[cip-dev] Status of cip-core

Binh Thanh. Nguyen
2017-11-10T07:35:05Z

Hi Chris, Daniel,

> Subject: RE: [cip-dev] Status of cip-core
>
> Hello Daniel,
>
> Apologies for the slow response. Lots of ramblings below, happy to set
> up a call if it's easier to go through the details.
>
> > From: Daniel Sangorrin [mailto:daniel.sangorrin at toshiba.co.jp]
> > Sent: 24 October 2017 06:17
> >
> > Hello Chris,
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Chris Paterson [mailto:Chris.Paterson2 at renesas.com]
> > > Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2017 3:23 AM
> > > To: Daniel Sangorrin; cip-dev at lists.cip-project.org; 'Jan Kiszka'
> > > Subject: RE: [cip-dev] Status of cip-core
> > >
> > > Hello Daniel,
> > >
> > > Thank you for the update.
> > >
> > > > - modules.tgz is not generated for iwg20m (for bbb it is): I
> > > > have to investigate why but I think it is not a big problem
> > > > since they are included in the file system images. Probably the
> > > > reason is just that shmobile_defconfig has modules disabled.
> > >
> > > Correct :)
> >
> > I have noticed that the shmobile_defconfig from the official
> > linux-cip repo is quite different from the one at
> > https://github.com/renesas-
> rz/renesas-cip.
>
> Let me explain...
>
> The renesas-rz github website is used to host the complete Yocto BSP
> package for the RZ/G iWave platforms. This is used as a basis for the
> "Renesas RZ/G Linux Platform" which was launched in October.
>
> This BSP is based on the CIP Kernel, but as you can see has a lot of
> patches applied on top. The main reason for these additional patches
> is that the iwg20m platform is not yet fully supported upstream.
>
> If using the above BSP for your testing, I'd recommend that you stick
> with the
> v4.4.55-cip3 branch. This has been fully verified and should be working.
>
> Whilst Renesas are continuously working on the renesas-rz github
> repository, in tandem we are also upstreaming support to the mainline
> Kernel for the iwg20m platform. Periodically once a new Kernel release
> has been made we are backporting support to the official CIP Kernel.
>
> The latest CIP Kernel (v4.4.92-cip11) includes support for clk,
> pinctrl, GPIO, Ethernet and eMMC on the iwg20m platform.
>
>
> >
> > Previously I tested the official kernel using a ramdisk and it was
> > successful so I didn't notice the difference. But today I've tried
> > to boot the official kernel with the SD Card file system and it didn't work.
>
> Currently the official CIP Kernel does not support SD on the iwg20m.
> Support upstream will be included in Kernel v4.15. We plan to backport
> support once
> v4.15 is released, but can backport when v4.15-rc1 is out if there is
> an urgent need.
>
> >
> > One problem was that EXT3/4 wasn't enabled.
>
> Yes. Historically shmobile_defconfig doesn't have ext3/4 enabled
> upstream :( I guess one option would be to enable this on the CIP Kernel?
>
> > I decided to use renesas-cip's
> > shmobile_defconfig to build the official linux-cip kernel. However,
> > I got a build error because
> > https://gitlab.com/cip-project/linux-cip/blob/linux-4.4.y-
> > cip/drivers/usb/host/xhci-rcar.c
> > references a firmware called "r8a779x_usb3_v1.dlmem" which wasn't
> > available on the official kernel. I could solve that either by
> > copying the firmware from renesas-cip or by commenting out the
> > corresponding configuration flags.
>
> There may well be other differences between the config used in the
> renesas- rz BSP compared to the upstream/CIP version. It might be best
> to stick with the version in the CIP Kernel and just enable EXT3/4 as
> required. This is what we use to test when backporting to the CIP Kernel.
>
> >
> > I managed to build the official kernel but still I couldn't get it
> > to boot from the SD Card.
>
> Again, due to lack of SD support in the official Kernel (see
> r8a7743-iwg20d- q7.dts).
>
> > # By the way, I noticed that the mmc numbering also changed
> > (mmcblk0p2 was working on renesas-cip kernel as the 2nd partition of
> > the SD Card, but for the official kernel that was a partition on the
> > eMMC and the kernel could not recognize mmcblk2p2).
> >
> > I wonder if this problem comes from the device tree. On the
> > renesas-cip repository there was a r8a7743-iwgm.dts file that worked
> > fine, but on the official repository the one with the closest name
> > was
> r8a7743-iwg20d-q7.dts.
> > This one worked fine when I boot from a ramdisk but not when I boot
> > from the SD Card.
> >
> > Should I use renesas-cip kernel again?
>
> As you have no need for the entire BSP (you only need the Kernel), I'd
> recommend using the official CIP Kernel. For now this would mean that
> you'd need to either use NFS or eMMC for your RFS. If using eMMC
> you'll need to enable EXT3/4 on top of shmobile_defconfig.
>
> This has the added benefit that CIP Core will use and test the
> official CIP Kernel, rather than Renesas' out of tree BSP version.
>
> > I noticed that the new versions are been merged. I was using
> > renesas-cip's
> > v4.4.69-cip4 but I can see a newer branch called v4.4.83-cip8
>
> v4.4.55-cip3 is the only version properly tested. I think the other
> versions are just rebases.
>
> Binh-san, could you confirm the current status of the newer branches
> on renesas-rz?

v4.4.55-cip3 was fully tested, including UT,IT,ST.
v4.4.69-cip4 , v4.4.75-cip6 also worked with just some simple tests.

Best regards,
Binh Nguyen

>
>
> Kind regards, Chris
>
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Daniel
> >