"Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions."
~Tony Robbins
We are pleased to announce the release of Linaro 12.12.
The Linaro 12.12 release highlights energy and work of all the Linaro
Teams – Working Groups, Landing Teams and Platform Teams – who have
provided all the updates and new features that are integrated on top of
Android and Ubuntu during this release cycle. The 12.12 release rounds
out a great year of successes that prove how the collaborative efforts
of Linaro, together with its members, partners and community continue
to build upon the future of Linux on ARM.
"Just look at the engineering that Linaro has been involved with.
big.LITTLE, kernel consolidation, UMM, ARMv8 and the list goes on.
It’s not just hacking code though, Linaro is thinking carefully about
itself, re-engineering itself for the next phase in its evolution.
“Start up” was 2010, “Establishment” was 2011 and 2012 has been “Growth”.
What’s 2013 going to be all about? Just wait and see," said David
Rusling, Linaro CTO in his 2012 year end summary.
The 12.12 release highlights include the Linaro Android team has
upgraded its builds to to 4.2.1, enabled WiFi on PandaBoard for 4.2.1
and audio on the Origen 4210. Additionally the team released its 12.12
toolchain this cycle. Earlier this month, the 3.7 Linux Kernel was
released and the Linaro Android team rebased the perf patches.
As we look at the achievements of the Linaro Developer Platform,
we note that the Linaro baseline images for Ubuntu are now based on
Quantal Quetzal otherwise known as Ubuntu 12.10 and initiate the
transition from Evaluation Builds to Engineering Builds. The Linaro
U-Boot 2012.12 which is based on U-Boot v2013.01-rc1 was released and
includes support for Origen quad (4412) and Arndale (5250) boards.
The Linaro Power Management team had a very busy cycle: optimizing
big.LITTLE IKS (In Kernel Switcher) for release to members, integrating
the big.LITTLE MP via the Intergration tree, adding improvements to
help solve tasking packing around the power-aware scheduler, IKS and MP
benchmarking for power and performance, adding thermal framework
enhancements for non-ACPI platforms, updating Powertop for ARM
platforms and adding cpuidle support for multi-cluster SoCs.
The Linaro Toolchain Team announced updates: Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.12 was
released and is based off GCC 4.7.2+svn194184 which gives better 64 bit
shifts in NEON, updates the arm/aarch64-4.7-branch up to svn revision
194154. Linaro Toolchain Binaries for 2012.12 was released and updated
to latest Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.12 and Linaro GDB 7.5 2012.12.
LAVA has seen updates and improvements this cycle as well as support
for the 4.2.1 Linaro Android images were added, Other improvements on
the LAVA front include increases IP address space from 255 to 65k in
the lab, image reports for the automated testing of OpenEmbedded
builds is now available, a new server was added tothe validation lab
for audio, power measurement, and SD-mux capable devices. LAVA can now
execute Versatile Express jobs using the test images DTB and
VExpress-tc2 boards have been converted to use IKS. A 64-bit virtual
machine was added to lava-cloud for the Linaro Toolchain team's use as
well. The user interface for finding, viewing and downloading
attachments in the LAVA dashboard was improved and signal handlers can
be written in shell and bundled with the tests themselves.
We encourage everybody to use the 12.12 release. The download links for
all images and components are available on our downloads page:
http://www.linaro.org/downloads/
See the detailed highlights of this release to get an overview of what
has been accomplished by the Working Groups, Landing Teams and Platform
Teams:
* Android
* Platform Enablement
* Android upgraded to 4.2.1
* Android 12.12 toolchain released
* Wifi on PandaBoard enabled for 4.2.1
* Audio enabled for Origen 4210
* LAVA/Testing
* Support to handle 4.2.1 images were added
* Upstreaming
* Perf patches were rebased for 4.2.1 on 3.7 kernel
* Developer Platform
* Ubuntu baseline images are now based on the latest Ubuntu stable
release, Quantal Quetzal (12.10)
* CI loop for OpenEmbedded builds is set up: daily build are produced,
boot tested and image report is available on LAVA dashboard
* The developer rootfs contains the software stack required by
the Kernel Working Group
* Linaro U-Boot 2012.12 released, based off U-Boot v2013.01-rc1
* include support for Origen quad (4412) and Arndale (5250) boards
* Kernel package for IKS has been updated and b.L hardware pack converted to v3
* OpenEmbedded ARMv8 build has been updated
* Kernel updated to linux-linaro 3.7
* binutils and gdb updated to HEAD
* switch setup to use "--network bridged --network-bridge tap0" by
default to have host<>model networking
* switch to use php-fpm instead of Apache module
* Linux Linaro has been updated
* based on linux-linaro-core-tracking tree, llct-20121211.0 tag:
* based on v3.7 release
* config fragments: updated config-core-tracking and
basic-board-configs topics
* emmc patches from Kernel WG
* updated linaro-android-3.7 topic by John Stultz
* gator version 5.12
* big-LITTLE-MP version master-v13
* devfreq topic from Rajagopal Venkat
* "KBuild: Allow scripts/* to be cross compiled" patch included.
This is all that remains from the ubuntu-sauce topic.
