Compiling firefly sources for nextxeon/tchips boards

[sawbones999]

So has anyone been able to do this successfully yet? If so I would really appreciate some pointers.

Also, can anyone clarify for me which kernel version is the latest available there? I have not found a reference to the revision number so far.

Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
-SB

[grant2258]

I have compiled it for android had to make a few kernel adjustments though.

[cappybob]

Have found that the Kernel for firefly is a 3.10.+ and the Chromium build, I believe will use a 3.14.+ kernel both have available source codes on github. The nextxeon/t-chip would not be the intel/rockchip, if so is there an availability for purchase yet. Also under popmetal there is a 3.10 and 3.14 kernel listed with additional options not offered on the Firefly.

---cappybob

[grant2258]

What options are missing that you need?

[sawbones999]

@Grant2258

What was your target board, and could you give me a quick run down of the types of changes that you made?

@cappybob, shoot, that's not really a new kernel, huh? I don't really have much interest in chromium. What is popmetal? I'm not really interested in licensing anything for commercial use.

I was going to take a shot at compiling an Android kernel with KVM enabled for hardware assisted virtual machines and hardware assisted emulation, such as kvm-qemu.

3.10+ is sort of old for that. If you check the kvm/arm git hub, the only person making commits for kvm/arm are linus Torvalds on the 3.10 kernel tree. It looks like the the real group project didn't get under way until 3.15. There is code for 3.15 to 3.20, and already kvm/arm has been accepted into the main branch of, get this, 3.9!

I really thought someone posted a link to 3.18 sources the other day, but I sure can't find it now.

The firefly sources contain kvm/virt code, but the old kernel rev and many references to x86 virtualization like vt-x make me think that this code is probably not kvm/arm ready.

That's pretty disappointing why are they using such an old kernel. Laziness not to move away from their older rk29/rk30 products? Or possibly still trying to maintain some level of compatibility with or for those older products?

I was really excited about the possibility of Linux on Android or Windows on Android with hardware assist. I have already seen demos of it on arm and x86. So far it's looking bleak.

I pm'd Oman from beelink about it and never got a response. What is your guy's opinions on the subject?

Oh almost forgot here is the git showing commits and dates. https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/ke....git/refs/tags

Could it be possible to backport the latest changes to the older kernel? Did like it could get to be way too much work, really quick.

Cheers,
-SB

[cappybob]

@Sawbones

Not really sure what you are looking for. Mainline kernel? RK still problems with Mali and video acceleration. The newest Kernel for RK32xx I have seen for Android is the Popmetal which is a 3.14.xx. Take note, this will probably be the next release for rockchip sdk's i.e. Android"L", (RochchipOPEN) https://github.com/RockchipOpensourceCommunity. Popmetal kernel is here and RockchipOPEN is still an empty github. Will probably have to wait until the rk octacore for any serious updates and newer kernel with the release of the 64bit OS. As far as Linux, "Mainline kernel" has a working kernel. Not sure which build they are on. They continue to search for the pot of gold, or burn the fields behind them they should be on 3.35.53 r08 or something like that, with no video YET. 3.14 android is all I am looking for right now, until the 64 os's are out. Read that Android will migrate to 3.14 this summer before they release Android"M". Have my Berry2 and waiting for the release of win10 IoT SDK for the ARM core.

----cappybob

[sawbones999]

@Sawbones

Not really sure what you are looking for. Mainline kernel? RK still problems with Mali and video acceleration. The newest Kernel for RK32xx I have seen for Android is the Popmetal which is a 3.14.xx. Take note, this will probably be the next release for rockchip sdk's i.e. Android"L", (RochchipOPEN) https://github.com/RockchipOpensourceCommunity. Popmetal kernel is here and RockchipOPEN is still an empty github. Will probably have to wait until the rk octacore for any serious updates and newer kernel with the release of the 64bit OS. As far as Linux, "Mainline kernel" has a working kernel. Not sure which build they are on. They continue to search for the pot of gold, or burn the fields behind them they should be on 3.35.53 r08 or something like that, with no video YET. 3.14 android is all I am looking for right now, until the 64 os's are out. Read that Android will migrate to 3.14 this summer before they release Android"M". Have my Berry2 and waiting for the release of win10 IoT SDK for the ARM core.

----cappybob

I only mentioned mainline because the version where kvm/arm is fully integrated is 3.9 and that is so far away from where Rockchip is at.

What I am looking for is an RK3288 kernel that is new enough that I could integrate the code for said kernel version from the kvm/arm git. I would like to build an Android kernel from those sources with support for kvm host support (kernel assisted virtual machines) making use of the hw virtualization in cortex-a17 so that it would be possible to run virtual machines on top of Android. It would be possible to run Android in VM, Linux, Windows ARM, and with kvm-qemu hw assisted virtualization of other architectures like x86 (faster Windows emulation).

Basically it's a really cool feature, and useful too, but we are being deprived of it because Rockchip kernel sources are old. This has already been done with newer arm cores from larger companies who are using newer sources.

I checked out that link for popmetal kernel and it doesn't look empty. It doesn't look like a complete build environment, but it does kind of look like it might be a whole kernel. The kvm portion even contains some of the arm specific code! (firefly only has the x86 code). I'm not sure if there is enough there to make a functional kernel with kvm enabled or not.

Who is popmetal? Is that kernel free for anyone, and do you know of any builds using that source?

Hope that clears it up for you what I'd like to do. I don't really want to build a Linux only kernel with kvm, but if that's all I can manage right now(say using popmetal), then I might try. Then I could get a feel for how to build it and what the performance would be like to run Android as a guest VM.

