characters roughly every 20 seconds). Originally I 
> believed this to be the CPU still polling SystemAce, so I disabled the 
> Linux System ACE drivers to remove that as a possibility, however 
> after doing this, the problem still persists, even with the RFS in 
> ram! Has anybody encountered a similar situation to this before, with 
> possible insight towards a solution? Thank you for your time.
>  
> Clinton Thomas
> cthomas@soneticom.com
>  
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>Linuxppc-embedded mailing list
>Linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org
>https://ozlabs.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxppc-embedded
>

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re: PPC405 system slow boot

[Arvid Staub]

hi!

i've recently had a similar situation with a XC2VP50-based custom board.
There was no SystemACE involved, we load the FPGA via a CPLD/serial =
flash.

the problem resided in the interrupt controller, which was not able to =
enable interrupts due to an error in the MHS file.
you should check that your interrupt controller section includes the =
following parameters:
PARAMETER C_HAS_IPR =3D 1
PARAMETER C_HAS_SIE =3D 1
PARAMETER C_HAS_CIE =3D 1
PARAMETER C_HAS_IVR =3D 1

the intc driver uses SIE and CIE to atomically enable and disable =
interrupts.
when the uartlite interrupt was not enabled, the uartlite driver =
encountered timeouts which caused single characters to appear at the =
serial console, similar to what you described.

hope that helps,
arvid staub


________________________________________
Von: linuxppc-embedded-bounces+arvid.staub=3Dmediornet.com@ozlabs.org =
[mailto:linuxppc-embedded-bounces+arvid.staub=3Dmediornet.com@ozlabs.org]=
 Im Auftrag von Clint Thomas
Gesendet: Montag, 28. August 2006 21:57
An: linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org
Betreff: PPC405 system slow boot

Hey guys,

I've run through the loops to try and figure what could be wrong with =
this system. The board in question is modeled after the Xilinx ML300 =
board. It uses a Xilinx System ACE chip to load a FPGA / Kernel image =
from compact flash. Originally, I was trying to use the CompactFlash as =
the root file system, but because of issues in either the design or =
software, this would only work if SysAce was in polled I/O mode. To =
circumvent this, I built my root filesystem into an initrd image and =
built a single ELF file with the Kernel and RFS, then strapped that to =
the FPGA bit file to make a single FPGA/Kernel/RFS SysAce file.

Upon decompression, the Linux kernel boots quickly and loads all of the =
device drivers. However when it gets to the prompt, it starts slowing =
down. Output and input to and from the board becomes very very slow (it =
displays 2 characters roughly every 20 seconds). Originally I believed =
this to be the CPU still polling SystemAce, so I disabled the Linux =
System ACE drivers to remove that as a possibility, however after doing =
this, the problem still persists, even with the RFS in ram! Has anybody =
encountered a similar situation to this before, with possible insight =
towards a solution? Thank you for your time.
=A0
Clinton Thomas
cthomas@soneticom.com
=A0

RE: PPC405 system slow boot

[Clint Thomas]

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The xparameters.h file is generated by the Xilinx EDK for our FPGA, so I
don't see how there could be a mismatch. Using Chipscope, we were able
to find that the interrupt controller is triggered on kernel
initialization, but after the kernel has finished loading, the system
moves to a snail's pace at login. 
 
Does Linux use a different set of code to handle the UART, INTC, etc.
after the kernel is loaded? The system appears to work perfectly up
until after the kernel is done loading.

________________________________

From: Peter Ryser [mailto:peter.ryser@xilinx.com] 
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 8:45 PM
To: Clint Thomas
Cc: linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org
Subject: Re: PPC405 system slow boot


Clint,

check the interrupt sub-system of your design. What you describe
typically happens when the PPC does not get any interrupts from the
UART. It's most likely a mismatch between your hardware and the
xparameters.h.