* patches to enable perf in Android by Bernhard Rosenkraenzer
* updated Versatile Express patches from ARM LT
* updated Origen patches from Samsung LT
* Linux Linaro tracking updated, v3.4 based
* Gator version 5.12
* updated tilt-3.4 topic from TI LT; now includes the 3.4.22 stable release
* Graphics and Multimedia
* A glmark2 canvas (backend) for rendering using the DRM stack without X11
* A glmark2 scene rendering a translucent model with reflective
properties (e.g., a "crystal" statue)
* Kernel
* Refactor USB Host Drivers
* Analyzing ehci-hcd and echi-omap source code (Dec 7)
* Studying existing ehci-platform,echi-mxc, ehci-spear, and
ehci-orion code (Dec 7)
* Research impact on kernel size for multi-platform configs
* Identify appropriate defconfig file: u8500_defconfig, vexpress_defconfig
* Kernel static size measurement (Dec 01)
* Currently we can start with 'free' and '/proc/modules'
* Finalize dts file to use across all the platforms(Dec 14)
* zImage with built-in's(Dec 01)
* zImage static size with and without init sections (Dec 01)
* Setup mmc rootfs for runtime size analysis for U8500 platform (Dec 17)
* Setup qemu-linaro for runtime size analysis for vexpress platform (Dec 08)
* Prepare mmc based rootfs with *.ko's (Dec 12)
* Identify the zImage size with built-in and '*.ko' (Dec 19)
* Gather kernel image and runtime size data for Ux500 platform (Dec 19)
* Gather kernel image and runtime size data for Versatile express
platform (Dec 19)
* Gather kernel image and runtime size data for i.MX platform(Dec 18)
* For each platform, identify FDT'd Modules that are participating
for .ko (Dec 19)
* zImage with *.ko's(Dec 18)
* Prepare mmc based rootfs with *.ko's for u8500 platform(Dec 17)
* Identify the number of pages used before and after installing the
modules (Dec 19)
* Followup with shawnGuo for runtime size data gathering on i.MX
platform (Dec 18)
* Android upstreaming: Ashmem
* Review Minchan's v3 vma based appraoch, found an critical issue and
reported it (Dec 11)
* Android upstreaming: Lowmem
* Create mempressure cgroup per David Rientjes suggestions
(this also involves making vmpressure calculations per-thread)
* Develop feedback cycle interface per akpm's & sent to lkml
* Got some interest in using the new interface from kvm developer for
automatic memory ballooning
* Pincontrol GPIO range makeover
* Patches for the above merged into Torvald's mainline tree (Dec 12)
* Refactor EHCI controller code
* Study existing ECHI code (Dec 7)
* Studying existing ehci-platform,echi-mxc, ehci-spear, and
ehci-orion code (Dec 7)
* Power Management
* Highlights
* Getting b.L IKS out the door
* Lots of benchmarking, kernel optimising, bug fixing and code cleanups
* Power measurements and tuning using ARM's workbench
* Release new version of powertop based on upstream 2.2 version
* New feature to view devfreq device states
* cpuidle - create new tool to analyse idle intersection of multiple cores
* useful for optimising cpuidle driver to achieve cluster shutdown
* Optimise cpufreq for IKS
* Refactor cpufreq driver
* Replicate Mathieu's work setup at my place to verify power figures
* Fix cpufreq driver to work with on-the-fly disablement of bl_switcher
* Host Automated Workload Benchmark Suite in a linaro private repo
* Optimize/Fix issues in Workbench
* Fix Nico/next kernel crashes due to cpufreq framework
* Run lots of benchmark tests
* Fix potential bugs in cpufreq core
* Supply the same cpufreq driver to ARM LT Team
* Work on spreadsheet used for keeping results
* Fix any pending issues with cpufreq driver
* Integration tree to bring together big.LITTLE MP related work
* Host cpufreq-interactive-master (Host patches from Todd Poyners tree)
and cpufreq-interactive-exp (master + optimization patches from Linaro)
branches
* Release v13 of big LITTLE MP tree
* Tasking packing heuristics (Power-aware scheduler)
* Make MP3 power measurement on TC2 ubuntu image with pack mechanism
* Create an TC2 android image with packing mecanism
* Make MP3 power measurement on TC2 android image with pack mechanism
* Update ARM bench
* Make power measurement on TC2 android image with pack mechanism and
ARM bench
* Prepare packing small task v2
* Update TC2 firmware
* Test IKS-MP kernel with packing small tasks
* Fix function tracer with new kernel and firmware
* Test cpu hotplug stree test on TC2 and get results
* Thermal framework enhancements for non-ACPI platforms
* Analyse ways to have more than one temp sensor and how to share
cooling devices between 2 thermal zones
* Keep powertop 2.x working on ARM
* Add devfreq support into powertop to display all devfreq devices
freq stats perhaps in new window
* Rebase powertop to new 2.2 version
* Upstream stericsson u8500 suspend driver
* Look through the u8500 suspend codes
* Find out if there is any dependencies blocking u8500 suspend upstream
* cpuidle: support for multi-cluster in the core
* parse a ftrace file and load data
* do statistics on average, min, max time on the fly
* compute intersection intervals
* optimize intersection algorithm for memory
* optimize intersection algorithm for speed
* do statistics on intersections on the fly
* display results
* add options to the command line
* add a cstate options to filter results
* check plotting against intervals
* create a wiki page the wakeup source and fill it step by step
* https://wiki.linaro.org/WorkingGroups/PowerManagement/Doc/WakeUpSources
* Refactor the acpi cpuidle driver
* fix power state recomputation and dynamic C-states
* Toolchain
* Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.12 released, based off GCC 4.7.2+svn194184
* better 64 bit shifts in NEON
* arm/aarch64-4.7-branch up to svn revision 194154
* LP #1060221 - Fix ICE: libgrypt
* Linaro GCC 4.6 2012.12 released, based off GCC 4.6.3+svn194340
* Linaro QEMU 2012.12 released, based off upstream's recent 1.3.0 release
* Linaro GDB 7.5 2012.12 released, based the FSF GDB 7.5.1 release
* Linaro Toolchain Binaries 2012.12 released, updated to latest
Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.12 and Linaro GDB 7.5 2012.12
* LAVA
* The validation lab increased its IP space from 255 to 65k addresses
to prepare for new devices and LEG use cases requirements.
* The Toolchain WG PandaBoard boards have been updated to support hard
and soft float images
* Image Reports for Automated Testing of OpenEmbedded builds is now availale
* A new server is deployed in the validation lab for audio, power
measurement, and SD-mux capable devices.
* We started to use the 'salt' tool to manage the lab infrastructure
* LAVA can execute Versatile Express jobs using the test image's DTB
* VExpress-tc2 boards are converted to use IKS
* The validation lab has increased the number of wireless access
points available
* The 'cbuild' service for the toolchain group is now running on a VM
in the lab
* The UI for finding, viewing and downloading attachments in
the dashboard has been improved
* Signal handlers can be written in shell and bundled with the tests
themselves
* Most lava-test and lava-android-test tests had lava-test-shell
versions written for them
* Subscriptions to test run filters work properly now. A user can
choose to be notified on failed test job or always.
* LEG
* Completed the investigation of CRC32 for HDFS optimisation
* Ported and submitted Non-Uniform Memory Access patches to upstream
* Enabled GRUB on U-boot
* Enabled UEFI on Samsung Arndale board
* Provide a pre-built Ubuntu server image for Arndale using either
U-boot or UEFI
The release details are linked from the “Details” column for each
released artifact on the release information:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1212/Release#Release_Information
Using the Android-based images
=======================
The Android-based images come in three parts: system, userdata and boot.
These need to be combined to form a complete Android install. For an
explanation of how to do this please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/ImageInstallation
If you are interested in getting the source and building these images
yourself please see the following pages:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/GetSourcehttp://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/BuildSource
Using the Ubuntu-based images
=======================
The Ubuntu-based images consist of two parts. The first part is a hardware
pack, which can be found under the hwpacks directory and contains hardware
specific packages (such as the kernel and bootloader). The second part is
the rootfs, which is combined with the hardware pack to create a complete
image. For more information on how to create an image please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/DevPlatform/Ubuntu/ImageInstallation
Getting involved
============
More information on Linaro can be found on our websites:
* Homepage: http://www.linaro.org
* Wiki: http://wiki.linaro.org
Also subscribe to the important Linaro mailing lists and join our IRC
channels to stay on top of Linaro developments:
* Announcements:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-announce
* Development:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-dev
* IRC:
#linaro on irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
#linaro-android irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
Known issues with this release
=====================
For any errata issues, please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1212/Release#Known_Issues
Bug reports for this release should be filed in Launchpad against the
individual packages that are affected. If a suitable package cannot be
identified, feel free to assign them to:
http://www.launchpad.net/linaro
--
Fathi Boudra, on behalf of the Release Team
Linaro Release Manager | LAVA Project Manager
Linaro.org | Open source software for ARM SoCs
Hello everyone,
Linaro Image Tools source tab-ball for the cycle 2012.12 has been released.
