Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
On 24.02.2010 01:22, Peter Stuge wrote: Ward Vandewege wrote: I think a small microcontroller and actual flash chips may be the simplest and cheapest way to do it. The microcontroller is for flashing from ALIX, maybe also GPO pins and serial port. Speaking with y flashrom hat on, I'd like to point out that you can use the FT2232H Mini Module (~$30) to perform in-system-programming (well, as long as the machine is powered of) In-system-programming is worth considering, but for boards with sockets it actually just creates extra work. In any case $30 for flash programming in the tester hardware is way unacceptable. I'm I think Ward mentioned that the cost of a dongle was way higher, so I thought I'd mention something which works right now for SPI and is significantly cheaper than a dongle. Besides that, any testing rig has to be automated unless you're willing to invest boatloads of time per checkin. For that, you either need a dongle or in-system programming. thinking that $10 is already nearly too high cost, but on the other hand it buys a very nice ARM7 with USB, which could be reused also independently of the tester. For 6 EUR you can get a FT2232H (chip only), but you have to design a circuit for it. The advantage of the FT2232H is that it speaks SPI natively and reasonable speeds (a few MHz). I know that someone is selling an ATTiny based design to do in-system SPI programming, and it would be easy to code up flashrom support for it. I haven't been able to contact the vendor, though. If you plan to design that hardware yourself, let me list the requirements: For SPI, all you need is 4 GPIOs (CLK/MISO/MOSI/CS). For LPC/FWH, all you need is 6 GPIOs (AD[0-3]/CLK/FRAME). For Parallel, you need a boatload of GPIOs or some demultiplexer. More GPIOs (e.g. HOLD/WP for SPI and RST/ID/WP for LPC/FWH) are always useful, but not a hard requirement. They can be used to speed up programming or make it more reliable. Vcc and GND are not listed above because they are not GPIOs. Flashrom can deal with bitbanging SPI/LPC/FWH/Parallel (not all of them merged yet), or it can drive programmers which understand those protocols and just want higher-level commands (send command xy to flash). The bitbanging variant is obviously slower than a protocol-understanding external programmer. Why am I listing the requirements above? I just want to avoid that someone creates a nice piece of hardware, and afterwards notices that he/she needs to modify the design because some key requirement was overlooked. If you have a proposed design, send the details to flash...@flashrom.org so that the flashrom developers can have a look and suggest changes (if needed). What kind of hardware would one use to hook the spi chip to the mini module? This is the question. Anything socketed is easy, but soldered down chips make it more difficult. For SO-8 I've only seen the IC-CLIP by Pomona, which doesn't attach with a very sturdy connection to chips. :\ There's always the option of soldering a few wires to the pins of the chip. Not exactly a clean solution, but it should work fine if you plan permanent dedication of the machine to the test rig. Regards, Carl-Daniel -- I do consider assignment statements and pointer variables to be among computer science's most valuable treasures. -- Donald E. Knuth -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
On 24.02.2010 01:04, Ward Vandewege wrote: On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 12:14:30AM +0100, Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote: Speaking with y flashrom hat on, I'd like to point out that you can use the FT2232H Mini Module (~$30) to perform in-system-programming (well, as long as the machine is powered of) of SPI flash chips right now and Oh. That sounds like a much more affordable solution! What kind of hardware would one use to hook the spi chip to the mini module? Some sort of top hat? Basically yes. Or you solder a few wires on top of the chip pins. of LPC/FWH chips in the near future. I guess for lpc/fwh (plcc), one of the plcc adapters Peter and Stepan make would do. Note that my suggestion does not perform flash emulation like the dongle, it only provides a way to write chips with an external programmer. Due to that, the PLCC adapters make it easier to connect to the pins of the chip socket (if there is a socket), but you'll have to stack a reverse adapter on top which has a flash chip inside. Or you use a top-hat style adapter and plug the PLCC adapter in it. The common requirement is to keep the flash chip attached to the board in a way that allows booting. Regards, Carl-Daniel -- I do consider assignment statements and pointer variables to be among computer science's most valuable treasures. -- Donald E. Knuth -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote: avoid that someone creates a nice piece of hardware, and afterwards notices that he/she needs to modify the design because some key requirement was overlooked. I wouldn't worry. //Peter -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote: What kind of hardware would one use to hook the spi chip to the For SO-8 I've only seen the IC-CLIP by Pomona, which doesn't attach with a very sturdy connection to chips. :\ There's always the option of soldering a few wires to the pins A flex cable with a cutout. It requires a little bit of clearance around the flash chip though, which may not neccessarily be the case. To get an idea of what I mean see: http://www.foundmy.com/oscom/images/fm-d2ckey-flex-cable.jpg //Peter -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
