[PATCH] libertas: add sysfs hooks to update boot2 and persistent firmware

[Michail Bletsas]

Dan Williams <dcbw at redhat.com> wrote on 06/03/2008 12:09:11 PM:

> On Tue, 2008-06-03 at 11:30 -0400, Michail Bletsas wrote:
> > libertas-dev-bounces at lists.infradead.org wrote on 06/03/2008 11:20:51 
AM:
> > 
> > 
> > > > 
> > > > A necessary rectification:
> > > > Firmware updates from the driver are the only method that works
> > > > currently. If we want to name one method a "disaster", we would 
have
> > > > to choose the userspace tool, since it will brick many of your 
active
> > > > antennae.
> > > 
> > > It worked up until boot2 3109; and then apparently nobody at OLPC 
cared
> > > enough to fix the tool after that, and nobody at Marvell cared 
enough to
> > > tell anyone what changed so that somebody _could_ fix the tool.
> > > 
> > Dan,
> > 
> > The required functionality is a superset of what the userspace tool 
was 
> > originally developed to do (update the boot2 code).
> > We now have a much bigger firmware blob to write to the EEPROM 
(besides 
> > the boot2 code) and Marvell always felt that it is better for the ARM 
> > processor on the wireless module to handle that task. 
> 
> That's fine, since there is no real difference in the flashing procedure
> between boot2 and normal firmware AFAICT, the tool should work with that
> firmware just fine.
> 
> And a slight correction, but "better for the ARM processor" is wrong,
> because it's _always_ been the ARM updating the normal (ie non-boot2)
> firmware in this scenario, even if the userspace tool was doing it.
> 

There has to be a real difference since the flashing code is in the 
firmware which the userspace tool doesn't load, relying on whatever 
support was originally in the boot2 code. 
Because of the uniqueness of the active antenna's hardware, Marvell moved 
the code that was specific to the active antenna  flashing into the 
firmware. If I remember correctly, the trend for the boot2 code is to make 
it as small as possible and burn it into the device's ROM in the newer 
devices.


M.