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David Summers wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mide4619cf30601301111u269d7842j42a8ef88623cfdf8@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">I am starting a new project where I need to have a flash file system
and an ethenet interface (HTTP and FTP). The project is a solar
physics experiment that will be launched on a sub-orbital rocket
flight this fall. The idea is that the experiment will write data
files to the flash file system while in flight, and then I can
download the data using ethernet after the experiment returns to
earth.
I think that Linux is the way to go for this project because of the
JFFS2 filesystem and the strong networking support. The only problem
is that I am totally new to embedded linux.
</pre>
</blockquote>
Add Das U-Boot to your list as well!<br>
<blockquote
cite="mide4619cf30601301111u269d7842j42a8ef88623cfdf8@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">I am prototyping my system on an Avnet FX12 development board ( Specs
here: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://tinyurl.com/4gfdv">http://tinyurl.com/4gfdv</a> ) which is pretty similar to the Xilinx
ML403 board except with less memory and no SystemACE slot.
</pre>
</blockquote>
Interesting dev board. What is the low volume price/power consumption <br>
is for the Virtex-4?<br>
<blockquote
cite="mide4619cf30601301111u269d7842j42a8ef88623cfdf8@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">I will eventually build my own custom board with the same Xilinx
Virtex 4 FX12 FPGA and additional flash memory and some custom
interface hardware. My background is primarily as a hardware designer,
and I am very confortable with the FPGA part of this project. I am
comfortable as a Linux user, and I am a pretty good C coder (for a
hardware guy anyway :). I have never built a linux system (embedded
or desktop) before, and I need some help getting started with embedded
linux.
</pre>
</blockquote>
The ML403 is a PPC core, JTAG/COP with Xilinx gates around it, right?
Then what <br>
are your plans for the rest of the SOC? DRAM controller, local bus for
Flash, FEC,<br>
PHY controller internal or external, timers, GPIO, Bestcom DMA?<br>
<br>
If you are a C coder then I assume you would use Verilog I hope....VHDL
is for<br>
ADA programmers!<br>
<blockquote
cite="mide4619cf30601301111u269d7842j42a8ef88623cfdf8@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">I have already found the following websites which have been a big help so far:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.klingauf.de/v2p/index.phtml">http://www.klingauf.de/v2p/index.phtml</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://splish.ee.byu.edu/projects/LinuxFPGA/configuring.htm">http://splish.ee.byu.edu/projects/LinuxFPGA/configuring.htm</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.crhc.uiuc.edu/IMPACT/gsrc/hardwarelab/docs/kernel-HOWTO.html#toc1">http://www.crhc.uiuc.edu/IMPACT/gsrc/hardwarelab/docs/kernel-HOWTO.html#toc1</a>
I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with:
1. What is the best linux distribution to start out with? I am
currently working with the 2.4 kernel code from
ppc.bkbits.net/linuxppc_2_4_devel, but I'm not sure that this version
be being updated. (MontaVista also seems to be making it rather
difficult to download their free Linux Preview Kit, so I wouldn't mind
finding another distribution) Does the DENX distribution have good
PPC support? Are there any others that I should look at, or should I
just download the kernel source directly from kernel.org?
</pre>
</blockquote>
I am pleased with the DENX distribution todate for support of MPC5200,
which<br>
is a low power PPC based SOC. The cross-compile and userland support is
<br>
also part of this distribution.<br>
<blockquote
cite="mide4619cf30601301111u269d7842j42a8ef88623cfdf8@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">2. kernel 2.4 or 2.6?
It is my understanding that the latest version of MTD and JFFS2 have
dropped support for kernel 2.4. I would like to use JFFS2 on a NAND
flash device, so it seems like I should use 2.6. (Can I use JFFS2 on
a NAND device with kernel v 2.4?)
</pre>
</blockquote>
I had some trouble with MTD/JFFS2 until a switched to the cvs version
of <br>
linuxppc_2_4_devel which added a few additional flash parts and is <br>
working well for me under 2.4.<br>
<br>
I think 2.6 is still pretty much bleeding edge for embedded work, IMHO.<br>
<blockquote
cite="mide4619cf30601301111u269d7842j42a8ef88623cfdf8@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">
Being a complete newbie, am I biting off more that I can handle by
trying to use 2.6?
I have been lurking on the mailing list for a while, and I know that
there are several people working on 2.6.x patches for the Xilinx
virtex 4 parts. Could someone point me to a list of the patches that
I need to get me started? I think that the ML403 patches should work
with my board, but I don't know which ones I need to download.
Thank you for your help,
David Summers
University of Colorado
</pre>
</blockquote>
Go RAMS!<br>
<blockquote
cite="mide4619cf30601301111u269d7842j42a8ef88623cfdf8@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
Linuxppc-embedded mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org">Linuxppc-embedded@ozlabs.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://ozlabs.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxppc-embedded">https://ozlabs.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxppc-embedded</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Frank Bennett (aka
CSUtennis)</span>
<div class="moz-signature">
<pre wrap=""><b><big><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><em>Technical Contractor</em></font></big></b><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">
</span>
<i><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Triad Systems Engineering
200 West Mountain Avenue, Suite 103C
Ft. Collins, CO 80521
</font></i><a href="http://www.triadsyseng.com">http://www.traidsyseng.com</a>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>
640K ought to be enough for anybody.
-Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, 1981
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">
</span>
</pre>
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