From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from mailex.computing.dundee.ac.uk (mailex.computing.dundee.ac.uk [134.36.36.15]) by ozlabs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7E6CB67A39 for ; Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:55:59 +1100 (EST) Message-ID: <456AF9A5.70301@computing.dundee.ac.uk> Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 14:43:49 +0000 From: Peter Mendham MIME-Version: 1.0 To: linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org Subject: Using Linux on ML405: Some basic questions Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed List-Id: Linux on Embedded PowerPC Developers Mail List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Dear all, I am experimenting with Linux on an ML405 dev board in preparation for designing a board of our own. I am not massively knowledgeable about Linux internals and am learning as I go along. At the moment I'm working with a 2.4.26 kernel and the demonstration hardware configuration. I have built the kernel and created a new root file systems using buildroot/busybox. Most of the time I have a working system :) I have a few questions, I was wondering if someone could help me out: 1) I don't really understand how the kernel image gets loaded from the .ace file. I've seen articles which say that the SystemAce controller puts the kernel image directly into RAM, but on inspection of the datasheet I can't see any capability other that JTAG programming and acting as a slave to a processor. Can anyone explain the way this works? 2) I'm trying to simplify the kernel as much as possible, is there a way to do without devfs? If I don't have devfs do I need an initrd? If so, what do I need to put on the initrd, can it just be a minimal /dev directory? 3) I will eventually be wanting tri-mode ethernet support, ideally under a 2.6 kernel. I've been trying to follow the discussions on this mailing list with respect to the support for the tri-mode MAC and scatter gather/DMA support. Can anyone summarise what sort of stage this is at? Is auto-negotiation supported? Once I get past the hurdles I have at the moment my next step is to attempt incorporating the tri-mode IP and getting it working under Linux. If there's anything I can do to help the effort at that point I'd be glad to put in some time. Many thanks in advance, -- Peter