• State Resolved
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 9 replies
  • Subscribers 99 subscribers
  • Views 1786 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Support feedback
Options
Options
Related

This thread has been locked.

If you have a related question, please click the "Ask a related question" button in the top right corner. The newly created question will be automatically linked to this question.

RTOS/TMS320C6678: C6678 based board verification sequnce

Andranik Aslanyan
Intellectual 445 points

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: 66AK2H06, 66AK2H12

Hello,

We've designed a system similar to C6678 EVM which integrates 2 C6678 DSP having next peripheral connections:

  • HyperLink between them
  • SRIO and PCIe with the FPGA
  • SGMII to embedded 1G switch
  • SPI/NOR/NAND flashes different from the one on C6678 EVM

I've already succeeded to boot directly from SPI flash (without IBL) by modifying http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/File:C6678_directROM_boot_examples.zip 

To verify the rest of C6678 peripherals we follow next two directions:

  • Compile / use Linux for C6678-based platforms as described in http://linux-c6x.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page manual - Since our platform doesn't embed an I2C EEPROM, we gonna avoid the IBL boot step or program the IBL image on SPI flash. In http://linux-c6x.org/pipermail/linux-c6x-dev/2013-September/000361.html thread I couldn't understand is it possible or not - do you know?
  • Use MCSDK / Processor SDK examples to verify the peripherals - How I gonna to combine these examples into a single RTOS image as a final Board Support Package? Where can I find such kind of pre-built images?

Regards

Andranik

  • 0
    TI__Guru**** 161600 points
    Hi Andranik,

    As far as I know, we no longer support linux-c6x.
    I recommend you start with getting your board alive using the GEL files for C6678. Then you can migrate to Processor SDK RTOS (www.ti.com/.../processor-sdk-c667x) to verify your peripherals work correctly.

    Best Regards,
    Yordan
  • 0 in reply to Yordan Kovachev
    Intellectual 445 points
    Yep.. I saw, the development stopped on it since 2012 year.
    Anyway, is there a serious cause to avoid using it? If no - who can help me to bring up Linux on our platform in case if we decide to do our development just on c6x Linux?

    And how I gonna to combine these examples into a single RTOS image as a final Board Support Package / where can I find such kind of pre-built images?

    Regards
    Andranik
  • 0 in reply to Andranik Aslanyan
    TI__Guru**** 161600 points
    Hi,

    I've asked the factory team. Their feedback will be posted here.

    Best Regards,
    Yordan
  • 0 in reply to Yordan Kovachev
    TI__Guru 50170 points
    Hi, Andranik,

    From the email thread you posted, it seems to me that the internal ROM bootloader also needs to be modified to read the IBL from EMIF NOR instead of I2C EEPROM. TI stopped supporting linux-c6x and there isn't any resource on the embedded linux.

    Do you need Linux at all or just RTOS will do? In your 2nd option of using MCSDK/ProcSDK, I assume you meant using the RTOS SDK to combine all peripherals into one DSP image, right? The linux Kernel in then MCSDK or now ProcSDK is not ucLinux, and it won't run on C6678.

    Rex
  • 0 in reply to Rex Chang
    Intellectual 445 points
    Hello Rex,

    I've just succeeded to program / execute the "processors.wiki.ti.com/.../File:C6678_directROM_boot_examples.zip" application on SPI NOR flash (not the EMIF NOR) and see the desired UART output on it (the silicon version is 2.0 so there is no need of PLL fix).
    So theoretically there should be some way to combine some kind of boot loader (using the IBL or not) to initialize the DDR and PLL and execute the Linux kernel programmed on NAND or NOR flashes (or even combine bootloader image with Linux image and directly program on SPI flash).

    It would be better to use Linux for our developments but TI-RTOS is acceptable as well in case if there are some kind of minimal images of it or standard steps to integrate the needed modules/examples into one DSP image instead of combining them manually from the appropriate examples.


    Kind regards
    Andranik
  • 0 in reply to Andranik Aslanyan
    TI__Guru 50170 points
    Hi, Andranik,

    I'll loop in RTOS engineer and see if he has input on combining examples/modules in one DSP image.

    Yes, theoretically it can be done. Just curious. If Linux is preferred, have you thought of using other devices which has same C6678 DSP cores, such as AM572x (2 ARMs+2 DSP cores). If more DSP cores are needed, 66AK2H12/14 (4 ARMs+8 DSPs) or 66AK2H06 (2 ARMs+4 DSPs). Just a thought.

    Rex
  • 0 in reply to Rex Chang
    Intellectual 445 points
    Rex, any update on this?

    BTW: now our product is in concept stage and I want to do some research regarding to it. If don't suggest to use Linux on this - just let me know and close this ticket.

    Regards
    Andranik
  • 0 in reply to Rex Chang
    Intellectual 445 points
    Hello Rex,

    Did you find an appropriate person or some kind of complete source / pre-build image which I asked for?
    The Linux usage is not the goal for us but the one of possible solutions we're looking for. We gonna to use / bring up just this part for now. Next gonna be the C6670 DSP.

    Andranik
  • 0 in reply to Andranik Aslanyan
    TI__Guru 50170 points
    Andranik,

    In RTOS ProcSDK, there are examples under PDK package. Any example has at least 2 peripherals/components, one for the main topic of the example, Ethernet/USB/etc., the other is the UART. I am not sure if this is what you want. If you want to combine more examples to one, you just need to merges them together. You should be able to get more detail and support in RTOS thread.

    On C6678, we are talking about ucLinux, not Linux. You need to consider that TI stops ucLinux project a few years back and there isn't any support for it. If your decision is still using ucLinux, you will need to take linux-c6x as is and work on top of it.

    Rex