Espressobin support development efforts

[spqr]

One more question for you... with the kernel "thinking" it's running at 1GHz (even though it isn't) that means it is still using the AVS logic as if it is running at 1GHz, correct?

 

Aren't all the problems I'm seeing telling us that the hardware even has stability problems at 800 MHz? So the kernel patch I showed above wasn't sufficient.

I wonder if Marvell is doing anything about this.

 

The espressobin has such great potential... there are a few commercial products built around it already. I don't understand how they could be ignoring these stability issues.

[lanefu]

FYI upstream status of @FlashBurn's patch

https://github.com/MarvellEmbeddedProcessors/linux-marvell/pull/19#issuecomment-480570974

[FlashBurn]

@spqr

If you use an unpatched kernel and still got stability problems, yes this then looks like the cpu has also problems at 800 MHz

[ebin-dev]

@FlashBurn @spqr

 

Please find the updated bootloader here (u-boot is unchanged; WTMI is updated to 18.12.1) - it should solve the stability issues and  it works fine on my V5_0_1 EspressoBin (https://pastebin.com/xJCtLXsH). The recovery images are also updated: sata-images and uart-images.

 

Could you please test if your EspressoBin ist stable now and if you can apply the pending cpufreq and xtal kernel patch without creating any further issues ?

 

Edit: links updated ; images are now available through Armbian servers

[FlashBurn]

I haven´t tried an armbian kernel for a while now. I will look into this sometime in the next weeks. But as far as I followed the upstream fix should be in the kernel 4.19.xx.

 

It is just one fix missing regarding a too low voltage, which @sqpr found. I will see if I can point the right people at this patch.

[ebin-dev]

25 minutes ago, FlashBurn said:

But as far as I followed the upstream fix should be in the kernel 4.19.xx.

 

That is the reason why we can't update our EspressoBins to kernel 4.19.4x and above anymore without experiencing crashes.

Hopefully the new bootloader released by marvell recently will be able to handle the new frequencies in the system.

[FlashBurn]

Maybe you could bring me on line what problems you experience with the newer kernels?

 

I assume it is the problem that with a bootloader for 1000 MHz you have instabilities? If I´m right then a new bootloader will not help with this. What you can test, commenting out the avs in the dts file, compile a dtb and then test if the kernel is working for you.

[lanefu]

So is there a known stable config? Is it leaving it at 800 800?

[Jens Bauer]

On the page ...

https://www.armbian.com/espressobin/

 

... I'd like to request adding one line to the boot-environment variable setup:

setenv image_name Image

 

-Because on my firmware, it defaults to 'boot/Image' and thus results in ...

Bad Linux ARM64 Image magic!

-But after I set it to 'Image', it boots.

(and finally it seems I can boot Bionic after an update!)

[Igor]

11 hours ago, Jens Bauer said:

... I'd like to request adding one line to the boot-environment variable setup:

setenv image_name Image

Done.

[Andrius]

Hello,

last week I performed an apt upgrade on my espressobin (ubuntu) and now it does not boot :-(

I believe there were some updates to kernel and armbian firmware.

Then I pulled out its SD card and tried to connect it to my PC using micro-USB and see what it says using minicom and kermit. But it does not say anything and the console freezes.

The board I have is a kickstarter board with 1GB RAM. 

I suspect the upgrade has broken the board in some way. Can you suggest some way to fix it please?

Kind regards

Andrius

[Igor]

10 minutes ago, Andrius said:

Can you suggest some way to fix it please?

I think you need to update boot loader. It's known that troubles will occur with most recent kernel unless you don't do that. Check other threads and download pages for details.

[ebin-dev]

5 hours ago, Andrius said:

Can you suggest some way to fix it please?

 

You may try the current Debian Buster image. It works fine without any issues so far on the EspressoBin (kernel 4.19.57). I did not try Ubuntu - but there were some postings related to issues with systemd-networkd in Ubuntu Bionic.

[Andrius]

Thank you for suggestions. I tried instructions here:

and here: http://wiki.espressobin.net/tiki-index.php?page=Ports+and+Interfaces#Boot_selection

 

But nothing really changed. After changing switches to "UART mode" and connecting via USB, the kermit command line still freezes.

Any other suggestions? Please...

Andrius

 

[ebin-dev]

19 hours ago, Andrius said:

Any other suggestions?

 

Your EspressoBin should work again if you flash the latest boot loader with 800_800 or 600_600 CPU_DDR frequencies (NOT 1000_800).

You can find the current UART recovery images here and the latest u-boot flash images are here. Do not forget to use the latest environment settings.

[Andrius]

How do I flash something without access to some command-line?

As I understand, for any recovery method I need some working "serial" connection?

What can I do if I cannot connect to the board using minicom or kermit?

[lanefu]

14 minutes ago, Andrius said:

How do I flash something without access to some command-line?

As I understand, for any recovery method I need some working "serial" connection?

What can I do if I cannot connect to the board using minicom or kermit?

 

Im not sure there are any alternatives other than attaching to the usb serial console and following the process described.

[ebin-dev]

1 hour ago, Andrius said:

What can I do if I cannot connect to the board using minicom or kermit?

 

The UART recovery procedure is described here. You need miniterm to connect to your EspressoBin.

[Andrius]

Miniterm freezes just like kermit and minicom :-(

[barish]

Hi @Andrius, have you found a solution yet? If not, could you post exactly the command line or terminal settings you used? What kind of serial interface do you use, what's your setup?

