release_notes_x86bsp.txt

Release Notes - Version 4.0 TimeSys Linux SDK for Pentium and Compatible Development Boards

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                    Release Notes - Version 4.0
   TimeSys Linux SDK for Pentium and Compatible Development Boards

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These release notes are divided into the following sections:

 - INTRODUCTION
 - COPYRIGHT NOTICE
 - INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS
 - RELEASE STATUS INFORMATION
   - IA-32-SPECIFIC TIMESYS LINUX 4.0 ISSUES
   - TIMESYS LINUX 4.0 ISSUES

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INTRODUCTION
------------

This CD or downloaded archive contains Version 4.0 of the TimeSys
Linux distribution, and provides support for embedded application
development for Pentium and Compatible development boards.

You must have root privileges to install TimeSys Linux and should
install the contents of this CD or downloaded image as the root
user. For complete information on the installation process, see the
document "Getting Started with TimeSys Linux on a Pentium and
Compatible Development Board."  A PDF version of this document is
located in the "doc" subdirectory of this CD or the directory
structure extracted from a downloaded archive.

This TimeSys Linux distribution includes:

(1) The TimeSys Linux kernel (version 2.4.18-timesys-4.0), which is 
    based on the standard Linux 2.4.18 kernel. The complete source code
    for the kernel is included to simplify reconfiguring and 
    rebuilding the kernel for the target board, whenever necessary.

(2) Cross-development tools for the target board, precompiled to
    produce executables designed for use on the target board. 

(3) A root filesystem for the target board consisting of precompiled 
    development packages and utilities for the target architecture.

(4) Installation, programming, and guide documentation, located in the
    "doc" subdirectory of this CD or of the directory hierarchy
    extracted from a downloaded archive.

NOTE: The source code for the cross-development tools and root
filesystem provided with the TimeSys Linux SDK for Pentium and
compatible boards is available from TimeSys. Please contact TimeSys
customer support to request these files.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
----------------

This CD or downloaded archive contains several separate and
independent software programs.

TimeSys Linux/Real-Time, TimeSys Linux/CPU and TimeSys Linux/Net are
owned and licensed by TimeSys Corporation under the terms of the
TimeSys Corporation End User License Agreement contained on this
CD. TimeSys Linux is owned and licensed by TimeSys Corporation under
the terms of the Free Software Foundation, Inc. GNU General Public
License contained on this CD. Other software programs are licensed
under the terms of their respective owners' license agreements as
contained on this CD. All rights not expressly granted are reserved by
the respective Licensors.

TimeSys is a trademark of TimeSys Corporation.
Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.

INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS
-------------------------

The contents of this CD should be installed on a host computer running
Linux. The installation assumes that standard Linux tools and
utilities are present, and may not work if your host computer is not
appropriately set up as a Linux desktop.

The recommended system configuration for installing the TimeSys Linux
Software Development Kit (SDK) (also frequently referred to as a Board
Support Package - BSP) for the Pentium and compatible development
boards is the following:

    *  Intel Pentium or compatible processor 
    *  64 Mbytes RAM
    *  600 Mbytes available disk space
    *  Recent distribution of Linux installed

For complete information on the installation process, see the document
"Getting Started with TimeSys Linux on Pentium and Compatible
Development Boards".

NOTE: The file "timesys.txt", located at the root of your TimeSys
      CDROM or the directory hierarchy that you extracted from a
      downloaded archive, contains build information that you will
      need to supply when contacting TimeSys customer support.

RELEASE STATUS INFORMATION
--------------------------

This section of the release notes is organized into the following
sections:

  - SDK-Specific Issues. This section contains a list of known
    problems associated with a specific TimeSys Linux Software
    Development Kit (SDK), providing workarounds wherever possible.

  - TimeSys Linux Issues. This section contains a list of known
    problems associated with TimeSys Linux/GPL, TimeSys Linux/Real-Time, 
    TimeSys Linux/CPU, TimeSys Linux/Net. Because TimeSys Linux products 
    are additive, problems associated with TimeSys Linux/GPL affect the 
    TimeSys Linux/Real-Time, TimeSys Linux/CPU, and TimeSys Linux/Net 
    products; problems associated with TimeSys Linux/Real-Time affect the 
    TimeSys Linux/CPU and TimeSys Linux/Net products, and problems
    associated with TimeSys Linux/CPU also affect the TimeSys Linux/Net
    product. 

IA-32-SPECIFIC TIMESYS LINUX 4.0 ISSUES
----------------------------------------

- 01274, 00314, 00991 - TimeTrace Upgrade Required

  Versions of TimeTrace prior to v1.7 do not work correctly with
  TimeSys Linux 4.0. If you are using an earlier version of TimeTrace,
  please contact your TimeSys sales or support representative for
  information about upgrading TimeTrace.