- Peter


Clint Thomas wrote: 

	Hey guys,
	
	I've run through the loops to try and figure what could be wrong
with this system. The board in question is modeled after the Xilinx
ML300 board. It uses a Xilinx System ACE chip to load a FPGA / Kernel
image from compact flash. Originally, I was trying to use the
CompactFlash as the root file system, but because of issues in either
the design or software, this would only work if SysAce was in polled I/O
mode. To circumvent this, I built my root filesystem into an initrd
image and built a single ELF file with the Kernel and RFS, then strapped
that to the FPGA bit file to make a single FPGA/Kernel/RFS SysAce file.
	
	Upon decompression, the Linux kernel boots quickly and loads all
of the device drivers. However when it gets to the prompt, it starts
slowing down. Output and input to and from the board becomes very very
slow (it displays 2 characters roughly every 20 seconds). Originally I
believed this to be the CPU still polling SystemAce, so I disabled the
Linux System ACE drivers to remove that as a possibility, however after
doing this, the problem still persists, even with the RFS in ram! Has
anybody encountered a similar situation to this before, with possible
insight towards a solution? Thank you for your time.
	 
	Clinton Thomas
	cthomas@soneticom.com
	 
	
________________________________


	_______________________________________________
	Linuxppc-embedded mailing list
	Linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org
	https://ozlabs.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxppc-embedded


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RE: PPC405 system slow boot

[Clint Thomas]

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Actually, we figured out what was going on. Apparently we left one of
the interrupt lines disconnected from the CPU in the FPGA design. Thanks
for all the help guys, I really do appreciate it.

Clint Thomas

________________________________

From: Clint Thomas 
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 6:58 PM
To: linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org
Cc: 'Peter Ryser '; Jason Lamb
Subject: RE: PPC405 system slow boot


The xparameters.h file is generated by the Xilinx EDK for our FPGA, so I
don't see how there could be a mismatch. Using Chipscope, we were able
to find that the interrupt controller is triggered on kernel
initialization, but after the kernel has finished loading, the system
moves to a snail's pace at login. 
 
Does Linux use a different set of code to handle the UART, INTC, etc.
after the kernel is loaded? The system appears to work perfectly up
until after the kernel is done loading.

________________________________

From: Peter Ryser [mailto:peter.ryser@xilinx.com] 
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 8:45 PM
To: Clint Thomas
Cc: linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org
Subject: Re: PPC405 system slow boot


Clint,

check the interrupt sub-system of your design. What you describe
typically happens when the PPC does not get any interrupts from the
UART. It's most likely a mismatch between your hardware and the
xparameters.h.

- Peter


Clint Thomas wrote: 

	Hey guys,
	
	I've run through the loops to try and figure what could be wrong
with this system. The board in question is modeled after the Xilinx
ML300 board. It uses a Xilinx System ACE chip to load a FPGA / Kernel
image from compact flash. Originally, I was trying to use the
CompactFlash as the root file system, but because of issues in either
the design or software, this would only work if SysAce was in polled I/O
mode. To circumvent this, I built my root filesystem into an initrd
image and built a single ELF file with the Kernel and RFS, then strapped
that to the FPGA bit file to make a single FPGA/Kernel/RFS SysAce file.
	
	Upon decompression, the Linux kernel boots quickly and loads all
of the device drivers. However when it gets to the prompt, it starts
slowing down. Output and input to and from the board becomes very very
slow (it displays 2 characters roughly every 20 seconds). Originally I
believed this to be the CPU still polling SystemAce, so I disabled the
Linux System ACE drivers to remove that as a possibility, however after
doing this, the problem still persists, even with the RFS in ram! Has
anybody encountered a similar situation to this before, with possible
insight towards a solution? Thank you for your time.
	 
	Clinton Thomas
	cthomas@soneticom.com
	 
	
________________________________


	_______________________________________________
	Linuxppc-embedded mailing list
	Linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org
	https://ozlabs.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxppc-embedded


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