Kernel with BFQ patch [updated to 3.6.10] + cyrillic support

[Kurlon]

If contemplating a new rootfs and uboot for kirkwoods, it may be worth investigating a DT supporting uboot as 3.5 is currently the end of the line kernelwise without DT.

If the default uboot env is going to be tweaked to make BFQ the default, we can just set it as the default in the kernel conf instead... although it's a simple tweak to have it be altered at mount time/etc too.

[moonman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pepedog', 'Y')es, seems to be the thing to be done.
@moonman, I am about to look at making new rootfs for several devices, all pure systemd.
Along the way I looked at your uboot thing http://archlinuxarm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3355#p19457
So you need an edit as BFQ is included in linux-kirkwood now?

[pepedog]

DT - device tree
Only encounter is with trimslice, new uboot only boots with new (mainline) kernel, old uboot only boots with old kernel
Not that I actually changed, too busy

[Kurlon]

I dunno as dropping tickless would really impact things, and it could hurt power consumption on mobile devices.

AFAIK there is no reason for preemption on UP kernel so I'll drop it in the next linux-kirkwood update.

The current Kirkwood Device Tree situation is thus:

AFAIK there aren't any devices shipping with a fully DT enabled uboot. To boot a DT enabled kernel on these devices you have to append a compiled device tree blob (.dtb) for your specific board to the end of the kirkwood zImage, and then press that into a uImage. That will net you a new DT enabled kernel that will boot your unit with an old uboot. There are a couple downsides to this setup:

1) The resulting kernels are board specific.
2) While they are supposed to honor uboot set kernel arguments, I have yet to get that to work. It appears most kirkwood uboots are supplying the arguments via an older method than the DT fallback mechanism supports. To work around this, kernel arguments have to be baked into the .dtb which further restricts the resulting kernel's flexibility.

This is how I've been testing 3.6 on my GoFlex Net.

In theory a DT enabled uboot should still boot non DT kernels using the old methods without issue, afaik it's just a matter of building it with support for both. As a bonus, they should support booting zImages directly (saving a kernel build step) as well as direct loading of .dtbs so they don't have to be appended to the kernel for each board type, simplifying packaging.

[moonman]

Any word on DTB support?
What I don't udnerstand is the dt kernel device specific or SOC specific? For example will the kernel made for pogoplug with kirkwood boot on GFH/N ?

[Kurlon]

The goal for DT is to have one kernel image that will boot any arm SoC. So you could take your DT enabled kernel from a Kirkwood and use it to light a Tegra2 system for example. (You'd be stuck with soft float as a result of course, but thats a different discussion.)

In the mean time I've been working on a linux-next based pkgbuild for testing dt support on kirkwood, I've got a little more polishing to do. Once it's ready I'll post it up along with instructions on how to use it. This is going to be for hardcore experimenters first, aka those with serial consoles and the ability to unbrick an install if it goes pear shaped.

[moonman]

I would guess it will require a new U-Boot that is able to boot such a kernel then. I'm on board for testing (as time permits)

[Kurlon]

Ok, I've proven myself wrong... I got 3.6 working in non-DT mode, so the DTocalypse isn't upon us just yet. I'm just waiting for AUFS to be updated to work with 3.6 and then I'll get the linux-kirkwood package updated officially to 3.6.1 or whatever is stable at that time.

[moonman]

DTocalypse The one that will be released as linux-kirkwood-dt will be DT-enabled though, even though it's possible to boot up 3.6 without dt, right?

I haven't had enough time, but so far I had no luck with 3.6 at all. It does not boot on my AMD Phenom desktop and i can't compile it on the plug for some reason.

[Kurlon]

Correct, linux-kirkwood is not DT enabled, and will be based on linux-stable.

On the flip side, linux-kirkwood-dt is DT enabled, and based on linux-next so it's bleeding edge to boot.