You can download it at this address:
https://launchpad.net/linaro-image-tools/+milestone/2012.12
Highlights from this release:
* Added support for flashing Origen Quad boards.
* Code refactoring to prepare work for Android hardware pack support.
* Allow promptless building of Quantal based images.
Bugs fixed:
* Bug #1081714: Support for flashing origen quad (4412) needs to be added
Regards.
--
Milo Casagrande
Infrastructure Engineer
Linaro.org <www.linaro.org> │ Open source software for ARM SoCs
"One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals."
~Michael Korda
The Linaro 12.11 release is now available!
The Linaro 12.11 release cycle highlights the determination and hard
work of all the Linaro Teams – Working Groups, Landing Teams and
Platform Teams – who have provided all the updates and new features
that are integrated on top of Android and Ubuntu during this
development cycle. The 12.11 release is another example of how Linaro
works together with its members, partners and community to continue to
build the future of Linux on ARM.
Looking over the higlights from the 12.11 release cycle, it's easy to
see how the momemtum and energy from LCE12-Copenhagen carries over and
our teams consistantly meet and exceed the goals set in the Linaro
Connect sessions. Our Android team has updated the platform to AOSP 4.2
on all our supported boards, and Android evdev is now upstreamed and
used in AOSP 4.2.
As we look over improvements to the Linaro toolchain, it is notable
that Linaro GCC now includes the arm/aarch64-4.7-branch (ARMv8).
The Developer Platform team reports that the initial GRUB support for
ARM is now available, provided by our Linaro Enterprise Group and
marking its first component.
The Power Management Working Group continues its progress on big.LITTLE
MP by delivering the v11 and v12 branches, as the Graphics Working Group
notes that there is a new GLMark2 release which demonstrates shadow
mapping. Additionally our LAVA team reports that the NI Battery
Simulator is now available in the lab and can now be accessed remotely.
We encourage everybody to use the 12.11 release. The download links for
all images and components are available on our downloads page:
http://www.linaro.org/downloads/
See the detailed highlights of this release to get an overview of what
has been accomplished by the Working Groups, Landing Teams and Platform
Teams:
* Android
* Platform Enablement
* Android upgraded from 4.1.2 to 4.2 to all the platforms
* Android builds are available for Origen 4412 board setup
* Improvements to click-through license infrastructure
* MP3 playback enabled for ARM Versatile Express and Samsung Origen
(4210 and 4412)
* Fixed riff USB issue on newer laptops
* Testing/LAVA
* Re-enabled Android CTS testing
* Integrated the new Methanol browser test
* Upstreaming
* Perf patch was pushed to linux-linaro
* Developer Platform
* Package and components for the big.LITTLE project were updated
based on the requirements for the 12.11 development cycle
* Linux Linaro tree updated with the latest kernel development topics
provided by Linaro, and also against the v3.7-rc6 upstream snapshot
* based on linux-linaro-core-tracking tree, llct-20121120.1 tag:
* based on v3.7-rc6
* config fragments: updated config-core-tracking topic,
new basic-board-configs topic added
* emmc patches from Kernel WG
* linaro-android-3.7 topic by Anton Vorontsov
* gator version 5.12
* big-LITTLE-MP version master-v12
* devfreq topic from Rajagopal Venkat
* ubuntu-sauce topic dropped
* "KBuild: Allow scripts/* to be cross compiled" patch included.
This is all that remains from the ubuntu-sauce topic.
* patch to enable perf in Android by Bernhard Rosenkraenzer
* updated Versatile Express patches from ARM LT
* updated Origen patches from Samsung LT
* Linux Linaro tracking tree updated
* v3.4 based
* updated tilt-3.4 topic from TI LT; now includes the 3.4.19 stable
release
* Kernel packages updated to reflect the latest development trees
from Linux Linaro and the Landing Teams
* An engineering build using Ubuntu Precise baseline, that contains
a LAMP stack is re-introduced
* Versatile Express hardware pack includes now Linaro GRUB, enabled
for U-Boot platform on ARM architecture
* A local mirror is set up to speed up Linaro Ubuntu images build
(the build time is now 2h30 instead of 4h)
* Infrastructure
* Developed a UI demonstrating the desired workflow and experience of
CI dashboard users in building, testing, publishing and downloading
their code
* Initial research and prototyping for using lava-dispatcher for doing
native toolchain build in LAVA were done
* GRUB on U-Boot is built daily on CI for both Linaro branch and
upstream branch to verify their buildability
* Graphics and Multimedia
* A new state object that encapsulates EGL interactions for glmark2
* A new GLMark2 demonstrating shadow mapping
* Kernel
* DT bindings for OMAP IOMMU driver is created.
* Android evdev is upstreamed. As of Android 4.2 userland,
this is being used (See frameworks/base/services/input/EventHub.cpp).
* Research the impact on kernel size for multi-platform configs
* Identified appropriate defconfig file: u8500_defconfig,
omap2plus_defconfig, vexpress_defconfig
* Identified kernel version for verification: 3.7-rc5
* Depopulate the Exynos <mach/*> and <plat/*>
* Add device tree support for mct controller and remove regs-mct.h
file (v2, http://www.mail-archive.com/linux-samsung-soc@vger.kernel.org/msg13894.html)
* Remove dwmci.h file (v1,
http://www.mail-archive.com/linux-samsung-soc@vger.kernel.org/msg13925.html)
* Remove regs-mem. file (v1,
http://www.mail-archive.com/linux-samsung-soc@vger.kernel.org/msg13926.html)
* Android keyreset driver upstreaming
* Implemented and sent __weak symbol implementation to mailing list
* Received new implementation fron Dmitry - found bug in his code
* Android lowmem upstreaming
* Slim down the vmevent API, get rid of raw nr_pages attributes
* Discussed all the cgroups-specific work
* Validated/fixed stock OOM killer for Android usage (according to
Android folks patch exists and posted somewhere)
* vmeventfd/vmstat accuracy improvements (fixes KOSAKI's comments)
* Depopulate the ux500 and plat-nomadik <mach/*> and <plat/*>
* Investigate ux500 cpufreq to make smooth transition
* MMC-4.5 data TAG support
* Rebase on top on 3.4.0 rc4
* Internal review
* Publish to EXT4 and FSDEVEL community
* Convert Exynos to common clk
* Develop generic common clock helpers for all Samsung platforms (v3)
* Develop common clock support for Exynos 4 platforms (v3)
* Storage EXT4 journal in enhanced area of eMMC
* Enable enhanced area on eMMC
* Power Management
* Integration tree to bring together big.LITTLE MP related work
* Released v11 and v12 of big LITTLE MP tree
* Enhance the scheduler workload recording/replaying subsystem based
on perf tool
* Integrated perf improvement into linux-linaro
* Devfreq core changes for use by GPU
* Get Mali driver patches accepted to Linaro tree
* Thermal driver for ST-E accepted by maintainer for 3.8
* Support for multiple cpuidle drivers accepted for 3.8 merge
* Allows separate big and LITTLE cpuidle drivers
* Toolchain
* Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.11 released, updated to GCC 4.7.2+svn193200
* Included arm/aarch64-4.7-branch up to svn revision 193328.
