Documentation/arm/IXP4xx - linux/kernel/git/dhowells/linux-fs - Git at Google



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            Release Notes for Linux on Intel's IXP4xx Network Processor


            Maintained by Deepak Saxena <dsaxena@plexity.net>

            
            -------------------------------------------------------------------------


            1. Overview


            Intel's IXP4xx network processor is a highly integrated SOC that

            
            is targeted for network applications, though it has become popular

            
            in industrial control and other areas due to low cost and power

            
            consumption. The IXP4xx family currently consists of several processors

            
            that support different network offload functions such as encryption,

            
            routing, firewalling, etc. The IXP46x family is an updated version which

            
            supports faster speeds, new memory and flash configurations, and more

            
            integration such as an on-chip I2C controller.


            For more information on the various versions of the CPU, see:


               http://developer.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixp4xx.htm


            Intel also made the IXCP1100 CPU for sometime which is an IXP4xx

            
            stripped of much of the network intelligence.


            2. Linux Support


            Linux currently supports the following features on the IXP4xx chips:


            - Dual serial ports

            
            - PCI interface

            
            - Flash access (MTD/JFFS)

            
            - I2C through GPIO on IXP42x

            
            - GPIO for input/output/interrupts

            
              See arch/arm/mach-ixp4xx/include/mach/platform.h for access functions.

            
            - Timers (watchdog, OS)


            The following components of the chips are not supported by Linux and

            
            require the use of Intel's proprietary CSR software:


            - USB device interface

            
            - Network interfaces (HSS, Utopia, NPEs, etc)

            
            - Network offload functionality


            If you need to use any of the above, you need to download Intel's

            
            software from:


               http://developer.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixp425.htm


            DO NOT POST QUESTIONS TO THE LINUX MAILING LISTS REGARDING THE PROPRIETARY

            
            SOFTWARE.


            There are several websites that provide directions/pointers on using

            
            Intel's software:


               http://sourceforge.net/projects/ixp4xx-osdg/

            
               Open Source Developer's Guide for using uClinux and the Intel libraries


            http://gatewaymaker.sourceforge.net/

            
               Simple one page summary of building a gateway using an IXP425 and Linux


            http://ixp425.sourceforge.net/

            
               ATM device driver for IXP425 that relies on Intel's libraries


            3. Known Issues/Limitations


            3a. Limited inbound PCI window


            The IXP4xx family allows for up to 256MB of memory but the PCI interface

            
            can only expose 64MB of that memory to the PCI bus. This means that if

            
            you are running with > 64MB, all PCI buffers outside of the accessible

            
            range will be bounced using the routines in arch/arm/common/dmabounce.c.


            3b. Limited outbound PCI window


            IXP4xx provides two methods of accessing PCI memory space:


            1) A direct mapped window from 0x48000000 to 0x4bffffff (64MB).

            
               To access PCI via this space, we simply ioremap() the BAR

            
               into the kernel and we can use the standard read[bwl]/write[bwl]

            
               macros. This is the preffered method due to speed but it

            
               limits the system to just 64MB of PCI memory. This can be

            
               problamatic if using video cards and other memory-heavy devices.


            2) If > 64MB of memory space is required, the IXP4xx can be

            
               configured to use indirect registers to access PCI This allows

            
               for up to 128MB (0x48000000 to 0x4fffffff) of memory on the bus.

            
               The disadvantage of this is that every PCI access requires

            
               three local register accesses plus a spinlock, but in some

            
               cases the performance hit is acceptable. In addition, you cannot

            
               mmap() PCI devices in this case due to the indirect nature

            
               of the PCI window.


            By default, the direct method is used for performance reasons. If

            
            you need more PCI memory, enable the IXP4XX_INDIRECT_PCI config option.


            3c. GPIO as Interrupts


            Currently the code only handles level-sensitive GPIO interrupts


            4. Supported platforms


            ADI Engineering Coyote Gateway Reference Platform

            
            http://www.adiengineering.com/productsCoyote.html


               The ADI Coyote platform is reference design for those building

            
               small residential/office gateways. One NPE is connected to a 10/100

            
               interface, one to 4-port 10/100 switch, and the third to and ADSL

            
               interface. In addition, it also supports to POTs interfaces connected

            
               via SLICs. Note that those are not supported by Linux ATM. Finally,

            
               the platform has two mini-PCI slots used for 802.11[bga] cards.

