[U-Boot-Users] IXP425 ethernet & NPE microcode

[Martijn de Gouw]

Hi 

> On Thursday 10 May 2007, Øyvind Repvik wrote:
> > > And furthermore, it would be very desireable to drop the 
> current NPE
> > > U-Boot ethernet driver implementation based on the 
> original Intel code
> > > with the complex and ugly Intel access library completely, and
> > > re-implement the driver based on the new Linux IXP4xx NPE ethernet
> > > drivers. There are currently 2 completely new drivers 
> without the Intel
> > > access library which will result in lower memory 
> footprint and much less
> > > and cleaner code.
> >
> > That would be Christian Hohnstaedt 
> <chohnstaedt at innominate.com>'s driver
> > which is (afaik) in mainstream by now, and 
> > Krzysztof Halasa <khc at pm.waw.pl>'s driver, which is newer. There's a
> > discussion about these drivers on linux-arm-kernel.
> 
> Yes, but IIRC the one from Christian never made it into 
> mainstream. And the 
> new one from Krzysztof seems to get quite good reactions.

this driver is in the linux-2.6 tree of denx I do believe.
It fetches the npe binaries out of flash.

> 
> > Getting either of those drivers fixed up and pushed to 
> u-boot would be
> > great.
> 
> Yes, both would be way better than the current 
> implementation. Hopefully one 
> of those drivers will make in into mainline and this should 
> be the one to 
> pick then.
> 
> > Of course, one will still need to put the microcode somewhere else 
> > due to licencing, but that's a minor matter.

We have changed the intel code a little bit, that the npe microcode is read
from flash. loading this binaries seperatly from u-boot is not a 
license violation.

Right now, I'm creating a patch wich I will post later this day.

Best regards,
Martijn de Gouw