* LP: #1065122 - kumofs ftbfs on armhf (gcc ICE)
* LP: #1065559 - [regression] cone ftbfs on armel/armhf using GCC 4.7
* LP: #1067760 - Backport split all insns before pool placement fix to 4.7
* Linaro GCC 4.6 2012.11 released, updated to GCC 4.6.3+svn193199
* Linaro Toolchain Binaries 2012.11 released, updated to latest
Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.11
* LAVA
* QA services have manual access to TC2 hackbox for IKS/MP validation
* Initial work on test case management has begun
* LAVA dispatcher includes generic support for external measurement sources
* Better UI for users when accessing a restricted resource
* NI Battery Simulator is connected in the lab and provide remote
access via Windows RDP
* Test Results now support attachments
* Master images in LAVA now available as pre-built images
* LAVA presentation was given to ARM:
https://docs.google.com/a/linaro.org/presentation/d/1_9lRd-RDG9vw7kFhZXliMH…
The release details are linked from the “Details” column for each
released artifact on the release information:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1211/Release#Release_Information
Using the Android-based images
=======================
The Android-based images come in three parts: system, userdata and boot.
These need to be combined to form a complete Android install. For an
explanation of how to do this please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/ImageInstallation
If you are interested in getting the source and building these images
yourself please see the following pages:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/GetSourcehttp://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/BuildSource
Using the Ubuntu-based images
=======================
The Ubuntu-based images consist of two parts. The first part is a hardware
pack, which can be found under the hwpacks directory and contains hardware
specific packages (such as the kernel and bootloader). The second part is
the rootfs, which is combined with the hardware pack to create a complete
image. For more information on how to create an image please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/DevPlatform/Ubuntu/ImageInstallation
Getting involved
============
More information on Linaro can be found on our websites:
* Homepage: http://www.linaro.org
* Wiki: http://wiki.linaro.org
Also subscribe to the important Linaro mailing lists and join our IRC
channels to stay on top of Linaro developments:
* Announcements:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-announce
* Development:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-dev
* IRC:
#linaro on irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
#linaro-android irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
Known issues with this release
=====================
For any errata issues, please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1211/Release#Known_Issues
Bug reports for this release should be filed in Launchpad against the
individual packages that are affected. If a suitable package cannot be
identified, feel free to assign them to:
http://www.launchpad.net/linaro
--
Fathi Boudra, on behalf of the Release Team
Linaro Release Manager | LAVA Project Manager
Linaro.org | Open source software for ARM SoCs
You are invited to join the Linaro Enterprise discussions on the
following mailing list and IRC channel at:
linaro-enterprise(a)lists.linaro.org
#linaro-enterprise on irc.linaro.org
Send an email to linaro-enterprise(a)lists.linaro.org with 'help' in the
subject or body - without the '' quotes - to receive a message with
instructions and all options.
Many thanks for your participation!
Andrea
--
Andrea Gallo
Director, Linaro Enterprise Group
email: andrea.gallo(a)linaro.org
mobile: +39 338 4075993
IRC: agallo@#linaro on irc.linaro.org
Skype: agallo70
“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat,
determination and hard work.“ ~ Colin Powell
The Linaro 12.10 release is now available!
The Linaro 12.10 release cycle highlights the determination and hard
work of all the Linaro Teams – Working Groups, Landing Teams and
Platform Teams – who have provided all the updates and new features
that are integrated on top of Android and Ubuntu during this
development cycle. The 12.10 release is another example of how Linaro
works together with its members, partners and community to continue to
build the future of Linux on ARM.
On the ARMv8 front, Linaro is now making early ARMv8 images available
to interested developers. For a primer on the ARMv8 architecture,
the AArch64 execution state and the A64 instruction set, please visit
the ARM portal:
http://www.arm.com/products/processors/instruction-set-architectures/armv8-…
While there is currently no ARMv8 hardware available, ARM and Linaro
have developed support for AArch64/A64 against virtual platforms and
started sending the resulting patches to various open source projects.
With the Linaro provided downloads and with ARM’s Fast Models virtual
platform, you may boot a virtual ARMv8 system and run 64-bit binaries.
These downloads are currently in beta, but they should just work and
we are looking towards including them as part of our monthly releases.
For more information on these ARMv8 images, please take a look at
the Linaro Engineer pages on the Linaro website:
http://www.linaro.org/engineering/armv8
Work on big.LITTLE continues as the Linaro Kernel Working Group
highlights its completion of TC2 support; noting that TC2 now boots
with the latest IKS tree. Five new test cases have been added to handle
simultaneous thread switching, important bugs such as Switcher Thumb-2
bug and Switcher deadlock issue when working on the memblock_steal(),
vlock remaining locked under certain conditions were fixed along with
and updated focus to run benchmarks with the latest IKS on TC2 to find
optimization opportunities.
While some wondered if the idea of a consolidated kernel in the ARM
ecosystem would remain a dream and something developers only longed for,
the Linaro Kernel Working Group continues to work toward making that
dream a reality and during the 12.10 Linaro development cycle announced
that they will demo their work on their continued efforts on the single
zImage kernel. Mark Orvek, Director for the Kernel Working Group at
Linaro in a Google+ Hangout on Air discussion hinted to what attendees
could expect to see at the LCE 12 -Copenhagen Demo Friday event. Orvek
indicated that Deepak Saxena would be demo'ing a single kernel across
several member boards. The full recorded Hangout is available on:
http://youtu.be/t71JNNO6IDo
We encourage everybody to use the 12.10 release. The download links for
all images and components are available on our downloads page:
http://www.linaro.org/downloads/
See the detailed highlights of this release to get an overview of what
has been accomplished by the Working Groups, Landing Teams and Platform
Teams:
* Android
* Linaro Android 12.10 has been upgraded to 4.1.1_r6 and then to 4.1.2.
* Linaro Android builds are now shipped with improved instructions.
* AOSP Galaxy Nexus builds are available from
http://android-build.linaro.org and include DS-5 support.
* Linaro Android toolchain has been updated to Linaro GCC 2012.10.
* Dalvik benchmarked against Hard-FLoat Open JDK and Java SE.
* Power meter improvements for LAVA automation.
* Prepared Connect demonstrations
* benchmarking methods and how it automates benchmarks.
* Galaxy Nexus builds.
* Hybrid Android: an Android build with a toolchain installed, an
editor to edit code and other utilities to develop on an Android
box.
* power meter, based on NI equipement.
* Developer Platform
* OpenEmbedded now contains the 64-ready components for the ARMv8
bootstrap (Minimal, SDK and LAMP images published).
* Package and components for the big.LITTLE project were updated based
on the requirements for the 12.10 development cycle.
* AArch64 Quantal image containing build-essential is now available,
with instructions at
https://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/DevPlatform/CrossCompile/arm64bootstrap
* Linux Linaro tree updated with the latest kernel development topics
provided by Linaro, and also against the final v3.6 upstream release.