            
               Finally, there is an IDE port hanging off the expansion bus.


            Gateworks Avila Network Platform

            
            http://www.gateworks.com/support/overview.php


               The Avila platform is basically and IXDP425 with the 4 PCI slots

            
               replaced with mini-PCI slots and a CF IDE interface hanging off

            
               the expansion bus.


            Intel IXDP425 Development Platform

            
            http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixdpg425.htm


               This is Intel's standard reference platform for the IXDP425 and is

            
               also known as the Richfield board. It contains 4 PCI slots, 16MB

            
               of flash, two 10/100 ports and one ADSL port.


            Intel IXDP465 Development Platform

            
            http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixdp465.htm


               This is basically an IXDP425 with an IXP465 and 32M of flash instead

            
               of just 16.


            Intel IXDPG425 Development Platform


               This is basically and ADI Coyote board with a NEC EHCI controller

            
               added. One issue with this board is that the mini-PCI slots only

            
               have the 3.3v line connected, so you can't use a PCI to mini-PCI

            
               adapter with an E100 card. So to NFS root you need to use either

            
               the CSR or a WiFi card and a ramdisk that BOOTPs and then does

            
               a pivot_root to NFS.


            Motorola PrPMC1100 Processor Mezanine Card

            
            http://www.fountainsys.com


               The PrPMC1100 is based on the IXCP1100 and is meant to plug into

            
               and IXP2400/2800 system to act as the system controller. It simply

            
               contains a CPU and 16MB of flash on the board and needs to be

            
               plugged into a carrier board to function. Currently Linux only

            
               supports the Motorola PrPMC carrier board for this platform.


            5. TODO LIST


            - Add support for Coyote IDE

            
            - Add support for edge-based GPIO interrupts

            
            - Add support for CF IDE on expansion bus


            6. Thanks


            The IXP4xx work has been funded by Intel Corp. and MontaVista Software, Inc.


            The following people have contributed patches/comments/etc:


            Lennerty Buytenhek

            
            Lutz Jaenicke

            
            Justin Mayfield

            
            Robert E. Ranslam

            
            [I know I've forgotten others, please email me to be added]


            -------------------------------------------------------------------------


            Last Update: 01/04/2005

	-------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Release Notes for Linux on Intel's IXP4xx Network Processor

	Maintained by Deepak Saxena <dsaxena@plexity.net>
	-------------------------------------------------------------------------

	1. Overview

	Intel's IXP4xx network processor is a highly integrated SOC that
	is targeted for network applications, though it has become popular
	in industrial control and other areas due to low cost and power
	consumption. The IXP4xx family currently consists of several processors
	that support different network offload functions such as encryption,
	routing, firewalling, etc. The IXP46x family is an updated version which
	supports faster speeds, new memory and flash configurations, and more
	integration such as an on-chip I2C controller.

	For more information on the various versions of the CPU, see:

	http://developer.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixp4xx.htm

	Intel also made the IXCP1100 CPU for sometime which is an IXP4xx
	stripped of much of the network intelligence.

	2. Linux Support

	Linux currently supports the following features on the IXP4xx chips:

	- Dual serial ports
	- PCI interface
	- Flash access (MTD/JFFS)
	- I2C through GPIO on IXP42x
	- GPIO for input/output/interrupts
	See arch/arm/mach-ixp4xx/include/mach/platform.h for access functions.
	- Timers (watchdog, OS)

	The following components of the chips are not supported by Linux and
	require the use of Intel's proprietary CSR software:

	- USB device interface
	- Network interfaces (HSS, Utopia, NPEs, etc)
	- Network offload functionality

	If you need to use any of the above, you need to download Intel's
	software from:

	http://developer.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixp425.htm

	DO NOT POST QUESTIONS TO THE LINUX MAILING LISTS REGARDING THE PROPRIETARY
	SOFTWARE.

