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Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -07001* NOTE - This is an unmaintained driver. Lantronix, which bought Stallion
2technologies, is not active in driver maintenance, and they have no information
3on when or if they will have a 2.6 driver.
4
5James Nelson <james4765@gmail.com> - 12-12-2004
6
7Stallion Multiport Serial Driver Readme
8---------------------------------------
9
10Copyright (C) 1994-1999, Stallion Technologies.
11
12Version: 5.5.1
13Date: 28MAR99
14
15
16
171. INTRODUCTION
18
19There are two drivers that work with the different families of Stallion
20multiport serial boards. One is for the Stallion smart boards - that is
21EasyIO, EasyConnection 8/32 and EasyConnection 8/64-PCI, the other for
22the true Stallion intelligent multiport boards - EasyConnection 8/64
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040023(ISA, EISA), EasyConnection/RA-PCI, ONboard and Brumby.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070024
25If you are using any of the Stallion intelligent multiport boards (Brumby,
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040026ONboard, EasyConnection 8/64 (ISA, EISA), EasyConnection/RA-PCI) with
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070027Linux you will need to get the driver utility package. This contains a
28firmware loader and the firmware images necessary to make the devices operate.
29
30The Stallion Technologies ftp site, ftp.stallion.com, will always have
31the latest version of the driver utility package.
32
33ftp://ftp.stallion.com/drivers/ata5/Linux/ata-linux-550.tar.gz
34
35As of the printing of this document the latest version of the driver
36utility package is 5.5.0. If a later version is now available then you
37should use the latest version.
38
39If you are using the EasyIO, EasyConnection 8/32 or EasyConnection 8/64-PCI
40boards then you don't need this package, although it does have a serial stats
41display program.
42
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040043If you require DIP switch settings, or EISA configuration files, or any
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070044other information related to Stallion boards then have a look at Stallion's
45web pages at http://www.stallion.com.
46
47
48
492. INSTALLATION
50
51The drivers can be used as loadable modules or compiled into the kernel.
52You can choose which when doing a "config" on the kernel.
53
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040054All ISA, and EISA boards that you want to use need to be configured into
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070055the driver(s). All PCI boards will be automatically detected when you load
56the driver - so they do not need to be entered into the driver(s)
57configuration structure. Note that kernel PCI support is required to use PCI
58boards.
59
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040060There are two methods of configuring ISA and EISA boards into the drivers.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070061If using the driver as a loadable module then the simplest method is to pass
62the driver configuration as module arguments. The other method is to modify
63the driver source to add configuration lines for each board in use.
64
65If you have pre-built Stallion driver modules then the module argument
66configuration method should be used. A lot of Linux distributions come with
67pre-built driver modules in /lib/modules/X.Y.Z/misc for the kernel in use.
68That makes things pretty simple to get going.
69
70
712.1 MODULE DRIVER CONFIGURATION:
72
73The simplest configuration for modules is to use the module load arguments
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040074to configure any ISA or EISA boards. PCI boards are automatically
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070075detected, so do not need any additional configuration at all.
76
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040077If using EasyIO, EasyConnection 8/32 ISA, or EasyConnection 8/63-PCI
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070078boards then use the "stallion" driver module, Otherwise if you are using
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -040079an EasyConnection 8/64 ISA or EISA, EasyConnection/RA-PCI, ONboard,
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070080Brumby or original Stallion board then use the "istallion" driver module.
81
82Typically to load up the smart board driver use:
83
84 modprobe stallion
85
86This will load the EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 driver. It will output a
87message to say that it loaded and print the driver version number. It will
88also print out whether it found the configured boards or not. These messages
89may not appear on the console, but typically are always logged to
90/var/adm/messages or /var/log/syslog files - depending on how the klogd and
91syslogd daemons are setup on your system.
92
93To load the intelligent board driver use:
94
95 modprobe istallion
96
97It will output similar messages to the smart board driver.
98
99If not using an auto-detectable board type (that is a PCI board) then you
100will also need to supply command line arguments to the modprobe command
101when loading the driver. The general form of the configuration argument is
102
103 board?=<name>[,<ioaddr>[,<addr>][,<irq>]]
104
105where:
106
107 board? -- specifies the arbitrary board number of this board,
108 can be in the range 0 to 3.
109
110 name -- textual name of this board. The board name is the common
111 board name, or any "shortened" version of that. The board
112 type number may also be used here.