* Linux Linaro, based on linux-linaro-core-tracking tree
* based on v3.6
* includes 3.6.1 stable release
* config fragments (config-core-tracking topic)
* emmc patches from Kernel WG
* updated linaro-android-3.6-jstultz-rebase topic
* gator version 5.11
* ubuntu-sauce-3.6
* big-LITTLE-MP version 10
* updated Versatile Express patches from ARM LT
* updated Origen patches from Samsung LT
* updated Android kernel config for Snowball from STE LT
* Linux Linaro tracking, v3.4 based
* updated tilt-3.4 topic from TI LT; now includes the 3.4.14 stable
release.
* Infrastructure
* Improved Linaro image tools validation. A CI has been set up to
detect regressions and ensure older released images can always be
generated.
* Improve instructions provided on releases.linaro.org,
snapshots.linaro.org and android-build.linaro.org. As an example,
see http://releases.linaro.org/12.10/android/vexpress
* Kernel
* Continue work on consolidation/cleanup for single zImage
* Converted clock lookups for Ux500
http://marc.info/?l=linux-arm-kernel&m=135091433920465&w=2
* Converting Ux500 to SPARSE_IRQ
http://marc.info/?l=linux-arm-kernel&m=135058075015142&w=2
* Converted Exynos to common clock framework
http://marc.info/?l=linux-arm-kernel&m=134963007028275&w=2
* Power Management
* v10 of the b.L MP patchset was integrated into LLCT. It contains
updated versions of the following patchsets: PMU, load tracking,
task placement.
* Toolchain
* Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.10, updated to GCC 4.7.2+svn191881
* Improve performance by using VLD1 instead of VLDM for NEON quad
loads.
* LP: #1053348: binary files are not merged from the FSF branches - Fixed.
* Linaro GCC 4.6 2012.10, updates to 4.6.3+svn191880.
* LP: #1029454 cselim tree optimizer generates incorrect code - Fixed.
* Linaro Toolchain Binaries 2012.10, updated to latest
Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.10.
* LAVA
* Add a new mechanism to test Android, Ubuntu, and OpenEmbedded
images.
* Support for testing ARMv8 Foundation Models.
* New router for the Validation lab deployed.
* WiFi access point is now connected to the internet and is used in
Linaro's daily tests.
* big.LITTLE System
* Completed TC2 support. TC2 now boots with the latest IKS tree.
* Added five new test cases to handle simultaneous thread switching.
* Few important bugs were fixed: Switcher Thumb-2 bug,
Switcher deadlock issue when working on the memblock_steal(),
vlock remaining locked under certain conditions.
* Team changed focus to run benchmarks with the latest IKS on TC2
to find optimization opportunities.
The release details are linked from the “Details” column for each
released artifact on the release information:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1210/Release#Release_Information
Using the Android-based images
=======================
The Android-based images come in three parts: system, userdata and boot.
These need to be combined to form a complete Android install. For an
explanation of how to do this please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/ImageInstallation
If you are interested in getting the source and building these images
yourself please see the following pages:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/GetSourcehttp://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/BuildSource
Using the Ubuntu-based images
=======================
The Ubuntu-based images consist of two parts. The first part is a hardware
pack, which can be found under the hwpacks directory and contains hardware
specific packages (such as the kernel and bootloader). The second part is
the rootfs, which is combined with the hardware pack to create a complete
image. For more information on how to create an image please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/DevPlatform/Ubuntu/ImageInstallation
Getting involved
============
More information on Linaro can be found on our websites:
* Homepage: http://www.linaro.org
* Wiki: http://wiki.linaro.org
Also subscribe to the important Linaro mailing lists and join our IRC
channels to stay on top of Linaro developments:
* Announcements:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-announce
* Development:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-dev
* IRC:
#linaro on irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
#linaro-android irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
Known issues with this release
=====================
For any errata issues, please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1210/Release#Known_Issues
Bug reports for this release should be filed in Launchpad against the
individual packages that are affected. If a suitable package cannot be
identified, feel free to assign them to:
http://www.launchpad.net/linaro
--
Fathi Boudra, on behalf of the Release Team
Linaro Release Manager | Validation Project Manager
Linaro.org | Open source software for ARM SoCs
Hello everyone,
Linaro Image Tools source tar-ball for the 2012.10 cycle has be released.
Highlights from this release:
* Use default 'u_boot' bootloader if none is specified on the command
line with linaro-media-create, and multiple bootloaders are supported
* Added dtb_files support in hwpack config, as per hwpack V3 syntax [1]
* Added Build-Info support for hwpack creation
* Override initrd_high and fdt_high boot parameters for Android boards
Bugs fixed:
* 1055800 missing support for dtb_files (needed for vexpress)
* 1055644 Configurable values for initrd_high and fdt_high
* 1059579 Different ways to specify and retrieve a logger
* 1067786 [regression] 1 test still fail after build-info support merge
* 1065826 [regression] 11 tests failing since build-info support is merged
* 1057639 [regression] --bootloader option is mandatory
The newly released file is available here:
https://launchpad.net/linaro-image-tools/+milestone/2012.10
A direct link to the file:
https://launchpad.net/linaro-image-tools/trunk/2012.10/+download/linaro-ima…
Regards.
[1] https://wiki.linaro.org/HardwarePacksV3
--
Milo Casagrande
Infrastructure Engineer
Linaro.org <www.linaro.org> │ Open source software for ARM SoCs
mail subject errata...
On 27 September 2012 17:59, Fathi Boudra <fathi.boudra(a)linaro.org> wrote:
> “There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between
> mediocrity and accomplishment.“ ~ Norman Vincent Peale
>
> The Linaro 12.09 release is now available!
>
> The Linaro 12.09 release cycle highlights the combined work and
> enthusiasm of all the Linaro Teams – Working Groups, Landing Teams and
> Platform Teams – who have provided all the updates and new features
> that are integrated on top of Android and Ubuntu during this
> development cycle. The 12.09 release is another example of how Linaro
> succesfully –together with its members, partners and community–
> continue to build the future of Linux on ARM.
>
> Zach Pfeffer, the Linaro Android Team Tech Lead, explains to the Linaro
> Release team what he and his team have accomplished during this cycle.
> Linaro’s patches to AOSP are now available on Jelly Bean and Linaro
> Android users should now see a 15% performance bump in their Android
> builds when combined with the Linaro toolchain. Developers now have
> another MALI based accelerated platform to work with as the Snowball
> graphics enablement is now available on the Linaro Jelly Bean build.
> The team also analyzed 10 of the most popular Android benchmarking
> tools: AndEBench, AndEBench Java, Linpack, CaffeineMark,
> Antutu 2D and 3D, NBench, Quadrant, I/O Benchmark and Vellamo.
> Additionally, the team has put together the NI PXIe-4154 based power
> measurement system which will allow the instrument to be easily
> integrated into LAVA. Also there is now an AOSP test automation
> framework that is able to automatically read and execute in-tree AOSP
> tests.
>
> "During the 12.09 cycle the team started early work on a minimal ARMv8
> bootstrap, and we already have a very minimal rootfs with some parts to
> help other developers that want to get involved with the porting,"
> says Ricardo Salveti, Developer Platform Team Tech Lead.