[Andrius]

Thanks for remembering me. No solution yet. Now on vacation, so I cannot exactly post all the details. I used micro-USB for power and serial. The connection settings I used were the same as previous times when I used to connect successfully. I'll post them when I come back. I tried kermit, minicom and miniterm on device which is listed in dmesg output. 

Andrius

[barish]

I think you can't use power over micro-USB if you power up a HDD, you should try with a 12V-2A power supply just to rule out power issues. Have a good vacation!

[FlashBurn]

Oh man, I once again found some time to do some testing and hoped that the EspressoBin now runs fine, but what have I to find.

 

I updated the bootloader to the current version from 21th May and a current armbian 5.91 (kernel 4.19.59). First I did a test with the 800MHz version:

 

http://ix.io/1T75

 

I was impressed, because now it seems the kernel can read out the frequency from the firmware (I did not need to change the cpu frequency and it worked out of the box).

 

Then I tried the 1200MHz version and again, the kernel reported the right frequencies without me changing any configuration (besides the firmware update). But then this:

 

http://ix.io/1T7g

 

I thought that the patches for configuring the cpu frequency right where backported?

 

So I will try to build my own kernel and will see how that works.

[FlashBurn]

Ok, with the newest kernel 4.19.67 it is still the same with the 1200 MHz firmware:

 

http://ix.io/1T82

 

So I will wait again half a year till trying it again

[Andrius]

Hi @barish

I attach photo with my current switch positions. I believe, they are correct for UART mode (J11:[2-3]; J3:[1-2] J10:[1-2]), according to http://wiki.espressobin.net/tiki-index.php?page=Ports+and+Interfaces#Boot_selection

I find that page quite confusing, because the switch numbers on the images are listed in other order than in the table below with their meanings.

I disconnected HDD, so it should get enough power from USB.

After attaching the espressobin to my laptop, its green LED turns on and dmesg says:

[102505.613224] usb 1-3: new full-speed USB device number 50 using xhci_hcd
[102505.761832] usb 1-3: New USB device found, idVendor=067b, idProduct=2303
[102505.761834] usb 1-3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[102505.761835] usb 1-3: Product: USB-Serial Controller D
[102505.761836] usb 1-3: Manufacturer: Prolific Technology Inc. 
[102505.762258] pl2303 1-3:1.0: pl2303 converter detected
[102505.762800] usb 1-3: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0

Then I run miniterm:

$ sudo miniterm --eol CR /dev/ttyUSB0 115200
--- Miniterm on /dev/ttyUSB0  115200,8,N,1 ---
--- Quit: Ctrl+] | Menu: Ctrl+T | Help: Ctrl+T followed by Ctrl+H ---

It does not show any prompt nor react to Enters or other keyboard input. Only after Ctrl+] it exits.

Kermit behaves the same way on that device. 

If you see I can do something else - please let me know.

Andrius

[Andrius]

$ cat kermit-usb0
set line /dev/ttyUSB0
set speed 115200
set carrier-watch off
set flow-control none
set handshake none
set prefixing all
set streaming off
set parity none
connect

Those are my kermit settings.

[barish]

13 hours ago, Andrius said:

I disconnected HDD, so it should get enough power from USB.

I've got a SATA card mounted to my EspressoBin that draws a couple of mA – I just tried to boot the board without any disks attached and powered by USB only - and it wouldn't. So just to rule this out, please try with 12V attached to power jack.

 

As it says in the wiki, you need a 12V power adapter:

Quote

Prerequisites

Here is what you will need to power up the board:

• Linux or Windows PC
• ESPRESSObin board with micro SD card containing necessary images and file system
• 12V power adapter
• micro USB cable
• IP router or IP switch
• USB 3.0 Flash disk (optional)
• SATA HDD (optional)

 

[ManoftheSea]

When I plug in the microUSB, I get a green light and the serial device exists, but the system doesn't boot.  When I plug in the power supply, I get a slightly brighter green light and the system does boot.  Don't be fooled!

[Andrius]

Thanks everyone. With 12v power it looks definitely better:

$ sudo kermit kermit-usb0
Connecting to /dev/ttyUSB0, speed 115200
 Escape character: Ctrl-\ (ASCII 28, FS): enabled
Type the escape character followed by C to get back,
or followed by ? to see other options.
----------------------------------------------------

E
>
E
>
E
>
E
>
E
>?
h/? - print this help screen 
r yyyyyyyy - read register/memory at address yyyyyyyy in hex 
w yyyyyyyy zzzzzzzz - write zzzzzzzz to address yyyyyyyy in hex 
j yyyyyyyy - jump to address yyyyyyyy in hex 
x y - change the boot mode, where y is in hex 
a - UART control passed to AP CPU ROM 
c - UART control passed to CM3 CPU ROM 
>
E
>

I already thought I lost that board.

I hope tomorrow I'll get it show some more things :-)

[mu-b]

Even with the latest build, I'm still experiencing random hard-resets (that is, no panic, just a complete reboot to TIM/WTMI). I'm now pretty sure that Netgate are correct (https://forum.netgate.com/topic/144636/sg-1100-intermittent-reboots) and there are component issues on some espressobin v7 boards. 

 

I'm asking GlobalScape if they know the root cause, that is the component that is not functioning correctly, wonder if I will receive of a response, Netgate don't seem to want to say.