Setting up U-Boot
LX60 and LX200 U-Boot Installation
U-Boot is a very popular boot loader; especially within the Embedded Linux community. A preliminary port to the Xtensa architecture is now available at linux-xtensa.org. See U-Boot Sources (GIT Summary). Or, to access this tree using git directly, use something like:
$ git clone git://git.linux-xtensa.org/git/u-boot/u-boot-xtensa.git u-boot $ cd u-boot
(Note: This path is subject to change.)
The U-Boot git repository has a branch with a HiFi 2 snapshot made for
the LX200 SMP HiFi 2 Development Board. With this branch you can simply check
out the snapshot_2+SMP branch which includes the binaries which are discussed below:
$ git clone git://git.linux-xtensa.org/git/u-boot/u-boot-xtensa.git u-boot $ cd u-boot $ git branch --track snapshot_2+SMP origin/snapshot_2+SMP $ git checkout snapshot_2+SMP
$ ls -l u-boot u-boot.bin tools/mkimage -rwxr-xr-x 1 piet tensilica 45016 2009-12-07 19:40 tools/mkimage [This is a small program you need to put in your search path to build kernel U-Boot images] -rwxr-xr-x 1 piet tensilica 635339 2009-12-07 19:40 u-boot [Started with xt-gdb to bring up the 1st instance of a HiFi 2 U-Boot] -rwxr-xr-x 1 piet tensilica 144944 2009-12-07 19:40 u-boot.bin [Loaded by the 1st instance of U-Boot, it's a HiFi2 version of u-boot that will be put in flash] $
Unless you are using a U-Boot snapshot you need to build U-Boot for which you must have built the Buildroot toolchain for XTensa core. Set your PATH to point to the toolchain built using buildroot. For example:
$ export PATH="<workdir>/buildroot/build_xtensa_<cname>/staging_dir/usr/bin:$PATH"
where <cname> is the name of the Xtensa core variant you wish to build for (e.g., dc232b dc233c).
To build U-Boot, use the cloned git tree pulled above, you should be at the top level of the tree in the u-boot directory , then configure it for your board and Xtensa core variant as follows:
make distclean make <cname>_<board>_config
'dc232b'dc This should only take a few seconds. For example, to build U-boot for the 'xtav60' board and 'dc232b' or 'dc233c' core, type:
$ cd u-boot $ make dc232b_xtav60_config [NOTE: You can skip this step with the the HiFi-2 snapshot_2+SMP branch; binaries are pre-built]
or
$ make dc233c_xtav60_config [NOTE: You can skip this step with the the HiFi-2 snapshot_2+SMP branch; binaries are pre-built]
or for a 'xtav200' board type
$ make dc232b_xtav200_config [NOTE: You can skip this step with the the HiFi-2 snapshot_2+SMP branch; binaries are pre-built]
or for the snapshot_2+SMP branch you can also build U-Boot for the HiFi 2 core:
$ make test_mmuhifi_c3_xtav200_config [NOTE: You can skip this step with the the HiFi-2 snapshot_2+SMP branch; binaries are pre-built]
Only boards and core variants currently supported in the tree can be built out of the box. Headers for supported cores can be found in the tree under include/asm-xtensa/variant-<cname>. The core specific headers are described in the doc/README.xtensa file. To support a new core, these headers must be copied from the overlay in the same way as for the linux kernel.
After the configuration step, to actually build U-Boot, simply:
$ make all [NOTE: You can skip this step with the the HiFi-2 snapshot_2+SMP branch; binaries are pre-built]
This will take a quite a few minutes.
Next, start xt-gdb and load u-boot from the top of the git repository:
$ xt-gdb -n [NOTE: Even with the HiFi 2 snapshot_2+SMP branch you still may have to put U-Boot on the board] (xt-gdb) file u-boot (xt-gdb) target remote localhost:20000 0 (xt-gdb) reset (xt-gdb) load (xt-gdb) break panic (xt-gdb) continue
Hopefully U-Boot will start, and display on the LCD in the case of a LX60.
