[U-Boot-Users] [PATCH] 85xx: add ability to upload QE firmware

[Timur Tabi]

Wolfgang Denk wrote:

> I'm not sure if such firmware shouldbe part of the  device  tree,  or
> rather  a  separate  image or part of the image. 

The firmware itself is not part of the device tree, just a few pieces of 
information about the firmware.  I need some way to pass information from U-Boot 
to the kernel, and my choices are the device tree or command line.  The command 
line is clunky, and so I thought the device tree is best place.  This design 
decision has already been reviewed (and approved by Arnd) on the kernel mailing 
lists.

The firmware blob needs to be a separate image because the code and firmware 
layout is meant to be cross-platform, so I can't use any U-Boot-specific 
wrapper.  In addition, the firmware itself is not GPL, so I can't merge it with 
GPL code, or anything else for that matter.  It needs to exist as an independent 
entity.  The code which uploads the blob into the QE is GPL, of course.

> Actually I think the
> definition of such a blob,  if  needed  at  all,  should  only  be  a
> tamporary workaround unti we have the new image format in place. Then
> this should become part of the new image implementation.

The design and layout of the firmware blob is specific to the needs of the QE. 
I don't see how a new image format will help.  I'll only use the new image 
format to wrap the binary.

The goal is to have this firmware blob sitting in flash somewhere, all I need to 
do to upload it is:

	qe fw $fwaddr

The ability to upload firmware to the QE in U-Boot is needed by QE microcode 
developers.

> Please follow the ongoing discussions of this topic and make sure  to
> voice your wishes and requirements.

Are you talking about "RFC: New U-boot image format"?  If so, then I just don't 
see how that applies.  I don't want a new binary format, because I already have 
one defined that works.  If you want me to add support for my binary blob 
wrapped in some other kind of image format, I can add that *after* this patch 
has been applied, since the ability to accept these binary blobs as-is is necessary.

-- 
Timur Tabi
Linux kernel developer at Freescale