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diff --git a/Documentation/stallion.txt b/Documentation/stallion.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..5c4902d9a5b --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/stallion.txt @@ -0,0 +1,392 @@ +* NOTE - This is an unmaintained driver. Lantronix, which bought Stallion +technologies, is not active in driver maintenance, and they have no information +on when or if they will have a 2.6 driver. + +James Nelson <james4765@gmail.com> - 12-12-2004 + +Stallion Multiport Serial Driver Readme +--------------------------------------- + +Copyright (C) 1994-1999, Stallion Technologies. + +Version: 5.5.1 +Date: 28MAR99 + + + +1. INTRODUCTION + +There are two drivers that work with the different families of Stallion +multiport serial boards. One is for the Stallion smart boards - that is +EasyIO, EasyConnection 8/32 and EasyConnection 8/64-PCI, the other for +the true Stallion intelligent multiport boards - EasyConnection 8/64 +(ISA, EISA, MCA), EasyConnection/RA-PCI, ONboard and Brumby. + +If you are using any of the Stallion intelligent multiport boards (Brumby, +ONboard, EasyConnection 8/64 (ISA, EISA, MCA), EasyConnection/RA-PCI) with +Linux you will need to get the driver utility package. This contains a +firmware loader and the firmware images necessary to make the devices operate. + +The Stallion Technologies ftp site, ftp.stallion.com, will always have +the latest version of the driver utility package. + +ftp://ftp.stallion.com/drivers/ata5/Linux/ata-linux-550.tar.gz + +As of the printing of this document the latest version of the driver +utility package is 5.5.0. If a later version is now available then you +should use the latest version. + +If you are using the EasyIO, EasyConnection 8/32 or EasyConnection 8/64-PCI +boards then you don't need this package, although it does have a serial stats +display program. + +If you require DIP switch settings, EISA or MCA configuration files, or any +other information related to Stallion boards then have a look at Stallion's +web pages at http://www.stallion.com. + + + +2. INSTALLATION + +The drivers can be used as loadable modules or compiled into the kernel. +You can choose which when doing a "config" on the kernel. + +All ISA, EISA and MCA boards that you want to use need to be configured into +the driver(s). All PCI boards will be automatically detected when you load +the driver - so they do not need to be entered into the driver(s) +configuration structure. Note that kernel PCI support is required to use PCI +boards. + +There are two methods of configuring ISA, EISA and MCA boards into the drivers. +If using the driver as a loadable module then the simplest method is to pass +the driver configuration as module arguments. The other method is to modify +the driver source to add configuration lines for each board in use. + +If you have pre-built Stallion driver modules then the module argument +configuration method should be used. A lot of Linux distributions come with +pre-built driver modules in /lib/modules/X.Y.Z/misc for the kernel in use. +That makes things pretty simple to get going. + + +2.1 MODULE DRIVER CONFIGURATION: + +The simplest configuration for modules is to use the module load arguments +to configure any ISA, EISA or MCA boards. PCI boards are automatically +detected, so do not need any additional configuration at all. + +If using EasyIO, EasyConnection 8/32 ISA or MCA, or EasyConnection 8/63-PCI +boards then use the "stallion" driver module, Otherwise if you are using +an EasyConnection 8/64 ISA, EISA or MCA, EasyConnection/RA-PCI, ONboard, +Brumby or original Stallion board then use the "istallion" driver module. + +Typically to load up the smart board driver use: + + modprobe stallion + +This will load the EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 driver. It will output a +message to say that it loaded and print the driver version number. It will +also print out whether it found the configured boards or not. These messages +may not appear on the console, but typically are always logged to +/var/adm/messages or /var/log/syslog files - depending on how the klogd and +syslogd daemons are setup on your system. + +To load the intelligent board driver use: + + modprobe istallion + +It will output similar messages to the smart board driver. + +If not using an auto-detectable board type (that is a PCI board) then you +will also need to supply command line arguments to the modprobe command +when loading the driver. The general form of the configuration argument is + + board?