[U-Boot] Bare x86 support is merged to u-boot-x86

[Joakim Tjernlund]

sjg at google.com wrote on 2014/11/27 17:31:47:
> 
> Hi Jocke,
> 
> On 27 November 2014 at 00:59, Joakim Tjernlund
> <joakim.tjernlund at transmode.se> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi Andy,
> >>
> >> On 25 November 2014 at 15:08, Andy Pont <andy.pont at sdcsystems.com>
> > wrote:
> >> > Hi Simon (and Bin),
> >> >
> >> >> I've applied the remaining x86 patches to u-boot-x86. It runs on
> >> >> chromebook_link (Pixel) with support for most hardware relevant to 
a
> >> >> boot loader: SDRAM, SPI, PCI, USB (and USB Ethernet), SATA 
(internal
> >> >> 32GB SSD), SD card, LCD, UART, keyboard, EC.
> >> >>
> >> >> Bin this should be a good base for you to send patches for your 
Atom
> >> >> platform and I have no major work pending now so should not get in
> >> >> your way.
> >> >
> >> > Thanks for all of your efforts on getting some x86 support into
> > U-Boot.
> >> > Hopefully in the new year when project work is back under control I
> > will
> >> > have some time to get involved with this - I have almost 20 years
> > experience
> >> > porting commercial BIOS and UEFI solutions for x86 hardware and
> > possibly a
> >> > bunch of Atom C2750 hardware arriving in January.
> >>
> >> Sounds great! I do wonder whether U-Boot could support some UEFI
> > protocols.
> >>
> >> >
> >> > Other than the list of missing features, what are your long term
> >> > goals/ambitions/desires with x86 support in U-Boot?  From what I 
can
> > see on
> >> > the Coreboot mailing list it isn't the friendliest of people and
> > doesn't
> >> > seem to know how to deal with the binary blobs that both Intel and 
AMD
> > seem
> >> > to mandate for their chipsets now.
> >>
> >> It would be nice to make x86 a first-class U-Boot citizen, meaning
> >> that it has a reasonable set of features as required by a reasonable
> >> set of modern boards. That means supporting a few more classes of
> >> chipsets. Then we get all the features that U-Boot has, hopefully
> >> without to much of the BIOS-era baggage that x86 often brings along
> >> (U-Boot is pretty simple to understand). I'm pretty happy that the
> >> current port fits well into the U-Boot philosophy.
> >
> > I would love to see Intel embedded Guthrie CRB design(No graphics and 
4
> > GBE eth ports):
> >   Processor: i7-4702EC
> >   PCH: Cave Creek (DH8900CC)
> >
> > This will be our next board in not too distant future, we do not
> > have any x86 experience inhouse though :)
> >
> > Any chance this could be done?
> 
> Maybe...do you have a link to Guthrie somewhere? I can't find it. If
> it is sandybridge? If so then it might be very similar to the existing
> support.

I don't know Intel well yet but here is something to look at:
http://se.mouser.com/new/Intel/intel-i7-4700ec-4702ec/
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/612/intel-communications-chipset-89xx-series-datasheet-257583.pdf

 Jocke