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1===========================================================2Release Notes for Linux on Intel's IXP4xx Network Processor3===========================================================4 5Maintained by Deepak Saxena <dsaxena@plexity.net>6-------------------------------------------------------------------------7 81. Overview9 10Intel's IXP4xx network processor is a highly integrated SOC that11is targeted for network applications, though it has become popular12in industrial control and other areas due to low cost and power13consumption. The IXP4xx family currently consists of several processors14that support different network offload functions such as encryption,15routing, firewalling, etc. The IXP46x family is an updated version which16supports faster speeds, new memory and flash configurations, and more17integration such as an on-chip I2C controller.18 19For more information on the various versions of the CPU, see:20 21 http://developer.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixp4xx.htm22 23Intel also made the IXCP1100 CPU for sometime which is an IXP4xx24stripped of much of the network intelligence.25 262. Linux Support27 28Linux currently supports the following features on the IXP4xx chips:29 30- Dual serial ports31- PCI interface32- Flash access (MTD/JFFS)33- I2C through GPIO on IXP42x34- GPIO for input/output/interrupts35 See arch/arm/mach-ixp4xx/include/mach/platform.h for access functions.36- Timers (watchdog, OS)37 38The following components of the chips are not supported by Linux and39require the use of Intel's proprietary CSR software:40 41- USB device interface42- Network interfaces (HSS, Utopia, NPEs, etc)43- Network offload functionality44 45If you need to use any of the above, you need to download Intel's46software from:47 48 http://developer.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixp425.htm49 50DO NOT POST QUESTIONS TO THE LINUX MAILING LISTS REGARDING THE PROPRIETARY51SOFTWARE.52 53There are several websites that provide directions/pointers on using54Intel's software:55 56 - http://sourceforge.net/projects/ixp4xx-osdg/57 Open Source Developer's Guide for using uClinux and the Intel libraries58 59 - http://gatewaymaker.sourceforge.net/60 Simple one page summary of building a gateway using an IXP425 and Linux61 62 - http://ixp425.sourceforge.net/63 ATM device driver for IXP425 that relies on Intel's libraries64 653. Known Issues/Limitations66 673a. Limited inbound PCI window68 69The IXP4xx family allows for up to 256MB of memory but the PCI interface70can only expose 64MB of that memory to the PCI bus. This means that if71you are running with > 64MB, all PCI buffers outside of the accessible72range will be bounced using the routines in arch/arm/common/dmabounce.c.73 743b. Limited outbound PCI window75 76IXP4xx provides two methods of accessing PCI memory space:77 781) A direct mapped window from 0x48000000 to 0x4bffffff (64MB).79 To access PCI via this space, we simply ioremap() the BAR80 into the kernel and we can use the standard read[bwl]/write[bwl]81 macros. This is the preferred method due to speed but it82 limits the system to just 64MB of PCI memory. This can be83 problematic if using video cards and other memory-heavy devices.84 852) If > 64MB of memory space is required, the IXP4xx can be86 configured to use indirect registers to access PCI This allows87 for up to 128MB (0x48000000 to 0x4fffffff) of memory on the bus.88 The disadvantage of this is that every PCI access requires89 three local register accesses plus a spinlock, but in some90 cases the performance hit is acceptable. In addition, you cannot91 mmap() PCI devices in this case due to the indirect nature92 of the PCI window.93 94By default, the direct method is used for performance reasons. If95you need more PCI memory, enable the IXP4XX_INDIRECT_PCI config option.96 973c. GPIO as Interrupts98 99Currently the code only handles level-sensitive GPIO interrupts100 1014. Supported platforms102 103ADI Engineering Coyote Gateway Reference Platform104http://www.adiengineering.com/productsCoyote.html105 106 The ADI Coyote platform is reference design for those building107 small residential/office gateways. One NPE is connected to a 10/100108 interface, one to 4-port 10/100 switch, and the third to and ADSL109 interface. In addition, it also supports to POTs interfaces connected110 via SLICs. Note that those are not supported by Linux ATM. Finally,111 the platform has two mini-PCI slots used for 802.11[bga] cards.112 Finally, there is an IDE port hanging off the expansion bus.113 114Gateworks Avila Network Platform115http://www.gateworks.com/support/overview.php116 117 The Avila platform is basically and IXDP425 with the 4 PCI slots118 replaced with mini-PCI slots and a CF IDE interface hanging off119 the expansion bus.120 121Intel IXDP425 Development Platform122http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixdpg425.htm123 124 This is Intel's standard reference platform for the IXDP425 and is125 also known as the Richfield board. It contains 4 PCI slots, 16MB126 of flash, two 10/100 ports and one ADSL port.127 128Intel IXDP465 Development Platform129http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/npfamily/ixdp465.htm130 131 This is basically an IXDP425 with an IXP465 and 32M of flash instead132 of just 16.133 134Intel IXDPG425 Development Platform135 136 This is basically and ADI Coyote board with a NEC EHCI controller137 added. One issue with this board is that the mini-PCI slots only138 have the 3.3v line connected, so you can't use a PCI to mini-PCI139 adapter with an E100 card. So to NFS root you need to use either140 the CSR or a WiFi card and a ramdisk that BOOTPs and then does141 a pivot_root to NFS.142 143Motorola PrPMC1100 Processor Mezanine Card144http://www.fountainsys.com145 146 The PrPMC1100 is based on the IXCP1100 and is meant to plug into147 and IXP2400/2800 system to act as the system controller. It simply148 contains a CPU and 16MB of flash on the board and needs to be149 plugged into a carrier board to function. Currently Linux only150 supports the Motorola PrPMC carrier board for this platform.151 1525. TODO LIST153 154- Add support for Coyote IDE155- Add support for edge-based GPIO interrupts156- Add support for CF IDE on expansion bus157 1586. Thanks159 160The IXP4xx work has been funded by Intel Corp. and MontaVista Software, Inc.161 162The following people have contributed patches/comments/etc:163 164- Lennerty Buytenhek165- Lutz Jaenicke166- Justin Mayfield167- Robert E. Ranslam168 169[I know I've forgotten others, please email me to be added]170 171-------------------------------------------------------------------------172 173Last Update: 01/04/2005174