> "This work will be critical for the future of Linux on ARMv8, as
> the major GNU/Linux distributions can use it as base to bootstrap and
> support this new architechture." In addition to the work highlighted
> by Salveti, the Developer Platform team also updated the kernel and
> test components for the big.LITTLE project, made substantial progress
> on the Debian/Ubuntu Perl and Python multi-arch/cross-build support,
> and noted that the hardware packs for Versatile Express, Origen and
> PandaBoard now include the support for UEFI and can be selected while
> flashing the image with linaro-media-tools.
>
> We encourage everybody to use the 12.09 release. The download links for
> all images and components are available on our downloads page:
>
> http://www.linaro.org/downloads/
>
> See the detailed highlights of this release to get an overview of what
> has been accomplished by the Working Groups, Landing Teams and Platform
> Teams:
>
> * Android
> * All Linaro patches are now available on Jelly Bean.
> * Accelerated graphics is now available on Snowball Jelly Bean build.
> * AndEBench, AndEBench Java, Linpack, !CaffeineMark, Antutu 2D and 3D,
> NBench, Quadrant, I/O Benchmark, Vellamo benchmark hotspot
> characterization available.
> * An Origen tracking build is available and will be released this
> cycle as a Linaro Evaluation Build (LEB).
> * Audio works on Origen running Jelly Bean (WAV file only).
> * A Monkeyrunner script to run Streamline has been completed.
> * First rev of the NI PXIe-4154 based power measurement system is created.
> See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bKyuxLl4iw&feature=plcp
> * In-tree AOSP tests have been automated.
>
> * Developer Platform
> * Foundation for the ARMv8 !OpenEmbedded porting mostly completed,
> with kernel and a very minimal rootfs already available for internal
> usage.
> * Kernel and test components were updated for the big.LITTLE project,
> based on the requirements for the 12.09 cycle.
> * Substantial progress on the Debian/Ubuntu Perl and Python
> multi-arch/cross-build support, with enough data to be used and
> supported during the ARMv8 Debian/Ubuntu bootstrap.
> * Hwpacks for Vexpress, Origen and !PandaBoard now also include
> the support for UEFI, which can be selected while flashing the image
> with linaro-media-tools.
> * Linux Linaro tree updated with the latest kernel development topics
> provided by Linaro (including big.LITTLE MP), and also against
> the 3.6-rc6 upstream snapshot.
>
> * Infrastructure
> * The hardware pack v3 format now implements the "copy_files"
> directive, a list of files to copy from an optionally named packages
> to an optionally named destination.
>
> * Kernel
> * big.LITTLE System
> * Reordering and code cleanup of In-Kernel Switcher (IKS) is done.
> * Inter-Process Interrupt (IPI) for CPU wake-ups is done and the IKS
> code was adapted to use it.
> * Hierarchical cache flushing code has been submitted, waiting for
> acknowledgment and acceptance.
>
> * OCTO
> * Forward porting of existing UEFI port on Origen to latest UEFI
> release of Linaro.
>
> * Power Management
> * Version 8 of the big.LITTLE MP integration tree integrated into LLCT
> and in use in the TC2 builds. It contains:
> * Updated version of task placement patches for the scheduler.
> * Bug fixes to the mainline scheduler.
> * PMU patches for b.L from ARM.
> * Powertop rebased on upstream 2.1 release. Updated on Ubuntu and
> Android Linaro Evaluation Builds.
>
> * Toolchain
> * Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.09, updated to GCC 4.7.1+svn191123
> * Adds support for the NEON vext instruction when shuffling.
> * Backports improvements to scheduling transfers between VFP and core
> registers.
> * Backports support for the UBFX instruction on certain bit extract
> idioms.
> * PR54252 ICE with too wide alignment assertion on vectorised code - Fixed.
> * PR54212 ICE due to generating a predicated NEON vdup instruction - Fixed.
> * Linaro GCC 4.6 2012.09, updates to 4.6.3+svn191000.
> * Linaro QEMU 1.2.0 2012.09, rebased on upstream's 1.2.0 release.
> * Linaro Toolchain Binaries 2012.09, updated to latest
> Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.09 and Linaro GDB 7.5 2012.09
> * gdbserver is stripped.
> * gdbtui is replaced by "gdb --tui".
>
> * LAVA
> * Versatile Express TC2 have been deployed in the Validation lab.
> * LAVA deployment tool now supports a non-interactive mode and can be
> completely automated.
> * LAVA test includes the validation test suite for TI ARM features on
> Linux.
> * Snowball boards have been added in the Validation lab.
>
> The release details are linked from the “Details” column for each
> released artifact on the release information:
>
> http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1209/Release#Release_Information
>
> Using the Android-based images
> =======================
>
> The Android-based images come in three parts: system, userdata and boot.
> These need to be combined to form a complete Android install. For an
> explanation of how to do this please see:
>
> http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/ImageInstallation
>
> If you are interested in getting the source and building these images
> yourself please see the following pages:
>
> http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/GetSource
> http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/BuildSource
>
> Using the Ubuntu-based images
> =======================
>
> The Ubuntu-based images consist of two parts. The first part is a hardware
> pack, which can be found under the hwpacks directory and contains hardware
> specific packages (such as the kernel and bootloader). The second part is
> the rootfs, which is combined with the hardware pack to create a complete
> image. For more information on how to create an image please see:
>
> http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/DevPlatform/Ubuntu/ImageInstallation
>
> Getting involved
> ============
>
> More information on Linaro can be found on our websites:
>
> * Homepage: http://www.linaro.org
> * Wiki: http://wiki.linaro.org
>
> Also subscribe to the important Linaro mailing lists and join our IRC
> channels to stay on top of Linaro developments:
>
> * Announcements:
> http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-announce
>
> * Development:
> http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-dev
>
> * IRC:
> #linaro on irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
> #linaro-android irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
>
> Known issues with this release
> =====================
>
> For any errata issues, please see:
>
> http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1209/Release#Known_Issues
>
> Bug reports for this release should be filed in Launchpad against the
> individual packages that are affected. If a suitable package cannot be
> identified, feel free to assign them to:
>
> http://www.launchpad.net/linaro
>
> --
> Fathi Boudra, on behalf of the Release Team
> Linaro Release Manager | LAVA Project Manager
> Linaro.org | Open source software for ARM SoCs
“There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between
mediocrity and accomplishment.“ ~ Norman Vincent Peale
The Linaro 12.09 release is now available!
The Linaro 12.09 release cycle highlights the combined work and
enthusiasm of all the Linaro Teams – Working Groups, Landing Teams and
Platform Teams – who have provided all the updates and new features
that are integrated on top of Android and Ubuntu during this
development cycle. The 12.09 release is another example of how Linaro
succesfully –together with its members, partners and community–
continue to build the future of Linux on ARM.
Zach Pfeffer, the Linaro Android Team Tech Lead, explains to the Linaro
Release team what he and his team have accomplished during this cycle.
