[PATCH] tools/mrvl_uart.sh: Remove script

Stefan Roese sr at denx.de
Sun Feb 6 10:03:58 CET 2022


On 2/5/22 01:54, Pali Rohár wrote:
> On Saturday 05 February 2022 01:40:23 Marcel Ziswiler wrote:
>> On Sat, 2022-02-05 at 01:25 +0100, Pali Rohár wrote:
>>> On Saturday 05 February 2022 01:01:28 Marcel Ziswiler wrote:
>>>> Addendum.
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, 2022-02-05 at 00:43 +0100, Marcel Ziswiler wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> [snip]
>>>>
>>>>>> Kosta, do you see any problems with removing this script? As you might
>>>>>> have seen, Pali and Marek did some great work on kwboot in the mean
>>>>>> time. Is there anything left in mrvl_uart.sh that kwboot can't handle?
>>>>>
>>>>> Disclaimer: I am not really a Kirkwood developer or at least not yet (;-p).
>>>>>
>>>>> Recently, we started playing with mainline U-Boot/Linux kernel as part of an effort to port OpenWrt to
>>>>> the
>>>>> MikroTik RB5009UG [1]. It features an Armada 7040 which is a 64-bit Arm SoC while kwboot mentions 32-bit
>>>>> platforms only. Anyway, so far I was able to boot it using the good oldé mrvl_uart.sh script as follows:
>>>>>
>>>>> ⬢[zim at toolbox ~]$ ~/u-boot/tools/mrvl_uart.sh /dev/ttyUSB3 ~/arm-trusted-
>>>>> firmware/build/a70x0_rb5009/release/flash-image.bin
>>>>> Using device connected on serial port "/dev/ttyUSB3"
>>>>> Loading flash image file "/var/home/zim/arm-trusted-firmware/build/a70x0_rb5009/release/flash-image.bin"
>>>>> Recovery will run at 115200 baud
>>>>> ========================================
>>>>> Press the "Reset" button on the target board and the "Enter" key on the host keyboard simultaneously
>>>>> Sending /var/home/zim/Sources/arm-trusted-firmware.git/build/a70x0_rb5009/release/flash-image.bin, 11377
>>>>> blocks: Give your local XMODEM receive command now.
>>>>> Bytes Sent:1456384   BPS:7871
>>>>>
>>>>> Transfer complete
>>>>>
>>>>> Trying this with kwboot instead I was not successful as of yet. Not sure whether I am just missing
>>>>> something
>>>>> or
>>>>> support for booting 64-bit platforms would yet need to be added.
>>>>
>>>> If I patch it as follows it actually starts transferring but does not really get too far.
>>>
>>> 64-bit Armada SoCs use different image format than 32-bit Armada SoCs.
>>> This format is not supported by U-Boot as U-Boot does not even build
>>> images for this format. You even cannot boot U-Boot directly on those
>>> 64-bit Armada SoCs. It is TF-A what is booted and it is TF-A project
>>> which generate images compatible for those SoCs.
>>
>> Yes, we do know that.
>>
>>> So U-Boot does not have any support for those 64-bit images.
>>
>> Yes, U-Boot proper basically has to be combined with TF-A using some
>> external tooling.
>>
>>> So you should use TF-A tools which generates these 64-bit Armada
>>> bootable images.
>>
>> Exactly.
>>
>>
>>> Probably you could use kwboot just for sending boot pattern and then
>>> generic "sx" tool (which is used also by that shell script). And after
>>> that kwboot again for terminal support. But this does not verify that
>>> image is correct and also may have issues if header part contains
>>> executable code which prints something to UART...
>>>
>>> $ kwboot -b /dev/ttyUSB0
>>
>> Hm, at least kwboot from today's master does not allow -b without also
>> giving it an image.
> 
> This commit is part of master branch and added support for it:
> https://source.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot/-/commit/c513fe47dca24de87a904ce7d71cfd8a390e1154
> 
> If it does not work then there is some bug which should be fixed. I have
> tested it and it works on my setup.
> 
> Can you check if you have that commit to ensure that we are not going to
> test / debug older version?
> 
>>> $ sx flash-image.bin 0<>/dev/ttyUSB0 1>&0
>>> $ kwboot -t /dev/ttyUSB0
>>
>> Remember, it is not that we do not have a solution or do not know how
>> this all works. It is rather that we currently use that mrvl_uart.sh
>> script which this patch is about to remove and Stefan enquired about.
> 
> I see...
> 
> But I do not know what is the best option for now. If issue with -b is
> investigated / fixed then that script can be replaced by two (or three)
> commands. And I think it is better than maintaining two different tools
> in U-Boot which do same thing. On the other hand kwboot does not support
> 64-bit Armada format, which mrvl_uart.sh can handle (but only because it
> does not do any verification nor does not understand image format), so
> for this purpose it is better. But because U-Boot does not support
> 64-bit Armada image format, I do not know if this script should be in
> U-Boot because whole image building is outside of U-Boot responsibility
> and... probably this tool should be part of TF-A project instead. So at
> the end, should be this tool maintained in U-Boot project at all if
> U-Boot itself does not support nor provide tooling for 64-bit Armada
> images?
> 
> Any opinion?

Frankly, as long as mrvl_uart.sh has features that kwboot does not
support, I'm reluctant to completely remove it.

Thanks,
Stefan


More information about the U-Boot mailing list