	There are several websites that provide directions/pointers on using
	Intel's software:

	http://sourceforge.net/projects/ixp4xx-osdg/
	Open Source Developer's Guide for using uClinux and the Intel libraries

	http://gatewaymaker.sourceforge.net/
	Simple one page summary of building a gateway using an IXP425 and Linux

	http://ixp425.sourceforge.net/
	ATM device driver for IXP425 that relies on Intel's libraries

	3. Known Issues/Limitations

	3a. Limited inbound PCI window

	The IXP4xx family allows for up to 256MB of memory but the PCI interface
	can only expose 64MB of that memory to the PCI bus. This means that if
	you are running with > 64MB, all PCI buffers outside of the accessible
	range will be bounced using the routines in arch/arm/common/dmabounce.c.

	3b. Limited outbound PCI window

	IXP4xx provides two methods of accessing PCI memory space:

	1) A direct mapped window from 0x48000000 to 0x4bffffff (64MB).
	To access PCI via this space, we simply ioremap() the BAR
	into the kernel and we can use the standard read[bwl]/write[bwl]
	macros. This is the preffered method due to speed but it
	limits the system to just 64MB of PCI memory. This can be
	problamatic if using video cards and other memory-heavy devices.

	2) If > 64MB of memory space is required, the IXP4xx can be
	configured to use indirect registers to access PCI This allows
	for up to 128MB (0x48000000 to 0x4fffffff) of memory on the bus.
	The disadvantage of this is that every PCI access requires
	three local register accesses plus a spinlock, but in some
	cases the performance hit is acceptable. In addition, you cannot
	mmap() PCI devices in this case due to the indirect nature
	of the PCI window.

	By default, the direct method is used for performance reasons. If
	you need more PCI memory, enable the IXP4XX_INDIRECT_PCI config option.

	3c. GPIO as Interrupts

	Currently the code only handles level-sensitive GPIO interrupts

	4. Supported platforms

	ADI Engineering Coyote Gateway Reference Platform
	http://www.adiengineering.com/productsCoyote.html

	The ADI Coyote platform is reference design for those building
	small residential/office gateways. One NPE is connected to a 10/100
	interface, one to 4-port 10/100 switch, and the third to and ADSL
	interface. In addition, it also supports to POTs interfaces connected
	via SLICs. Note that those are not supported by Linux ATM. Finally,
	the platform has two mini-PCI slots used for 802.11[bga] cards.
	Finally, there is an IDE port hanging off the expansion bus.

	Gateworks Avila Network Platform
	http://www.gateworks.com/support/overview.php

	The Avila platform is basically and IXDP425 with the 4 PCI slots
	replaced with mini-PCI slots and a CF IDE interface hanging off
	the expansion bus.

	Intel IXDP425 Development Platform
	http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixdpg425.htm

	This is Intel's standard reference platform for the IXDP425 and is
	also known as the Richfield board. It contains 4 PCI slots, 16MB
	of flash, two 10/100 ports and one ADSL port.

	Intel IXDP465 Development Platform
	http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixdp465.htm

	This is basically an IXDP425 with an IXP465 and 32M of flash instead
	of just 16.

	Intel IXDPG425 Development Platform

	This is basically and ADI Coyote board with a NEC EHCI controller
	added. One issue with this board is that the mini-PCI slots only
	have the 3.3v line connected, so you can't use a PCI to mini-PCI
	adapter with an E100 card. So to NFS root you need to use either
	the CSR or a WiFi card and a ramdisk that BOOTPs and then does
	a pivot_root to NFS.

	Motorola PrPMC1100 Processor Mezanine Card
	http://www.fountainsys.com

	The PrPMC1100 is based on the IXCP1100 and is meant to plug into
	and IXP2400/2800 system to act as the system controller. It simply
	contains a CPU and 16MB of flash on the board and needs to be
	plugged into a carrier board to function. Currently Linux only
	supports the Motorola PrPMC carrier board for this platform.

	5. TODO LIST

	- Add support for Coyote IDE
	- Add support for edge-based GPIO interrupts
	- Add support for CF IDE on expansion bus

	6. Thanks

	The IXP4xx work has been funded by Intel Corp. and MontaVista Software, Inc.

	The following people have contributed patches/comments/etc:

	Lennerty Buytenhek
	Lutz Jaenicke
	Justin Mayfield
	Robert E. Ranslam
	[I know I've forgotten others, please email me to be added]

	-------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Last Update: 01/04/2005