On the MPC85xx development boards

On the MPC85xx development boards

[Mikko Alutoin]

Hi folks!

I would be happy to receive some comments on pros & cons of different development boards for MPC85xx cause I'm in the process of selecting one.
The final design will be using MPC8560 to implement a 1 Gbps Ethernet card for a router. ATM support will be needed later on.
The development environment includes a Linux PC and Abatron BDI2000 emulator.

Here are the boards that I am aware of:

1)	MPC8560ADS by Motorola
2)	CW8540DSEVAL by Motorola
3)	SBC8560 by Windriver
4)	Silicon Tx GP3 8560
5)	MPC8540 RDK by GDATech

Are these boards all there is?

I am under the impression that 1, 2, 4 and 5 (but not 3) come with a Linux BSP included? Is this correct?

Being the lazy person that I am, I'm trying to minimize the work to get Linux up and running on the board. I wonder which board/package gives me least headache? Are there any pitfalls that I should know about?

Let us assume that the final product will not be based on a commercial Embedded Linux distro, but a custom 2.6 kernel with busybox & uclibc. Should that effect the choice in any way?

Forgive me if the questions seem a bit foolish. The bottom line is that I have not used any kind of development boards in the past and I would like to receive some insight on which one of the above to choose.

Cheers,
Mikko


** Sent via the linuxppc-embedded mail list. See http://lists.linuxppc.org/

RE: On the MPC85xx development boards

[Tom Curran]

You might also want to check out Artis Microsystems for MPC85xx devel
boards:
http://www.artismicro.com/

--Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-linuxppc-embedded@lists.linuxppc.org
[mailto:owner-linuxppc-embedded@lists.linuxppc.org]On Behalf Of Mikko
Alutoin
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2004 6:55 AM
To: linuxppc-embedded@lists.linuxppc.org
Subject: On the MPC85xx development boards



Hi folks!

I would be happy to receive some comments on pros & cons of different
development boards for MPC85xx cause I'm in the process of selecting one.
The final design will be using MPC8560 to implement a 1 Gbps Ethernet card
for a router. ATM support will be needed later on.
The development environment includes a Linux PC and Abatron BDI2000
emulator.

Here are the boards that I am aware of:

1)	MPC8560ADS by Motorola
2)	CW8540DSEVAL by Motorola
3)	SBC8560 by Windriver
4)	Silicon Tx GP3 8560
5)	MPC8540 RDK by GDATech

Are these boards all there is?

I am under the impression that 1, 2, 4 and 5 (but not 3) come with a Linux
BSP included? Is this correct?

Being the lazy person that I am, I'm trying to minimize the work to get
Linux up and running on the board. I wonder which board/package gives me
least headache? Are there any pitfalls that I should know about?

Let us assume that the final product will not be based on a commercial
Embedded Linux distro, but a custom 2.6 kernel with busybox & uclibc. Should
that effect the choice in any way?

Forgive me if the questions seem a bit foolish. The bottom line is that I
have not used any kind of development boards in the past and I would like to
receive some insight on which one of the above to choose.

Cheers,
Mikko


** Sent via the linuxppc-embedded mail list. See http://lists.linuxppc.org/

Re: On the MPC85xx development boards

[Dan Malek]

On Jun 24, 2004, at 9:55 AM, Mikko Alutoin wrote:


> 4)	Silicon Tx GP3 8560

Having done the development of this board, I can tell you quite a
bit about it.

This is an "ODM" board, which means it comes with useful software
in some vertical markets.  It's purpose is to be quickly functional
as a product prototype, so the board size, connectors and options
are designed for more than just software development.  It is available
today with an 8541, 8555, or 8560 processor, there are other
board variations to be announced soon.

RPC Electronics is providing low volume manufacturing of custom
variations of these boards to meet product introduction schedules.
They are also able to work with other manufacturers, provide parts
kits, or whatever is necessary to minimize development resources
and expedite product deployment.