Linaro’s patches to AOSP are now available on Jelly Bean and Linaro
Android users should now see a 15% performance bump in their Android
builds when combined with the Linaro toolchain. Developers now have
another MALI based accelerated platform to work with as the Snowball
graphics enablement is now available on the Linaro Jelly Bean build.
The team also analyzed 10 of the most popular Android benchmarking
tools: AndEBench, AndEBench Java, Linpack, CaffeineMark,
Antutu 2D and 3D, NBench, Quadrant, I/O Benchmark and Vellamo.
Additionally, the team has put together the NI PXIe-4154 based power
measurement system which will allow the instrument to be easily
integrated into LAVA. Also there is now an AOSP test automation
framework that is able to automatically read and execute in-tree AOSP
tests.
"During the 12.09 cycle the team started early work on a minimal ARMv8
bootstrap, and we already have a very minimal rootfs with some parts to
help other developers that want to get involved with the porting,"
says Ricardo Salveti, Developer Platform Team Tech Lead.
"This work will be critical for the future of Linux on ARMv8, as
the major GNU/Linux distributions can use it as base to bootstrap and
support this new architechture." In addition to the work highlighted
by Salveti, the Developer Platform team also updated the kernel and
test components for the big.LITTLE project, made substantial progress
on the Debian/Ubuntu Perl and Python multi-arch/cross-build support,
and noted that the hardware packs for Versatile Express, Origen and
PandaBoard now include the support for UEFI and can be selected while
flashing the image with linaro-media-tools.
We encourage everybody to use the 12.09 release. The download links for
all images and components are available on our downloads page:
http://www.linaro.org/downloads/
See the detailed highlights of this release to get an overview of what
has been accomplished by the Working Groups, Landing Teams and Platform
Teams:
* Android
* All Linaro patches are now available on Jelly Bean.
* Accelerated graphics is now available on Snowball Jelly Bean build.
* AndEBench, AndEBench Java, Linpack, !CaffeineMark, Antutu 2D and 3D,
NBench, Quadrant, I/O Benchmark, Vellamo benchmark hotspot
characterization available.
* An Origen tracking build is available and will be released this
cycle as a Linaro Evaluation Build (LEB).
* Audio works on Origen running Jelly Bean (WAV file only).
* A Monkeyrunner script to run Streamline has been completed.
* First rev of the NI PXIe-4154 based power measurement system is created.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bKyuxLl4iw&feature=plcp
* In-tree AOSP tests have been automated.
* Developer Platform
* Foundation for the ARMv8 !OpenEmbedded porting mostly completed,
with kernel and a very minimal rootfs already available for internal
usage.
* Kernel and test components were updated for the big.LITTLE project,
based on the requirements for the 12.09 cycle.
* Substantial progress on the Debian/Ubuntu Perl and Python
multi-arch/cross-build support, with enough data to be used and
supported during the ARMv8 Debian/Ubuntu bootstrap.
* Hwpacks for Vexpress, Origen and !PandaBoard now also include
the support for UEFI, which can be selected while flashing the image
with linaro-media-tools.
* Linux Linaro tree updated with the latest kernel development topics
provided by Linaro (including big.LITTLE MP), and also against
the 3.6-rc6 upstream snapshot.
* Infrastructure
* The hardware pack v3 format now implements the "copy_files"
directive, a list of files to copy from an optionally named packages
to an optionally named destination.
* Kernel
* big.LITTLE System
* Reordering and code cleanup of In-Kernel Switcher (IKS) is done.
* Inter-Process Interrupt (IPI) for CPU wake-ups is done and the IKS
code was adapted to use it.
* Hierarchical cache flushing code has been submitted, waiting for
acknowledgment and acceptance.
* OCTO
* Forward porting of existing UEFI port on Origen to latest UEFI
release of Linaro.
* Power Management
* Version 8 of the big.LITTLE MP integration tree integrated into LLCT
and in use in the TC2 builds. It contains:
* Updated version of task placement patches for the scheduler.
* Bug fixes to the mainline scheduler.
* PMU patches for b.L from ARM.
* Powertop rebased on upstream 2.1 release. Updated on Ubuntu and
Android Linaro Evaluation Builds.
* Toolchain
* Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.09, updated to GCC 4.7.1+svn191123
* Adds support for the NEON vext instruction when shuffling.
* Backports improvements to scheduling transfers between VFP and core
registers.
* Backports support for the UBFX instruction on certain bit extract
idioms.
* PR54252 ICE with too wide alignment assertion on vectorised code - Fixed.
* PR54212 ICE due to generating a predicated NEON vdup instruction - Fixed.
* Linaro GCC 4.6 2012.09, updates to 4.6.3+svn191000.
* Linaro QEMU 1.2.0 2012.09, rebased on upstream's 1.2.0 release.
* Linaro Toolchain Binaries 2012.09, updated to latest
Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.09 and Linaro GDB 7.5 2012.09
* gdbserver is stripped.
* gdbtui is replaced by "gdb --tui".
* LAVA
* Versatile Express TC2 have been deployed in the Validation lab.
* LAVA deployment tool now supports a non-interactive mode and can be
completely automated.
* LAVA test includes the validation test suite for TI ARM features on
Linux.
* Snowball boards have been added in the Validation lab.
The release details are linked from the “Details” column for each
released artifact on the release information:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1209/Release#Release_Information
Using the Android-based images
=======================
The Android-based images come in three parts: system, userdata and boot.
These need to be combined to form a complete Android install. For an
explanation of how to do this please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/ImageInstallation
If you are interested in getting the source and building these images
yourself please see the following pages:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/GetSourcehttp://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/BuildSource
Using the Ubuntu-based images
=======================
The Ubuntu-based images consist of two parts. The first part is a hardware
pack, which can be found under the hwpacks directory and contains hardware
specific packages (such as the kernel and bootloader). The second part is
the rootfs, which is combined with the hardware pack to create a complete
image. For more information on how to create an image please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/DevPlatform/Ubuntu/ImageInstallation
Getting involved
============
More information on Linaro can be found on our websites:
* Homepage: http://www.linaro.org
* Wiki: http://wiki.linaro.org
Also subscribe to the important Linaro mailing lists and join our IRC
channels to stay on top of Linaro developments:
* Announcements:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-announce
* Development:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-dev
* IRC:
#linaro on irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
#linaro-android irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
Known issues with this release
=====================
For any errata issues, please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1209/Release#Known_Issues
Bug reports for this release should be filed in Launchpad against the
individual packages that are affected. If a suitable package cannot be
identified, feel free to assign them to:
http://www.launchpad.net/linaro
--
Fathi Boudra, on behalf of the Release Team
Linaro Release Manager | Validation Project Manager
Linaro.org | Open source software for ARM SoCs
“There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between
mediocrity and accomplishment.“ ~ Norman Vincent Peale
The Linaro 12.09 release is now available!
The Linaro 12.09 release cycle highlights the combined work and
enthusiasm of all the Linaro Teams – Working Groups, Landing Teams and
Platform Teams – who have provided all the updates and new features
that are integrated on top of Android and Ubuntu during this
development cycle. The 12.09 release is another example of how Linaro
succesfully –together with its members, partners and community–
continue to build the future of Linux on ARM.
