Raspberry Pi test report

Alan Cudmore alan.cudmore at gmail.com
Wed Jan 8 15:26:05 UTC 2020


The Debian Linux variant for the Raspberry Pi (Raspbian) is still 32 bit
for both the Pi 3 and 4, so I would think 32 bit ports would run on both.
The Raspberry Pi 4 has a Quad Core A72, 1 to 4 Gigabytes of LPDDR4 SDRAM,
Gigabit ethernet, USB 3, Wi-fi and bluetooth. I have not looked into it
enough to see what UARTs it uses.

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 1:18 AM Christian Mauderer <
christian.mauderer at embedded-brains.de> wrote:

> On 08/01/2020 00:24, Joel Sherrill wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 12:42 PM Christian Mauderer <list at c-mauderer.de
> > <mailto:list at c-mauderer.de>> wrote:
> >
> >     Hello Alan,
> >
> >     I pushed the patches mentioned further below. So the raspberry BSP
> >     should now work again for all raspberry 1 and 2 on the official
> master
> >     branch. Note that the
> >
> >         kernel_address=0x200000
> >
> >     is still necessary.
> >
> >
> > This is awesome work. What about the Pi 3 and and Pi 4?  I think Niteesh
> > has the Pi 3 working so that leaves the 4. Any idea?
> >
> > --joel
> >
>
> As far as I followed his work Niteesh had some minimal version working
> with the mini UART and thought about trying the existing NS16550 (after
> I suggested that one). But I haven't seen a patch yet. So currently even
> if some basic stuff runs there will be no console.
>
> Beneath that: Pi 3 and Pi 4 are both 64Bit cores. I don't have any
> experience with aarch64. Therefore I'm not sure whether we can safely
> use them with 32Bit fallback. It seems to work to some extend but
> according to
>
>     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture#AArch64
>
>     "ARMv8-A allows 32-bit applications to be executed in
>      a 64-bit OS, and a 32-bit OS to be under the control
>      of a 64-bit hypervisor."
>
> So I'm not sure in which situations we will run into problems. Maybe on
> interrupts?
>
> Best regards
>
> Christian
>
> >
> >     Best regards
> >
> >     Christian
> >
> >     On 06/01/2020 11:10, Christian Mauderer wrote:
> >     > Hello Alan,
> >     >
> >     > thanks for your very detailed tests.
> >     >
> >     > On 05/01/2020 23:42, Alan Cudmore wrote:
> >     >> I finally found the time to try the latest RTEMS head on my
> >     collection
> >     >> of Raspberry Pi models.
> >     >> The last time I tried to run RTEMS on a Pi, I had trouble with the
> >     >> current version of the Raspberry Pi Firmware, so I had to go back
> >     to a
> >     >> specific tag on the Rasberry Pi firmware repository to get RTEMS
> to
> >     >> work. This time, the head of the firmware repository seems to
> >     work (at
> >     >> least on the single core models)
> >     >>
> >     >> To keep things simple, I'm just going address the single core
> models
> >     >> here, I can follow up after I finish testing the Raspberry Pi 2.
> >     >>
> >     >> Test Setup:
> >     >> I used the git.rtems.org <http://git.rtems.org>
> >     <http://git.rtems.org> rtems master from Jan 03
> >     >> 2020.
> >     >> I used the Raspberry Pi firmware from the same date.
> >     >> The firmware can be found here:
> >     >> https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/tree/master/boot
> >     >> To boot an RTEMS image, you can copy all files from the above
> "boot"
> >     >> directory on a DOS formatted SD/MicroSD card along with the RTEMS
> >     image
> >     >> (more about that in a minute).
> >     >> On the SD card, I deleted the "dtb" files, as well as the overlay
> >     >> directory. I dont think these are necessary to boot an RTEMS
> image.
> >     >>
> >     >> I built a new arm-rtems5 toolchain using the RSB tool (head from
> the
> >     >> same date) and built the "raspberrypi" BSP. After a quick test
> >     failed, I
> >     >> reviewed the latest mailing list posts, and ended up applying the
> >     linker
> >     >> script patch:
> >     >> https://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/2019-December/056551.html
> >     >
> >     > I don't think that we will apply that patch. It moves code in an
> area
> >     > that is protected against access to catch null pointer accesses
> later.
> >     > This increases the image size.
> >     >
> >     > The alternative is to add the line
> >     >
> >     >     kernel_address=0x200000
> >     >
> >     > to the config.txt of the raspberry SD image. Niteesh is in the
> process
> >     > of documenting this:
> >     >
> >     >
> https://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/2020-January/056796.html
> >     >
> >     >>
> >     >> After applying this patch and rebuilding, a few RTEMS samples
> >     seemed to
> >     >> work fine on the Raspberry Pi Zero Models 1.2 and 1.3 (no
> >     wireless). I
> >     >> ran hello.exe, ticker.exe, and unlimited.exe
> >     >>
> >     >> The above images must be prepared using the following command:
> >     >> $ arm-rtems5-objcopy -Obinary ticker.exe kernel.img
> >     >> Then I copied kernel.img over the linux kernel on the SD card.
> >     >>
> >     >> For all of these tests, I found this serial to USB board to be
> very
> >     >> useful in my tests:
> >     >> https://www.adafruit.com/product/3589
> >     >> It can power the pi through the USB cable and has a power switch
> >     as well.
> >     >>
> >     >> After the Pi Zero models, I tried my remaining older single core
> >     models:
> >     >> 1. Raspberry Pi Model B ( Original single core model with 512MB
> >     of RAM
> >     >> and 26 pin GPIO header)
> >     >> 2. Raspberry Pi Model B+ (Updated Single core model with 512MB of
> RAM
> >     >> and 40 pin GPIO header)
> >     >> 3. Raspberry Pi Model A+ (Smaller form factor single core model
> with
> >     >> 256MB of RAM and 40 pin GPIO header)
> >     >>    (Note this model has been updated to now have 512MB of RAM)
> >     >>
> >     >> All three of the above models had the same exception that has been
> >     >> discussed on the mailing list:
> >     >> https://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/2019-December/056556.html
> >     >
> >     > I addressed that issue in the following patch set:
> >     >
> >     >
> https://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/2019-December/056623.html
> >     >
> https://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/2019-December/056622.html
> >     >
> https://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/2019-December/056624.html
> >     >
> >     > I'll push it in the next days together with patches regarding the
> >     > console from Niteesh. I just gave it some more time for review
> during
> >     > the public holidays.
> >     >
> >     > Basically it addresses the issues that you describe below.
> >     >
> >     >>
> >     >> All of these single core models are supposed to be compatible, and
> >     >> should run the same RTEMS image given the same memory
> configuration.
> >     >> Since the previous message was discussing the bspgetworkarea.c
> >     changes,
> >     >> I made a couple of changes:
> >     >> - Reverted to the generic bspgetworkarea.c file, and changed the
> >     memory
> >     >> size from 256MB to 128MB ( same as the 4.11 release ).
> >     >> With these changes, the same RTEMS images worked on all single
> >     core models:
> >     >> - RPi Zero 1.2 and 1.3
> >     >> - RPi Model B
> >     >> - RPi Model B+
> >     >> - RPi Model A+
> >     >>
> >     >> Findings:
> >     >> 1. The code that identifies the models in bspstart.c does not
> account
> >     >> for the older models:
> >     >>
> >
> https://git.rtems.org/rtems/tree/bsps/arm/raspberrypi/start/bspstart.c
> >     >> The RPi Model B, B+, and A+ that I have all use the older
> >     revision which
> >     >> is not in the table in bspstart.c. I think we can fix this by
> >     adding the
> >     >> older revision codes in the table, but I think this code is
> >     mostly cosmetic.
> >     >>
> >
> https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardware/raspberrypi/revision-codes/README.md
> >     >>
> >     >> 2. I think the code that determines the memory size in
> >     bspgetworkarea.c
> >     >> is not correct:
> >     >>
> >
> https://git.rtems.org/rtems/tree/bsps/arm/raspberrypi/start/bspgetworkarea.c
> >     >>     a) The mask for the memory size field should probably be 0x7
> >     rather
> >     >> than 0xf. The 0xF picks up the "new revision" field of the word.
> >     >>
> >     >>
> >
> https://git.rtems.org/rtems/tree/bsps/arm/raspberrypi/start/bspgetworkarea.c#n70
> >     >>     b) I'm not sure if the rpi_mem array is correct. The values
> >     are used
> >     >> in address size calculations, but the values seem to be in
> Kilobytes,
> >     >> not Megabytes. Maybe I'm not catching a shift that is done on
> >     these values.
> >     >>
> >     >>
> >
> https://git.rtems.org/rtems/tree/bsps/arm/raspberrypi/start/bspgetworkarea.c#n73
> >     >>     c) I'm not sure that the numbers all add up. Line 80 computes
> the
> >     >> ram_end value by adding the Work Area start to the total size of
> the
> >     >> RAM. I think this will overrun the end of the RAM.
> >     >>
> >     >>
> >
> https://git.rtems.org/rtems/tree/bsps/arm/raspberrypi/start/bspgetworkarea.c#n80
> >     >>     d) I would like to look at the relationship between the
> ram_end
> >     >> calculation and the ram_size given in the autoconfigure setting (
> >     >> currently at 256MiB). Are the MMU settings done based on the hard
> >     coded
> >     >> linker script value that may conflict with the sizes set here?
> >     >>     e) the code may not work for the older models that do not
> >     have the
> >     >> updated revision fields.
> >     >>
> >     >> If the intent is to cover the different raspberry pi memory sizes
> >     >> automatically, then we can probably rework this code to work for
