Allwinner Preparing Their A100 SoC Support For The Upstream Linux Kernel

[willmore]

Well, I guess it's nice seeing Allwinner doing at least some upstream work. Shame the GPU will take a long time (if ever) to actually work on Linux :/

These devices will be long dead before that ever happens.

[starshipeleven]

First, the usual bootloader for ARM devices is "Das U-Boot".

I've yet to encounter two different devices that have the same bootcommand or even relatively similar uboot envs.

uboot does nothing on its own, it relies on a script-like configuration (or not, depending on how it was changed), and that is far from standard.

Second, you do not need any special tools to accomplish that. GNU dd does that just fine and if you are afraid, Gnome Disks also does this job very well.

That just hides ther complexity of dealing with different device bootloaders, as now the image you flash is created by some build system.

The only standardized u-boot systems for booting on ARMv7 and later is the uboot's efi implementation, everything else is left to the OEM.

[starshipeleven]

It's no different. On a PC you must insert a DVD/USB flash key with OS installer and set the boot option using BIOS menus. On ARM you typically only have one drive (SD card) and it's totally possible to flash another SD card plugged in via USB/SD bridge. Some ARM boards even support diskless network/USB boot. I can't see how this is any simpler on PC. Sure, most PCs come preinstalled with an OS (Windows) or you buy the Windows DVD from a store. So maybe that's how.

FYI you can do PC installations by flashing a pre-made image too, even on Windows, no kidding, but it's less flexible (as it assumes it has the whole drive for itself, among other things).

Try doing a multi-boot setup on an ARM board, it's fun and games unless it is half-sane and it loads GRUB or some other decent bootloader that can do something on its own.

[starshipeleven]

These devices will be long dead before that ever happens.

Yeah, it has the mark of the beast (Imagination Technologies).

[pal666]

as soon as driver for old allwinner gpus started to take form, they switched to powervr

[wizard69]

With PowerVR, graphics on these chips is DoA in any open source sense. These chips are for Android. I'm surprised that they bothered upstreaming code to the kernel. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're upstreaming code for the first time, ever. They usually hack up an older kernel and distribtue that ask part of their BSP.

I'm actually hoping the new owners of he Power VR technology wise up and address the driver issue. AS noted it is DOA if there are not decent open drives for the GPU. The GPU is actually what makes these chips interesting. If we are lucky maybe AMD will get more of its GPU's into ARM based chips.

The chip isn't anything special. Yet another quad A53.

I hope this is a move to Allwinner being more open, but the best way to have done that would have been to have made better docs and let the linux-sunxi people keep doing what they're doing. Those people are great.

In this case Allwinner isn't the problem. The owners of Power VR are the problem.

[willmore]

pal666 Allwinner has the concept of verticals. Different chip lines serve different verticals. They reuse chunks from a common set of IP. These bits get glued randomly together to make the chips that each vertical think will server their market best. That's why you see a lot of chips that are 90% the same, but have some odd bits grafted on to the side to make them different. The tablet vertical seems to like PowerVR graphics while the STB vertical prefers ARM graphics. They all prefer their own Cerdus video engine. For people who design with Allwinner chips, this is sort of handy as they can pick and choose between the chips from different verticals looking for the bits they want--and can get supported. Take a look at linux-sunxi. Which chips get good support? Those without PowerVR graphics.

The VPU is the part that's been getting support. Well, ARM graphics are as well via the panfrost and other efforts. though it's not provided by the vendor, at least the Allwinner VPU and the ARM GPU are getting support. PowerVR remains completely separate and doesn't look like it will ever get support.

I'm actually hoping the new owners of he Power VR technology wise up and address the driver issue. AS noted it is DOA if there are not decent open drives for the GPU. The GPU is actually what makes these chips interesting. If we are lucky maybe AMD will get more of its GPU's into ARM based chips.

In this case Allwinner isn't the problem. The owners of Power VR are the problem.

I'd argue that the GPU is interesting to *some* people. I, for one, use a bunch of SBCs and they're all run headless. I have just two that ever connect to monitors--they run Kodi. Everyone else has no need for a GPU or VPU.

I wouldn't expect AMD to get anywhere near these chips. For IP reasons, they don't want to touch this market with a 10 meter pole. Alos, they might be contractually prevented in doing so because of the deal they have with Qualcomm--they sold them their 'mobile' graphics IP.

If Allwinner keeps using PowerVR, then they are part of the problem. Yes, the real problem is PowerVR being so outright hostile to open source. Even if the 'new owners' have some kind of open source epiphany and do a 180--throwing docs and code (under open source licenses) around freely--I don't expect that they will get any kind of general acceptance. There may be a small group of people who've always wanted to see a specific thing supported who will put in the effort. But, I don't expect developers in general to be moved by it. Only if PowerVR themselves wrote the code woudl they have a chance now. They're burned up any good will that could have ever existed.

Just look at this thread. People who aren't even in this scene know that PowerVR is poison to open source. That's a ton of inertia to overcome. At this point, I don't even wish them luck. They made this bed, they can lie in it.

[maor26]

pal666

I wouldn't expect AMD to get anywhere near these chips. For IP reasons, they don't want to touch this market with a 10 meter pole. Alos, they might be contractually prevented in doing so because of the deal they have with Qualcomm--they sold them their 'mobile' graphics IP.

AMD is actually working with Samsung on graphics for the Exynos Soc's.

[willmore]

AMD is actually working with Samsung on graphics for the Exynos Soc's.

I'd love to know more about that. Do you remember where you read that?

[t.s.]

I'd love to know more about that. Do you remember where you read that?

Those are a few of them:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/am...phone-graphics
https://www.hardwaretimes.com/amds-r...ntendo-switch/

or you could just type exynos rdna2