What my goal really is, is to build an Android kernel with kvm hosting.

Cheers,
-SB

[grant2258]

@Grant2258

What was your target board, and could you give me a quick run down of the types of changes that you made?

@cappybob, shoot, that's not really a new kernel, huh? I don't really have much interest in chromium. What is popmetal? I'm not really interested in licensing anything for commercial use.

I was going to take a shot at compiling an Android kernel with KVM enabled for hardware assisted virtual machines and hardware assisted emulation, such as kvm-qemu.

3.10+ is sort of old for that. If you check the kvm/arm git hub, the only person making commits for kvm/arm are linus Torvalds on the 3.10 kernel tree. It looks like the the real group project didn't get under way until 3.15. There is code for 3.15 to 3.20, and already kvm/arm has been accepted into the main branch of, get this, 3.9!

I really thought someone posted a link to 3.18 sources the other day, but I sure can't find it now.

The firefly sources contain kvm/virt code, but the old kernel rev and many references to x86 virtualization like vt-x make me think that this code is probably not kvm/arm ready.

That's pretty disappointing why are they using such an old kernel. Laziness not to move away from their older rk29/rk30 products? Or possibly still trying to maintain some level of compatibility with or for those older products?

I was really excited about the possibility of Linux on Android or Windows on Android with hardware assist. I have already seen demos of it on arm and x86. So far it's looking bleak.

I pm'd Oman from beelink about it and never got a response. What is your guy's opinions on the subject?

Oh almost forgot here is the git showing commits and dates. https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/ke....git/refs/tags

Could it be possible to backport the latest changes to the older kernel? Did like it could get to be way too much work, really quick.

Cheers,
-SB

The target I used was the firefly target for a tronsmart nexton board. The only thing you will have to do is make menu config and add the next on sound driver.

The default rock chip dts doesn't boot so I used the firefly one and add the sound card driver. It isn't perfect but it works as it should for hdmi. And two sound devices show.

I tried a few dts files none seem to work right with the firefly android system the board boots fine with the firefly dts though. I'm still working on it when I have time. All you have to do is add the sound driver and sort the remote

I need to learn more about device trees and see what the issue could be for the default rock chip dts not booting. I need to get a rs232 cable and see what's happening at boot. as soon as I get round to buying a cable ill start on it again. I get a funny feeling it's something to do with the via but it could be anything

[sawbones999]

Perhaps they are expecting different uboot? Like you said, you should be should be able to tell more with a TTL serial converter hooked up.

I have one, but haven't ever connected it to my r89. I did see where the pads are in a thread though

Cheers,
-SB

[grant2258]

Well the firefly dts works fine. as soon as you compile the default rock
chip dts or any tronsmart one and decompile then recompile it doesn't work.
I really should just compile kernel and add if to a 111k kernel and see if
it's the kernel side or android. Like I said use the firefly configuration
and dts. Fix the remote control and add the sound driver and it works
perfect on hdmi. The TV out needs fixed and the led two things that don't stop the box working. Again the will be down to the dts configuration

[sawbones999]

I really don't mind about the IR because my R89 came with a defective remote anyway(tested non functional, definitely the remote and not the batteries or the system).

It would be a bummer to lose A/V out though because I do use that in my bedroom.

Cheers,
-SB

[cappybob]

Link to 3.18 kernel ran across a few minutes ago http://kernelnewbies.org/Linux_3.18-...8113714363422b

Popmetal is a high priced mini computer ($200), rk3288 with mali and some extras not on the firefly and out of my price range. The firefly is the only public sdk I know of for rockchip which is open source and updated. If you go to Firefly and request TRM data they will release confidential material to the public on a request release basis. popmetal uses the firefly sdk with the 3.10, but started an update to a 3.14

The windows arm release I am waiting for with the RBerry2 board. There is suppose to be an sdk released from what I have heard. I have not seen anything with the baytrail release, which I believe is an intel atom chip.

-----cappybob

[grant2258]

Firefly is based on the rock chip sdk just modified for that board specifically. I'll try this kernel https://github.com/RockchipOpensourc...h/arm/boot/dts and see if it's in better shape seems to have a few dts files for the role hopefully one will be the nexton.

[cappybob]

popmetal.dtsi added to Linux, 2 hours ago. https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/ke...4.1-armsoc/dts. already to kernel 4.1.

----cappybob

[sawbones999]

I wonder if that 3.18 kernel that you found might be the first one where rk3288 is integrated with the main branch Linux kernel. If so, and if it's fully integrated, then all future builds should begin here.

It's just hard for me to believe that we're having to stretch to try and reach 3.18, when Qualcomm, Samsung, and nVidia were on 3.4+ with jellybean 4.1.2.

When I was doing work on the ZTE Force 4G(Qualcomm msm8960), before jelly bean was discovered on it in the wild, we had 3.35 sources or something and everyone kept saying we won't get jelly bean until 3.4 is released on that chip because they thought minimum kernel version for the first JB release was 3.4. Then I've recently started getting into all this Android tv stuff and find out that Chinese manufacturers are running kitkat on 3.0.36 or some shit like that.

It kind if blows me away sometimes. I think most people who develop for phones and tablets with larger brand name SOCs (which get added into the main kernel branch much faster) have no idea what it's like to try and get a new version of Android up on a kernel that old. I've heard people even say that it's not possible. It is possible, though. I have proof! Lol

Cheers,
-SB