=<name>[,<ioaddr>[,<addr>][,<irq>]] + +where: + + board? -- specifies the arbitrary board number of this board, + can be in the range 0 to 3. + + name -- textual name of this board. The board name is the common + board name, or any "shortened" version of that. The board + type number may also be used here. + + ioaddr -- specifies the I/O address of this board. This argument is + optional, but should generally be specified. + + addr -- optional second address argument. Some board types require + a second I/O address, some require a memory address. The + exact meaning of this argument depends on the board type. + + irq -- optional IRQ line used by this board. + +Up to 4 board configuration arguments can be specified on the load line. +Here is some examples: + + modprobe stallion board0=easyio,0x2a0,5 + +This configures an EasyIO board as board 0 at I/O address 0x2a0 and IRQ 5. + + modprobe istallion board3=ec8/64,0x2c0,0xcc000 + +This configures an EasyConnection 8/64 ISA as board 3 at I/O address 0x2c0 at +memory address 0xcc000. + + modprobe stallion board1=ec8/32-at,0x2a0,0x280,10 + +This configures an EasyConnection 8/32 ISA board at primary I/O address 0x2a0, +secondary address 0x280 and IRQ 10. + +You will probably want to enter this module load and configuration information +into your system startup scripts so that the drivers are loaded and configured +on each system boot. Typically the start up script would be something like +/etc/modprobe.conf. + + +2.2 STATIC DRIVER CONFIGURATION: + +For static driver configuration you need to modify the driver source code. +Entering ISA, EISA and MCA boards into the driver(s) configuration structure +involves editing the driver(s) source file. It's pretty easy if you follow +the instructions below. Both drivers can support up to 4 boards. The smart +card driver (the stallion.c driver) supports any combination of EasyIO and +EasyConnection 8/32 boards (up to a total of 4). The intelligent driver +supports any combination of ONboards, Brumbys, Stallions and EasyConnection +8/64 (ISA and EISA) boards (up to a total of 4). + +To set up the driver(s) for the boards that you want to use you need to +edit the appropriate driver file and add configuration entries. + +If using EasyIO or EasyConnection 8/32 ISA or MCA boards, + In drivers/char/stallion.c: + - find the definition of the stl_brdconf array (of structures) + near the top of the file + - modify this to match the boards you are going to install + (the comments before this structure should help) + - save and exit + +If using ONboard, Brumby, Stallion or EasyConnection 8/64 (ISA or EISA) +boards, + In drivers/char/istallion.c: + - find the definition of the stli_brdconf array (of structures) + near the top of the file + - modify this to match the boards you are going to install + (the comments before this structure should help) + - save and exit + +Once you have set up the board configurations then you are ready to build +the kernel or modules. + +When the new kernel is booted, or the loadable module loaded then the +driver will emit some kernel trace messages about whether the configured +boards were detected or not. Depending on how your system logger is set +up these may come out on the console, or just be logged to +/var/adm/messages or /var/log/syslog. You should check the messages to +confirm that all is well. + + +2.3 SHARING INTERRUPTS + +It is possible to share interrupts between multiple EasyIO and +EasyConnection 8/32 boards in an EISA system. To do this you must be using +static driver configuration, modifying the driver source code to add driver +configuration. Then a couple of extra things are required: + +1. When entering the board resources into the stallion.c file you need to + mark the boards as using level triggered interrupts. Do this by replacing + the "0" entry at field position 6 (the last field) in the board + configuration structure with a "1". (This is the structure that defines + the board type, I/O locations, etc. for each board). All boards that are + sharing an interrupt must be set this way, and each board should have the + same interrupt number specified here as well. Now build the module or + kernel as you would normally. + +2. When physically installing the boards into the system you must enter + the system EISA configuration utility. You will need to install the EISA + configuration files for *all* the EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 boards + that are sharing interrupts. The Stallion EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 + EISA configuration files required are supplied by Stallion Technologies + on the EASY Utilities floppy diskette (usually supplied in the box with + the board when purchased. If not, you can pick it up from Stallion's FTP + site, ftp.stallion.com). You will need to edit the board resources to + choose level triggered interrupts, and make sure to set each board's + interrupt to the same IRQ number. + +You must complete both the above steps for this to work. When you reboot +or load the driver your EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 boards will be +sharing interrupts. + + +2.4 USING HIGH SHARED MEMORY + +The EasyConnection 8/64-EI, ONboard and Stallion boards are capable of +using shared memory addresses above the usual 640K - 1Mb range. The ONboard +ISA and the Stallion boards can be programmed to use memory addresses up to +16Mb (the ISA bus addressing limit), and the EasyConnection 8/64-EI and +ONboard/E can be programmed for memory addresses up to 4Gb (the EISA bus +addressing limit). + +The higher than 1Mb memory addresses are fully supported by this driver. +Just enter the address as you normally would for a lower than 1Mb address +(in the driver's board configuration structure). + + + +2.5 TROUBLE SHOOTING + +If a board is not found by the driver but is actually in the system then the +most likely problem is that the I/O address is wrong. Change the module load +argument for the loadable module form. Or change it in the driver stallion.c +or istallion.c configuration structure and rebuild the kernel or modules, or +change it on the board. + +On EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 boards the IRQ is software programmable, so +if there is a conflict you may need to change the IRQ used for a board. There +are no interrupts to worry about for ONboard, Brumby or EasyConnection 8/64 +(ISA, EISA and MCA) boards. The memory region on EasyConnection 8/64 and +ONboard boards is software programmable, but not on the Brumby boards. + + + +3. USING THE DRIVERS + +3.1 INTELLIGENT DRIVER OPERATION + +The intelligent boards also need to have their "firmware" code downloaded +to them. This is done via a user level application supplied in the driver +utility package called "stlload". Compile this program wherever you dropped +the package files, by typing "make". In its simplest form you can then type + + ./stlload -i cdk.sys + +in this directory and that will download board 0 (assuming board 0 is an +EasyConnection 8/64 or EasyConnection/RA board). To download to an +ONboard, Brumby or Stallion do: + + ./stlload -i 2681.sys + +Normally you would want all boards to be downloaded as part of the standard +system startup. To achieve this, add one of the lines above into the +/etc/rc.d/rc.S or /etc/rc.d/rc.serial file. To download each board just add +the "-b <brd-number>" option to the line. You will need to download code for +every board. You should probably move the stlload program into a system +directory, such as /usr/sbin. Also, the default location of the cdk.sys image +file in the stlload down-loader is /usr/lib/stallion. Create that directory +and put the cdk.sys and 2681.sys files in it. (It's a convenient place to put +them anyway). As an example your /etc/rc.d/rc.S file might have the +following lines added to it (if you had 3 boards): + + /usr/sbin/stlload -b 0 -i /usr/lib/stallion/cdk.sys + /usr/sbin/stlload -b 1 -i /usr/lib/stallion/2681.sys + /usr/sbin/stlload -b 2 -i /usr/lib/stallion/2681.sys + +The image files cdk.sys and 2681.sys are specific to the board types. The +cdk.sys will only function correctly on an EasyConnection 8/64 board. Similarly +the 2681.sys image fill only operate on ONboard, Brumby and Stallion boards. +If you load the wrong image file into a board it will fail to start up, and +of course the ports will not be operational! + +If you are using the modularized version of the driver you might want to put +the modprobe calls in the startup script as well (before the download lines +obviously). + + +3.2 USING THE SERIAL PORTS + +Once the driver is installed you will need to setup some device nodes to +access the serial ports. The simplest method is to use the /dev/MAKEDEV program. +It will automatically create device entries for Stallion boards. This will +create the normal serial port devices as /dev/ttyE# where# is the port number +starting from 0. A bank of 64 minor device numbers is allocated to each board, +so the first port on the second board is port 64,etc. A set of callout type +devices may also be created. They are created as the devices /dev/cue# where # +is the same as for the ttyE devices. + +For the most part the Stallion driver tries to emulate the standard PC system +COM ports and the standard