U-Boot 50.00 Mhz
Often you will be starting with the boards flash in an unknown state and it's best to unprotect and erase the entire flash. Just type protect off all followed by erase all:
U-Boot> protect off all Un-Protect Flash Bank # 1 ................................................................................................................................... done U-Boot> erase all Erase Flash Bank # 1 .......................................................................................................... Flash erase timeout at address f8d40000 da0 Flash erase error at address f8d40000 ........................ done U-Boot>
The timeout and error messages are likley just warning messages and you board has been errased. You can see that with the flash info command flinfo. Below is an example with a LX200 board, which has a much larger flash than the smaller LX60:
U-Boot> flinfo
Bank # 1: CFI conformant FLASH (16 x 16) Size: 16 MB in 131 Sectors Intel Extended command set, Manufacturer ID: 0x89, Device ID: 0x18 Erase timeout: 4096 ms, write timeout: 1 ms Buffer write timeout: 2 ms, buffer size: 64 bytes
Sector Start Addresses: F8000000 E F8020000 E F8040000 E F8060000 E F8080000 E F80A0000 E F80C0000 E F80E0000 E F8100000 E F8120000 E F8140000 E F8160000 E F8180000 E F81A0000 E F81C0000 E F81E0000 E F8200000 E F8220000 E F8240000 E F8260000 E F8280000 E F82A0000 E F82C0000 E F82E0000 E F8300000 E F8320000 E F8340000 E F8360000 E F8380000 E F83A0000 E F83C0000 E F83E0000 E F8400000 E F8420000 E F8440000 E F8460000 E F8480000 E F84A0000 E F84C0000 E F84E0000 E F8500000 E F8520000 E F8540000 E F8560000 E F8580000 E F85A0000 E F85C0000 E F85E0000 E F8600000 E F8620000 E F8640000 E F8660000 E F8680000 E F86A0000 E F86C0000 E F86E0000 E F8700000 E F8720000 E F8740000 E F8760000 E F8780000 E F87A0000 E F87C0000 E F87E0000 E F8800000 E F8820000 E F8840000 E F8860000 E F8880000 E F88A0000 E F88C0000 E F88E0000 E F8900000 E F8920000 E F8940000 E F8960000 E F8980000 E F89A0000 E F89C0000 E F89E0000 E F8A00000 E F8A20000 E F8A40000 E F8A60000 E F8A80000 E F8AA0000 E F8AC0000 E F8AE0000 E F8B00000 E F8B20000 E F8B40000 E F8B60000 E F8B80000 E F8BA0000 E F8BC0000 E F8BE0000 E F8C00000 E F8C20000 E F8C40000 E F8C60000 E F8C80000 E F8CA0000 E F8CC0000 E F8CE0000 E F8D00000 E F8D20000 E F8D40000 E F8D60000 E F8D80000 E F8DA0000 E F8DC0000 E F8DE0000 E F8E00000 E F8E20000 E F8E40000 E F8E60000 E F8E80000 E F8EA0000 E F8EC0000 E F8EE0000 E F8F00000 E F8F20000 E F8F40000 E F8F60000 E F8F80000 E F8FA0000 E F8FC0000 E F8FE0000 E F8FE8000 E F8FF0000 E F8FF8000 E U-Boot>
Now set your preliminary U-Boot environment variables to point to your TFTP server so we can download yet another copy of U-Boot. At Tensilica we use a machine in the RTOS group called rtos-lab2. Folks using the SMP HiFi 2 Development Board likely have set up their workstation with a TFTP server.
U-Boot> setenv serverip 192.168.11.78 rtos-lab2 U-Boot> setenv ipaddr 192.168.11.95 I/P address of host running on the LX60/LX200 U-Boot> setenv bootfile u-boot.bin U-Boot> saveenv Saving Environment to Flash... .... done Un-Protected 4 sectors Erasing Flash... .... done Erased 4 sectors Writing to Flash... done .... done Protected 4 sectors U-Boot>
Next, download u-boot.bin from the tftp server using the info we just entered into U-Boot's enviroment variables.
U-Boot> tftpboot TFTP from server 192.168.11.78; our IP address is 192.168.11.95 Filename 'u-boot.bin'. Load address: 0xd2000000 Loading: T ######## done Bytes transferred = 107592 (1a448 hex)
On a LX200 we have much more space and can easily fit a version of U-boot that has been compiled without optimization, make debugging much easier. So in this case the image is a bit larger, but relatively similar to the LX60 (2 sectors):
U-Boot> tftpboot Using open_ethernet device TFTP from server 192.168.11.78; our IP address is 192.168.11.95 Filename 'u-boot.bin'. Load address: 0xd2000000 Loading: ############### done Bytes transferred = 205852 (3241c hex) U-Boot>
Note that for both the LX200 and the LX60 that the image size, (3241c hex) in this case, is a bit less than 2 sectors, so turn off protection on the 1st two sectors and
erase the current contents.