Zach Pfeffer, the Linaro Android Team Tech Lead, explains to the Linaro
Release team what he and his team have accomplished during this cycle.
Linaro’s patches to AOSP are now available on Jelly Bean and Linaro
Android users should now see a 15% performance bump in their Android
builds when combined with the Linaro toolchain. Developers now have
another MALI based accelerated platform to work with as the Snowball
graphics enablement is now available on the Linaro Jelly Bean build.
The team also analyzed 10 of the most popular Android benchmarking
tools: AndEBench, AndEBench Java, Linpack, CaffeineMark,
Antutu 2D and 3D, NBench, Quadrant, I/O Benchmark and Vellamo.
Additionally, the team has put together the NI PXIe-4154 based power
measurement system which will allow the instrument to be easily
integrated into LAVA. Also there is now an AOSP test automation
framework that is able to automatically read and execute in-tree AOSP
tests.
"During the 12.09 cycle the team started early work on a minimal ARMv8
bootstrap, and we already have a very minimal rootfs with some parts to
help other developers that want to get involved with the porting,"
says Ricardo Salveti, Developer Platform Team Tech Lead.
"This work will be critical for the future of Linux on ARMv8, as
the major GNU/Linux distributions can use it as base to bootstrap and
support this new architechture." In addition to the work highlighted
by Salveti, the Developer Platform team also updated the kernel and
test components for the big.LITTLE project, made substantial progress
on the Debian/Ubuntu Perl and Python multi-arch/cross-build support,
and noted that the hardware packs for Versatile Express, Origen and
PandaBoard now include the support for UEFI and can be selected while
flashing the image with linaro-media-tools.
We encourage everybody to use the 12.09 release. The download links for
all images and components are available on our downloads page:
http://www.linaro.org/downloads/
See the detailed highlights of this release to get an overview of what
has been accomplished by the Working Groups, Landing Teams and Platform
Teams:
* Android
* All Linaro patches are now available on Jelly Bean.
* Accelerated graphics is now available on Snowball Jelly Bean build.
* AndEBench, AndEBench Java, Linpack, !CaffeineMark, Antutu 2D and 3D,
NBench, Quadrant, I/O Benchmark, Vellamo benchmark hotspot
characterization available.
* An Origen tracking build is available and will be released this
cycle as a Linaro Evaluation Build (LEB).
* Audio works on Origen running Jelly Bean (WAV file only).
* A Monkeyrunner script to run Streamline has been completed.
* First rev of the NI PXIe-4154 based power measurement system is created.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bKyuxLl4iw&feature=plcp
* In-tree AOSP tests have been automated.
* Developer Platform
* Foundation for the ARMv8 !OpenEmbedded porting mostly completed,
with kernel and a very minimal rootfs already available for internal
usage.
* Kernel and test components were updated for the big.LITTLE project,
based on the requirements for the 12.09 cycle.
* Substantial progress on the Debian/Ubuntu Perl and Python
multi-arch/cross-build support, with enough data to be used and
supported during the ARMv8 Debian/Ubuntu bootstrap.
* Hwpacks for Vexpress, Origen and !PandaBoard now also include
the support for UEFI, which can be selected while flashing the image
with linaro-media-tools.
* Linux Linaro tree updated with the latest kernel development topics
provided by Linaro (including big.LITTLE MP), and also against
the 3.6-rc6 upstream snapshot.
* Infrastructure
* The hardware pack v3 format now implements the "copy_files"
directive, a list of files to copy from an optionally named packages
to an optionally named destination.
* Kernel
* big.LITTLE System
* Reordering and code cleanup of In-Kernel Switcher (IKS) is done.
* Inter-Process Interrupt (IPI) for CPU wake-ups is done and the IKS
code was adapted to use it.
* Hierarchical cache flushing code has been submitted, waiting for
acknowledgment and acceptance.
* OCTO
* Forward porting of existing UEFI port on Origen to latest UEFI
release of Linaro.
* Power Management
* Version 8 of the big.LITTLE MP integration tree integrated into LLCT
and in use in the TC2 builds. It contains:
* Updated version of task placement patches for the scheduler.
* Bug fixes to the mainline scheduler.
* PMU patches for b.L from ARM.
* Powertop rebased on upstream 2.1 release. Updated on Ubuntu and
Android Linaro Evaluation Builds.
* Toolchain
* Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.09, updated to GCC 4.7.1+svn191123
* Adds support for the NEON vext instruction when shuffling.
* Backports improvements to scheduling transfers between VFP and core
registers.
* Backports support for the UBFX instruction on certain bit extract
idioms.
* PR54252 ICE with too wide alignment assertion on vectorised code - Fixed.
* PR54212 ICE due to generating a predicated NEON vdup instruction - Fixed.
* Linaro GCC 4.6 2012.09, updates to 4.6.3+svn191000.
* Linaro QEMU 1.2.0 2012.09, rebased on upstream's 1.2.0 release.
* Linaro Toolchain Binaries 2012.09, updated to latest
Linaro GCC 4.7 2012.09 and Linaro GDB 7.5 2012.09
* gdbserver is stripped.
* gdbtui is replaced by "gdb --tui".
* LAVA
* Versatile Express TC2 have been deployed in the Validation lab.
* LAVA deployment tool now supports a non-interactive mode and can be
completely automated.
* LAVA test includes the validation test suite for TI ARM features on
Linux.
* Snowball boards have been added in the Validation lab.
The release details are linked from the “Details” column for each
released artifact on the release information:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1209/Release#Release_Information
Using the Android-based images
=======================
The Android-based images come in three parts: system, userdata and boot.
These need to be combined to form a complete Android install. For an
explanation of how to do this please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/ImageInstallation
If you are interested in getting the source and building these images
yourself please see the following pages:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/GetSourcehttp://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/BuildSource
Using the Ubuntu-based images
=======================
The Ubuntu-based images consist of two parts. The first part is a hardware
pack, which can be found under the hwpacks directory and contains hardware
specific packages (such as the kernel and bootloader). The second part is
the rootfs, which is combined with the hardware pack to create a complete
image. For more information on how to create an image please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/DevPlatform/Ubuntu/ImageInstallation
Getting involved
============
More information on Linaro can be found on our websites:
* Homepage: http://www.linaro.org
* Wiki: http://wiki.linaro.org
Also subscribe to the important Linaro mailing lists and join our IRC
channels to stay on top of Linaro developments:
* Announcements:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-announce
* Development:
http://lists.linaro.org/mailman/listinfo/linaro-dev
* IRC:
#linaro on irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
#linaro-android irc.linaro.org or irc.freenode.net
Known issues with this release
=====================
For any errata issues, please see:
http://wiki.linaro.org/Cycles/1209/Release#Known_Issues
Bug reports for this release should be filed in Launchpad against the
individual packages that are affected. If a suitable package cannot be
identified, feel free to assign them to:
http://www.launchpad.net/linaro
--
Fathi Boudra, on behalf of the Release Team
Linaro Release Manager | LAVA Project Manager
Linaro.org | Open source software for ARM SoCs