- 02712 - Problems with Remote Debugging Info Threads

  When trying to remotely debug an application, the "info threads" gdb
  command returns the error "RMT ERROR : failed to get remote thread
  list". This prevents users from successfully debugging applications 
  using TimeStorm 2.0.

- 02739 - Error Messages During OpenSSH Startup

  Messages such as "ssh-keygen: relocation error:
  /usr/lib/libcrypto..." are displayed when starting the OpenSSH
  daemon. As a workaround, you can eliminate the problem by adding the
  following command to the beginning of the /etc/init.d/ssh script:

    export LD_PRELOAD=/lib/libgcc_s.so

  The root cause of this error is a problem in 64-bit division, so
  you may encounter similar errors in any situation involving 64-bit
  division errors. The workaround described above only addresses 
  issues with OpenSSH daemon startup.

- 02596 - Problems with "thread apply" in native GDB

  When using the "thread apply" command to apply a breakpoint to a
  particular thread, GDB will report that the breakpoint was applied
  to the thread. Unfortunately, on continuing execution, the
  breakpoint may also be encountered by a different thread.

- 02637, 02610, 02689, 02732, 02760, 02766, 02768

  Watchpoints work in native GDB but not in remote GDB.  TimeSys is
  working to resolve this problems and will issue a patch to resolve
  it as soon as a resolution is found and verified.

- 02853 - KGDB misses breakpoints in kernel code

  KGDB is often unable to break on given instructions in kernel code,
  or ends up breaking in an incorrect location, because GCC issues
  invalid line number assignments and host GDB fails to emit an error
  message when you try to set a breakpoint on a line that contains no
  code. The workaround is to disassemble the code and then set the
  breakpoint on the assembly instruction that interests you.

TIMESYS LINUX 4.0 ISSUES
------------------------

TimeSys is aware of the following general issues in using 
TimeSys Linux:

- 01221 - Reservation/loadable kernel module interaction

  A process attached to a resource reservation should not dynamically
  load modules either directly or indirectly.

- 01224 - Must set root password in Root Filesystem to use FTP

  In order to access the FTP server (/sbin/in.ftpd) running on a
  Pentium system under TimeSys Linux, you must change the root
  password to some text string. For security reasons, you cannot
  connect to a machine via FTP without specifying an actual password.

- 01253 - NFS Problems on Switched Networks

  The boot loaders used by some embedded development boards have
  problems downloading kernel images on switched networks. If you are
  experiencing problems downloading the kernel image for one of
  TimeSys' SDKs over the network, try using a hub to isolate the
  embedded development board and the Linux system from which the board
  is trying to download the kernel image.

- 01498 - IP Fragmentation issues
 
  IP packets that require four or more fragments can be interrupted by
  other network processes such as ARP/RARP requests and
  responses. This may cause problems accessing the NFS root
  filesystem. A workaround for this problem is to specify a smaller
  read/write buffer size for NFS requests by adding
  "rsize=4096,wsize=4096" to the mount options for the NFS root
  filesystem.

- 02029 - Real-Time Task Priority Over-Ridden When Added to Reserves

  Attaching a real-time task with a specific priority to a resource
  set with a predefined reservation causes the task to lose its
  priority. The task then begins executing at the priority computed by
  the scheduler for the reservation. No warnings or error messages are
  displayed.  This only affects users of the TimeSys Linux/CPU
  modules.

- 02030 - Problems Calling sched_setparam Under a Reservation

  A task calling sched_setparam to change its priority while running
  under a reservation may result in undefined behavior. Once the
  reservation is replentished (based on the period defined when the
  reservation was configured), the thread will again start executing
  at the priority as computed by the scheduler to meet the reservation
  criteria. This only affects users of the TimeSys Linux/CPU
  modules.

- 02031 - Priority Problems After Detaching Processes from Reservations

  If a real-time task (running at a specific priority) is attached to
  a resource set with CPU reservation, it will commence execution at
  the priority decided by the scheduler for the reservation. If the 
  task is subsequently detached from the reservation, it will lose
  all priority information and will execute as a normal time-shared
  process. No warnings or error messages are displayed.  This only
  affects users of the TimeSys Linux/CPU modules.

- 02854 - Kernel memory corruption

  TimeSys has isolated a situation in which kernel memory corruption
  can occur. In order for the possibility for this to happen, the
  following 3 conditions must be met:
 
  1) The fumutex.o module must be loaded
  2) A running program is linked against libpthreadrt
  3) Another process in the program's address space issues the fork() 
     system call

  Note that all 3 conditions must be met in order for the possibility
  of memory corruption to occur.

  TimeSys is working to resolve this problem and will release a solution
  as soon as one becomes available.