[U-Boot] Wandboard: u-boot.img is getting too large

Alexey Brodkin
2016-07-05T06:19:53Z

Hi Wolfgang,

On Tue, 2016-07-05 at 08:11 +0200, Wolfgang Denk wrote:
Dear Alexey,

In message <1467694422.3144.32.camel at synopsys.com<mailto:1467694422.3144.32.camel@synopsys.com>> you wrote:

According to http://wiki.wandboard.org/index.php/Boot-process#sdcard_boot_data_layout
Wandboard's SD-card layout is as follows:
------------------------------>8---------------------------
# Offset (hex) (dec) Description
==========================================================
1. 0x00000000 Reserved For MBR
2. 0x00000200 512 Secondary Image Table (optional)
3. 0x00000400 1024 uBoot Image (Starting From IVT)
4. 0x00060000 393216 start of uboot env (size:8k)
5. 0x00062000 end of uboot env
6. 0x00100000 1048576 Linux kernel start
7. 0x0076AC00 7777280 start of partition 1
So they reserve 383 KiB for U-Boot, 8 kB for the environment, and then
leave an unused gap of 632 KiB? That's silly.

IMHO there's an obvious solution for all that - just move U-Boot's env for say
another 300-400k above like that:
Why place the environment anywhere in the middle of that free space?
Just move it to the very end of it, i. e. make it

Offset Size Usage
1. 0x00000000 512 B Reserved For MBR
2. 0x00000200 512 B Secondary Image Table (optional)
3. 0x00000400 1015 KiB U-Boot image(s)
4. 0x000FE000 8 KiB U-Boot environment
6. 0x00100000 ... Linux kernel

Then you have all options open to grow even further, if needed, or
allocate other stuff below the env without leaving a gap.

Gaps in a memory map are always begging for trouble, expecially when
there is no reason for them.

Agree! IMHO solution to all that is simple.

I just want to get some feedback from people who maintain IMX/Wandboard boards
or at least has better visibility at how people use these boards and if there's any
rationale behind existing mapping.

If everybody is happy with proposal to move U-Boot env "partition" above I'll send a
formal patch. Or I may as well send it and if there's interest in it somebody will pick it
up and apply.

-Alexey