For the LX60 you do this:
U-Boot> protect off F8000000 F801FFFF ... done Un-Protected 2 sectors U-Boot> erase F8000000 F801FFFF erase F8000000 F801FFFF ... done
For the LX200 the starting address (F8000000) is the same as with the LX60 but the last addesss (F803FFFF) is 'twice' as high:
U-Boot> protect off F8000000 F803FFFF ... done Un-Protected 2 sectors U-Boot> erase F8000000 F803FFFF Erased 2 sectors U-Boot>
Now copy the the image of u-boot.bin in memory to the flash. For the XL60 you copy 0x20000
bytes from 0xd2000000 to 0XF8000000:
U-Boot> cp.b d2000000 F8000000 20000 Copy to Flash... done
For the LX200 you copy 0x40000 bytes from 0xd2000000 to 0XF8000000...0XF803FFFF:
U-Boot> cp.b d2000000 F8000000 40000 Copy to Flash... done
Finally we protect these first two sectors so that U-Boot isn't easily errased by accident. Below is what it looks like on a LX200 with a subsequent display of the flash info:
U-Boot> protect on F8000000 F803FFFF .. done Protected 2 sectors U-Boot> flinfo
Bank # 1: CFI conformant FLASH (16 x 16) Size: 16 MB in 131 Sectors Intel Extended command set, Manufacturer ID: 0x89, Device ID: 0x18 Erase timeout: 4096 ms, write timeout: 1 ms Buffer write timeout: 2 ms, buffer size: 64 bytes
Sector Start Addresses: F8000000 RO F8020000 RO F8040000 E F8060000 E F8080000 E F80A0000 E F80C0000 E F80E0000 E F8100000 E F8120000 E F8140000 E F8160000 E F8180000 E F81A0000 E F81C0000 E F81E0000 E F8200000 E F8220000 E F8240000 E F8260000 E F8280000 E F82A0000 E F82C0000 E F82E0000 E F8300000 E F8320000 E F8340000 E F8360000 E F8380000 E F83A0000 E F83C0000 E F83E0000 E F8400000 E F8420000 E F8440000 E F8460000 E F8480000 E F84A0000 E F84C0000 E F84E0000 E F8500000 E F8520000 E F8540000 E F8560000 E F8580000 E F85A0000 E F85C0000 E F85E0000 E F8600000 E F8620000 E F8640000 E F8660000 E F8680000 E F86A0000 E F86C0000 E F86E0000 E F8700000 E F8720000 E F8740000 E F8760000 E F8780000 E F87A0000 E F87C0000 E F87E0000 E F8800000 E F8820000 E F8840000 E F8860000 E F8880000 E F88A0000 E F88C0000 E F88E0000 E F8900000 E F8920000 E F8940000 E F8960000 E F8980000 E F89A0000 E F89C0000 E F89E0000 E F8A00000 E F8A20000 E F8A40000 E F8A60000 E F8A80000 E F8AA0000 E F8AC0000 E F8AE0000 E F8B00000 E F8B20000 E F8B40000 E F8B60000 E F8B80000 E F8BA0000 E F8BC0000 E F8BE0000 E F8C00000 E F8C20000 E F8C40000 E F8C60000 E F8C80000 E F8CA0000 E F8CC0000 E F8CE0000 E F8D00000 E F8D20000 E F8D40000 E F8D60000 E F8D80000 E F8DA0000 E F8DC0000 E F8DE0000 E F8E00000 E F8E20000 E F8E40000 E F8E60000 E F8E80000 E F8EA0000 E F8EC0000 E F8EE0000 E F8F00000 E F8F20000 E F8F40000 E F8F60000 E F8F80000 E F8FA0000 E F8FC0000 E F8FE0000 RO F8FE8000 RO F8FF0000 RO F8FF8000 RO U-Boot>
Note that the U-Boot saveenv command Erassed and protected the last four sectors of this LX200.
On both the LX60 and the LX200 now move DIP switch 8 to the ON position, power cycle the board. On the LX60 you should see U-boot in the LCD display.