Linux serial driver. The idea is that you should +be able to use Stallion board ports and COM ports interchangeably without +modifying anything but the device name. Anything that doesn't work like that +should be considered a bug in this driver! + +If you look at the driver code you will notice that it is fairly closely +based on the Linux serial driver (linux/drivers/char/serial.c). This is +intentional, obviously this is the easiest way to emulate its behavior! + +Since this driver tries to emulate the standard serial ports as much as +possible, most system utilities should work as they do for the standard +COM ports. Most importantly "stty" works as expected and "setserial" can +also be used (excepting the ability to auto-configure the I/O and IRQ +addresses of boards). Higher baud rates are supported in the usual fashion +through setserial or using the CBAUDEX extensions. Note that the EasyIO and +EasyConnection (all types) support at least 57600 and 115200 baud. The newer +EasyConnection XP modules and new EasyIO boards support 230400 and 460800 +baud as well. The older boards including ONboard and Brumby support a +maximum baud rate of 38400. + +If you are unfamiliar with how to use serial ports, then get the Serial-HOWTO +by Greg Hankins. It will explain everything you need to know! + + + +4. NOTES + +You can use both drivers at once if you have a mix of board types installed +in a system. However to do this you will need to change the major numbers +used by one of the drivers. Currently both drivers use major numbers 24, 25 +and 28 for their devices. Change one driver to use some other major numbers, +and then modify the mkdevnods script to make device nodes based on those new +major numbers. For example, you could change the istallion.c driver to use +major numbers 60, 61 and 62. You will also need to create device nodes with +different names for the ports, for example ttyF# and cuf#. + +The original Stallion board is no longer supported by Stallion Technologies. +Although it is known to work with the istallion driver. + +Finding a free physical memory address range can be a problem. The older +boards like the Stallion and ONboard need large areas (64K or even 128K), so +they can be very difficult to get into a system. If you have 16 Mb of RAM +then you have no choice but to put them somewhere in the 640K -> 1Mb range. +ONboards require 64K, so typically 0xd0000 is good, or 0xe0000 on some +systems. If you have an original Stallion board, "V4.0" or Rev.O, then you +need a 64K memory address space, so again 0xd0000 and 0xe0000 are good. +Older Stallion boards are a much bigger problem. They need 128K of address +space and must be on a 128K boundary. If you don't have a VGA card then +0xc0000 might be usable - there is really no other place you can put them +below 1Mb. + +Both the ONboard and old Stallion boards can use higher memory addresses as +well, but you must have less than 16Mb of RAM to be able to use them. Usual +high memory addresses used include 0xec0000 and 0xf00000. + +The Brumby boards only require 16Kb of address space, so you can usually +squeeze them in somewhere. Common addresses are 0xc8000, 0xcc000, or in +the 0xd0000 range. EasyConnection 8/64 boards are even better, they only +require 4Kb of address space, again usually 0xc8000, 0xcc000 or 0xd0000 +are good. + +If you are using an EasyConnection 8/64-EI or ONboard/E then usually the +0xd0000 or 0xe0000 ranges are the best options below 1Mb. If neither of +them can be used then the high memory support to use the really high address +ranges is the best option. Typically the 2Gb range is convenient for them, +and gets them well out of the way. + +The ports of the EasyIO-8M board do not have DCD or DTR signals. So these +ports cannot be used as real modem devices. Generally, when using these +ports you should only use the cueX devices. + +The driver utility package contains a couple of very useful programs. One +is a serial port statistics collection and display program - very handy +for solving serial port problems. The other is an extended option setting +program that works with the intelligent boards. + + + +5. DISCLAIMER + +The information contained in this document is believed to be accurate and +reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed by Stallion Technologies +Pty. Ltd. for its use, nor any infringements of patents or other rights +of third parties resulting from its use. Stallion Technologies reserves +the right to modify the design of its products and will endeavour to change +the information in manuals and accompanying documentation accordingly. + |