[OpenWrt-Devel] [PATCH v2] ar71xx: add support for RB SXTsq 2nD

[mail at adrianschmutzler.de]

Hi,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Thibaut [mailto:hacks at slashdirt.org]
> Sent: Sonntag, 15. März 2020 13:39
> To: mail at adrianschmutzler.de
> Cc: OpenWrt Development List <openwrt-devel at lists.openwrt.org>
> Subject: Re: [OpenWrt-Devel] [PATCH v2] ar71xx: add support for RB SXTsq
> 2nD
> 
> Hi,
> 
> > Le 15 mars 2020 à 13:05, <mail at adrianschmutzler.de>
> <mail at adrianschmutzler.de> a écrit :
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: openwrt-devel [mailto:openwrt-devel-
> bounces at lists.openwrt.org]
> >> On Behalf Of Thibaut VARÈNE
> >> Sent: Sonntag, 15. März 2020 11:35
> >> To: openwrt-devel at lists.openwrt.org
> >> Cc: Thibaut VARÈNE <hacks at slashdirt.org>
> >> Subject: [OpenWrt-Devel] [PATCH v2] ar71xx: add support for RB SXTsq
> 2nD
> >
> > the ar71xx target will only be supported in already released 19.07 branch
> and be removed afterwards.
> >
> > Consequently, we do not accept any device support for this target
> anymore.
> >
> > Please work with the ath79 target instead, which is meant to replace ar71xx
> and is also already included in 19.07.x (though Mikrotik devices have only
> been added in master).
> 
> I had a feeling this would be the answer.
> 
> At least the code is there for those who need it, and it details the necessary
> bits to get this hardware to work.
> 
> Regarding moving to ath79 there are a number of issues which I’m trying to
> wrap my head around.
> 
> Specifically, right now we have a (imo very convenient) « one image fits them
> all » approach for ar71xx-based mikrotik devices. This relies on load-time
> detection of the hardware which is based part on the kernel command string
> passed by the routerboot bootloader, and part on actual hardware detection
> at kernel load time (MIPS machine name).
> 
> I don’t know yet if it is possible to transcribe this in a DTS world: routerboot
> doesn’t support DTS, so my impression is that in order to maintain this
> feature an intermediary loader is needed, which is going to be non-trivial.
> 
> Second, I don’t know if the machine name detection can also be
> implemented in DTS: I was under the impression that all DTSes define a fixed
> string, there doesn’t seem to be a mechanism to lift that string from the mtd
> device as is currently done on ar71xx. Is this correct?

The way devices were detected in ar71xx also caused a lot of problem, as it was very confusing even to seasoned developers. Now, we just build a separate image for each device, so we do not need this mess of scripts for detection anymore.

Just have a look at how the few ath79 devices are implemented, but note that they will be moved to a mikrotik subtarget soon as indicated by Roger already.

Best

Adrian

> 
> Thanks,
> Thibaut
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