> >     all models.
> >     >> We may be able to use the following rationale to simplify the
> >     memory logic:
> >     >> 1. All of the current production single core raspberry Pi models
> have
> >     >> 512MB of RAM. Do we need to worry about out of production 256MiB
> >     models?
> >     >> I have an older A+ model with 256MiB, but I am unlikely to use it
> for
> >     >> anything serious. I would rather use a Raspberry Pi Zero instead.
> >     Given
> >     >> that, we could assume that the "raspberrypi" BSP has 512 MiB of
> RAM.
> >     >> This would only require the calculation of how much memory is
> >     devoted to
> >     >> the GPU.
> >     >>
> >     >> 2. All of the Raspberry Pi 2 models have 1 Gigabyte of RAM, so the
> >     >> raspberrypi2 BSP can safely assume 1 gigabyte.
> >     >>
> >     >> We could also use the specific revision code register (old and
> >     new) to
> >     >> set the RAM size, since that should be accurate.
> >     >>
> >     >> Anyway, that is what I have so far on the single core models. I
> would
> >     >> like to take a look at the Pi 2 next. Note that the Pi 2 is a
> >     Quad A7,
> >     >> that is considered "legacy" but it is still in production. The
> latest
> >     >> Raspberry Pi 2 has been switched to a Quad core A53, so it is now
> >     very
> >     >> similar to the Raspberry Pi 3 without the Wireless/Bluetooth
> >     module. I
> >     >> dont have a Raspberry Pi 2 with an A53.
> >     >>
> >     >> There are quite a few newer models as well, so it's probably
> worth a
> >     >> discussion of what we really want to support. My personal
> >     preferences:
> >     >> - Of the single core models, I would be happy with Raspberry Pi
> Zero
> >     >> (and possibly Zero W) support. These are are very inexpensive and
> >     >> available worldwide. It may be the least expensive non-simulator
> >     RTEMS
> >     >> target board available.
> >     >> - I would like one multi-core model as an inexpensive SMP target
> >     to work
> >     >> with and learn RTEMS SMP details. Again, my focus is on low cost
> and
> >     >> wide availability.
> >     >
> >     > In the ideal case: All models.
> >     > In the real case: It's unfunded. Therefore we take the ones that
> >     someone
> >     > is ready to add and maintain during free time.
> >     >
> >     > Beneath that I think it's more a question which models should be in
> >     > which BSP variant.
> >     >
> >     > The `raspberry` variant uses the following CPU_CFLAGS:
> >     >
> >     >     CPU_CFLAGS = -mcpu=arm1176jzf-s
> >     >
> >     > The `raspberry2` variant uses the following CPU_CFLAGS:
> >     >
> >     >     CPU_CFLAGS = -march=armv7-a -mthumb -mfpu=neon -mfloat-abi=hard
> >     > -mtune=cortex-a7
> >     >
> >     > Maybe we will need a variant in the future for an aarch64 support
> when
> >     > the core is supported in RTEMS somewhen. Currently I hope that we
> can
> >     > just fall back to 32 Bit mode for the newer models.
> >     >
> >     > So the variants will end up with only a different core. It should
> be
> >     > possible to handle other differences by parsing the FDT. Niteesh
> >     already
> >     > started that with the console.
> >     >
> >     >>
> >     >> Thanks for you attention, and happy new year!
> >     >
> >     > A happy new year to you too.
> >     >
> >     > Best regards
> >     >
> >     > Christian
> >     >
> >     >> Alan
> >     >>
> >     >>
> >     >>
> >     >> _______________________________________________
> >     >> devel mailing list
> >     >> devel at rtems.org <mailto:devel at rtems.org>
> >     >> http://lists.rtems.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
> >     >>
> >     > _______________________________________________
> >     > devel mailing list
> >     > devel at rtems.org <mailto:devel at rtems.org>
> >     > http://lists.rtems.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
> >     >
> >     _______________________________________________
> >     devel mailing list
> >     devel at rtems.org <mailto:devel at rtems.org>
> >     http://lists.rtems.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > devel mailing list
> > devel at rtems.org
> > http://lists.rtems.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
> >
>
> --
> --------------------------------------------
> embedded brains GmbH
> Herr Christian Mauderer
> Dornierstr. 4
> D-82178 Puchheim
> Germany
> email: christian.mauderer at embedded-brains.de
> Phone: +49-89-18 94 741 - 18
> Fax:   +49-89-18 94 741 - 08
> PGP: Public key available on request.
>
> Diese Nachricht ist keine geschäftliche Mitteilung im Sinne des EHUG.
> _______________________________________________
> devel mailing list
> devel at rtems.org
> http://lists.rtems.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/attachments/20200108/4ce54881/attachment-0001.html>


More information about the devel mailing list