Ward Vandewege wrote: The automatic testing framework Stepan built a few years ago - I'd love to get a few boards set up for that. I have some boards lying around that could be used for that. My main problem is cost: You're not alone. I've wanted to create affordable tester hardware for quite some time now. I think it's the only way we'll get more boot testing. These are the features I had in mind; . LPC/FWH/SPI bootable . Serial port for logging BUT (board under test) output . Ideally USB host for USB debug device console . LAN connection . A few GPO pins for power button/reset button/PWROK signalling An ALIX has most of this at a cost that can't be beat. Only booting is missing. Though an FPGA rocks I think a small microcontroller and actual flash chips may be the simplest and cheapest way to do it. The microcontroller is for flashing from ALIX, maybe also GPO pins and serial port. Thoughts? Did I overlook a cricical feature? Preorders? //Peter -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
On 23.02.2010 21:14, Peter Stuge wrote: Ward Vandewege wrote: The automatic testing framework Stepan built a few years ago - I'd love to get a few boards set up for that. I have some boards lying around that could be used for that. My main problem is cost: You're not alone. I've wanted to create affordable tester hardware for quite some time now. I think it's the only way we'll get more boot testing. [...] I think a small microcontroller and actual flash chips may be the simplest and cheapest way to do it. The microcontroller is for flashing from ALIX, maybe also GPO pins and serial port. Speaking with y flashrom hat on, I'd like to point out that you can use the FT2232H Mini Module (~$30) to perform in-system-programming (well, as long as the machine is powered of) of SPI flash chips right now and of LPC/FWH chips in the near future. Parallel flash chips need some small additional circuitry because the FT2232H doesn't have enough pins for output and can only deliver 3.3V, but that's it. Regards, Carl-Daniel -- I do consider assignment statements and pointer variables to be among computer science's most valuable treasures. -- Donald E. Knuth -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 12:14:30AM +0100, Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote: On 23.02.2010 21:14, Peter Stuge wrote: Ward Vandewege wrote: The automatic testing framework Stepan built a few years ago - I'd love to get a few boards set up for that. I have some boards lying around that could be used for that. My main problem is cost: You're not alone. I've wanted to create affordable tester hardware for quite some time now. I think it's the only way we'll get more boot testing. [...] I think a small microcontroller and actual flash chips may be the simplest and cheapest way to do it. The microcontroller is for flashing from ALIX, maybe also GPO pins and serial port. Speaking with y flashrom hat on, I'd like to point out that you can use the FT2232H Mini Module (~$30) to perform in-system-programming (well, as long as the machine is powered of) of SPI flash chips right now and Oh. That sounds like a much more affordable solution! What kind of hardware would one use to hook the spi chip to the mini module? Some sort of top hat? of LPC/FWH chips in the near future. I guess for lpc/fwh (plcc), one of the plcc adapters Peter and Stepan make would do. Thanks, Ward. -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
Re: [coreboot] Tester hardware
Ward Vandewege wrote: I think a small microcontroller and actual flash chips may be the simplest and cheapest way to do it. The microcontroller is for flashing from ALIX, maybe also GPO pins and serial port. Speaking with y flashrom hat on, I'd like to point out that you can use the FT2232H Mini Module (~$30) to perform in-system-programming (well, as long as the machine is powered of) In-system-programming is worth considering, but for boards with sockets it actually just creates extra work. In any case $30 for flash programming in the tester hardware is way unacceptable. I'm thinking that $10 is already nearly too high cost, but on the other hand it buys a very nice ARM7 with USB, which could be reused also independently of the tester. What kind of hardware would one use to hook the spi chip to the mini module? This is the question. Anything socketed is easy, but soldered down chips make it more difficult. For SO-8 I've only seen the IC-CLIP by Pomona, which doesn't attach with a very sturdy connection to chips. :\ //Peter -- coreboot mailing list: coreboot@coreboot.org http://www.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/coreboot