On the LX60 the serial console should print something like the following:
U-Boot 1.3.2 (Aug 27 2009 - 18:23:04) CPU: Xtensa dc232b at 50.00 MHz Board: XT-AV60: Avnet board + Xilinx LX60 FPGA + Tensilica bitstream SysRAM: 64 MB Flash: 4 MB In: serial Out: serial Err: serial MAC: U-Boot>
On the LX200 you should see something like the following. In this case we also show the flash info command, flinfo, being envoked just after booting U-Boot:
CPU: Xtensa test_mmuhifi_c3 at 41.6777 MHz Board: XT-AV200: Avnet board + Xilinx LX200 FPGA + Tensilica bitstream SysRAM: 96 MB Flash: 16 MB In: serial Out: serial Err: serial MAC: IP: 192.168.11.95 U-Boot>
U-Boot> flinfo
Bank # 1: CFI conformant FLASH (16 x 16) Size: 16 MB in 131 Sectors Intel Extended command set, Manufacturer ID: 0x89, Device ID: 0x18 Erase timeout: 4096 ms, write timeout: 1 ms Buffer write timeout: 2 ms, buffer size: 64 bytes
Sector Start Addresses: F8000000 RO F8020000 RO F8040000 E RO F8060000 E RO F8080000 E RO F80A0000 E RO F80C0000 E RO F80E0000 E RO F8100000 E RO F8120000 E RO F8140000 E RO F8160000 E RO F8180000 E RO F81A0000 E RO F81C0000 E RO F81E0000 E RO F8200000 E RO F8220000 E RO F8240000 E RO F8260000 E RO F8280000 E RO F82A0000 E RO F82C0000 E RO F82E0000 E RO F8300000 E RO F8320000 E RO F8340000 E RO F8360000 E RO F8380000 E RO F83A0000 E RO F83C0000 E RO F83E0000 E RO F8400000 E RO F8420000 E RO F8440000 E RO F8460000 E RO F8480000 E RO F84A0000 E RO F84C0000 E RO F84E0000 E RO F8500000 E RO F8520000 E RO F8540000 E RO F8560000 E RO F8580000 E RO F85A0000 E RO F85C0000 E RO F85E0000 E RO F8600000 E RO F8620000 E RO F8640000 E RO F8660000 E RO F8680000 E RO F86A0000 E RO F86C0000 E RO F86E0000 E RO F8700000 E RO F8720000 E RO F8740000 E RO F8760000 E RO F8780000 E RO F87A0000 E RO F87C0000 E RO F87E0000 E RO F8800000 E RO F8820000 E RO F8840000 E RO F8860000 E RO F8880000 E RO F88A0000 E RO F88C0000 E RO F88E0000 E RO F8900000 E RO F8920000 E RO F8940000 E RO F8960000 E RO F8980000 E RO F89A0000 E RO F89C0000 E RO F89E0000 E RO F8A00000 E RO F8A20000 E RO F8A40000 E RO F8A60000 E RO F8A80000 E RO F8AA0000 E RO F8AC0000 E RO F8AE0000 E RO F8B00000 E RO F8B20000 E RO F8B40000 E RO F8B60000 E RO F8B80000 E RO F8BA0000 E RO F8BC0000 E RO F8BE0000 E RO F8C00000 E RO F8C20000 E RO F8C40000 E RO F8C60000 E RO F8C80000 E RO F8CA0000 E RO F8CC0000 E RO F8CE0000 E RO F8D00000 E RO F8D20000 E RO F8D40000 E RO F8D60000 E RO F8D80000 E RO F8DA0000 E RO F8DC0000 E RO F8DE0000 E RO F8E00000 E RO F8E20000 E RO F8E40000 E RO F8E60000 E RO F8E80000 E RO F8EA0000 E RO F8EC0000 E RO F8EE0000 E RO F8F00000 E RO F8F20000 E RO F8F40000 E RO F8F60000 E RO F8F80000 E RO F8FA0000 E RO F8FC0000 E RO F8FE0000 RO F8FE8000 RO F8FF0000 RO F8FF8000 RO U-Boot>
Note that the 1st two sectors with U-Boot saved in them came up as not being erased (E) but that all sectors came up Read Only (RO).
Same with the last four sectors that the U-Boot saveenv command Erased. This is likely a bug that we have been investigating and will be discussing with the U-Boot developers sometime in the future prior to pushing our U-boot changes upstream.
Further details on U-Boot in general are in the generic README at the top of the U-Boot tree. Details specific to the Xtensa architecture are in doc/README.xtensa. Details specific to a board are in board[/<family>]/<board>/README (for example board/avnet/xtav60/README).