> I am under the impression that 1, 2, 4 and 5 (but not 3) come with a
> Linux BSP included? Is this correct?

Embedded Edge is providing the software which includes U-boot, Linux
2.4.26,
a small distribution, and an SPE enabled version of gcc 3.3.3 with
binutils.
The board comes with a kernel and file system in flash, upon power up
will
autoboot Linux and configure the network for remote access.  Unless you
are doing kernel development, all you need to do is log in an mount an
NFS file system to start your application development.

> Let us assume that the final product will not be based on a commercial
> Embedded Linux distro, but a custom 2.6 kernel with busybox & uclibc.
> Should that effect the choice in any way?

We are working with Freescale to get the 2.6 work merged into the
kernel,
so that will be available shortly for downloading.  I'm not a big fan
of busybox,
but people have been asking so a version of that and uclibc will also be
available once we get the 2.4/2.6 and glibc tools stable.

> Forgive me if the questions seem a bit foolish. The bottom line is
> that I have not used any kind of development boards in the past and I
> would like to receive some insight on which one of the above to
> choose.

It's more than choosing a board.  An Original Design Manufactuerer (ODM)
provider is more than just a board.  It's all about providing the
structure that
will minimize your resource investment and expediting your product
development.

Have fun!


	-- Dan

** Sent via the linuxppc-embedded mail list. See http://lists.linuxppc.org/

Re: On the MPC85xx development boards

[David Woodhouse]

On Thu, 2004-06-24 at 16:55 +0300, Mikko Alutoin wrote:
> I am under the impression that 1, 2, 4 and 5 (but not 3) come with a Linux BSP
> included? Is this correct?

Number 3 (the WindRiver SBC8560) should be supported by 2.6 as soon as
Linus heeds my request to pull from
bk://linux-mtd.bkbits.net/sbc8560-2.6

--
dwmw2


** Sent via the linuxppc-embedded mail list. See http://lists.linuxppc.org/

Re: On the MPC85xx development boards

[Mikko Alutoin]

Hi again!

Thanks to everybody who answered my original mail about a week ago.

The tips were very helpful. For your knowledge, we decided to go with option 2 this time (http://www.metrowerks.com/MW/Develop/NetComm/8540EVAL.htm).

Cheers,
Mikko

P.S. For those who absolutely need an optical 1 Gbps Ethernet interface on board, options 1 and 4 seem to be the only alternatives.

Mikko Alutoin wrote 24.06.2004:
>
> Hi folks!
>
> I would be happy to receive some comments on pros & cons of different
> development boards for MPC85xx cause I'm in the process of selecting
>  one.
> The final design will be using MPC8560 to implement a 1 Gbps
>  Ethernet card
> for a router. ATM support will be needed later on.
> The development environment includes a Linux PC and Abatron BDI2000
> emulator.
>
> Here are the boards that I am aware of:
>
> 1)	MPC8560ADS by Motorola
> 2)	CW8540DSEVAL by Motorola
> 3)	SBC8560 by Windriver
> 4)	Silicon Tx GP3 8560
> 5)	MPC8540 RDK by GDATech
>
> Are these boards all there is?
>
> I am under the impression that 1, 2, 4 and 5 (but not 3) come with a
>  Linux
> BSP included? Is this correct?
>
> Being the lazy person that I am, I'm trying to minimize the work to get
> Linux up and running on the board. I wonder which board/package gives me
> least headache? Are there any pitfalls that I should know about?
>
> Let us assume that the final product will not be based on a commercial
> Embedded Linux distro, but a custom 2.6 kernel with busybox & uclibc.
> Should that effect the choice in any way?
>
> Forgive me if the questions seem a bit foolish. The bottom line is
>  that I
> have not used any kind of development boards in the past and I would
>  like
> to receive some insight on which one of the above to choose.
>
> Cheers,
> Mikko
>
>
>


** Sent via the linuxppc-embedded mail list. See http://lists.linuxppc.org/