113
114 ioaddr -- specifies the I/O address of this board. This argument is
115 optional, but should generally be specified.
116
117 addr -- optional second address argument. Some board types require
118 a second I/O address, some require a memory address. The
119 exact meaning of this argument depends on the board type.
120
121 irq -- optional IRQ line used by this board.
122
123Up to 4 board configuration arguments can be specified on the load line.
124Here is some examples:
125
126 modprobe stallion board0=easyio,0x2a0,5
127
128This configures an EasyIO board as board 0 at I/O address 0x2a0 and IRQ 5.
129
130 modprobe istallion board3=ec8/64,0x2c0,0xcc000
131
132This configures an EasyConnection 8/64 ISA as board 3 at I/O address 0x2c0 at
133memory address 0xcc000.
134
135 modprobe stallion board1=ec8/32-at,0x2a0,0x280,10
136
137This configures an EasyConnection 8/32 ISA board at primary I/O address 0x2a0,
138secondary address 0x280 and IRQ 10.
139
140You will probably want to enter this module load and configuration information
141into your system startup scripts so that the drivers are loaded and configured
Lucas De Marchi970e2482012-03-30 13:37:16 -0700142on each system boot. Typically configuration files are put in the
143/etc/modprobe.d/ directory.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700144
145
1462.2 STATIC DRIVER CONFIGURATION:
147
148For static driver configuration you need to modify the driver source code.
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -0400149Entering ISA and EISA boards into the driver(s) configuration structure
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700150involves editing the driver(s) source file. It's pretty easy if you follow
151the instructions below. Both drivers can support up to 4 boards. The smart
152card driver (the stallion.c driver) supports any combination of EasyIO and
153EasyConnection 8/32 boards (up to a total of 4). The intelligent driver
154supports any combination of ONboards, Brumbys, Stallions and EasyConnection
1558/64 (ISA and EISA) boards (up to a total of 4).
156
157To set up the driver(s) for the boards that you want to use you need to
158edit the appropriate driver file and add configuration entries.
159
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -0400160If using EasyIO or EasyConnection 8/32 ISA boards,
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700161 In drivers/char/stallion.c:
162 - find the definition of the stl_brdconf array (of structures)
163 near the top of the file
164 - modify this to match the boards you are going to install
165 (the comments before this structure should help)
166 - save and exit
167
168If using ONboard, Brumby, Stallion or EasyConnection 8/64 (ISA or EISA)
169boards,
170 In drivers/char/istallion.c:
171 - find the definition of the stli_brdconf array (of structures)
172 near the top of the file
173 - modify this to match the boards you are going to install
174 (the comments before this structure should help)
175 - save and exit
176
177Once you have set up the board configurations then you are ready to build
178the kernel or modules.
179
180When the new kernel is booted, or the loadable module loaded then the
181driver will emit some kernel trace messages about whether the configured
182boards were detected or not. Depending on how your system logger is set
183up these may come out on the console, or just be logged to
184/var/adm/messages or /var/log/syslog. You should check the messages to
185confirm that all is well.
186
187
1882.3 SHARING INTERRUPTS
189
190It is possible to share interrupts between multiple EasyIO and
191EasyConnection 8/32 boards in an EISA system. To do this you must be using
192static driver configuration, modifying the driver source code to add driver
193configuration. Then a couple of extra things are required:
194
1951. When entering the board resources into the stallion.c file you need to
196 mark the boards as using level triggered interrupts. Do this by replacing
197 the "0" entry at field position 6 (the last field) in the board
198 configuration structure with a "1". (This is the structure that defines
199 the board type, I/O locations, etc. for each board). All boards that are
200 sharing an interrupt must be set this way, and each board should have the
201 same interrupt number specified here as well. Now build the module or
202 kernel as you would normally.
203
2042. When physically installing the boards into the system you must enter
205 the system EISA configuration utility. You will need to install the EISA
206 configuration files for *all* the EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 boards
207 that are sharing interrupts. The Stallion EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32
208 EISA configuration files required are supplied by Stallion Technologies
209 on the EASY Utilities floppy diskette (usually supplied in the box with
210 the board when purchased. If not, you can pick it up from Stallion's FTP
211 site, ftp.stallion.com). You will need to edit the board resources to
212 choose level triggered interrupts, and make sure to set each board's
213 interrupt to the same IRQ number.
214
215You must complete both the above steps for this to work. When you reboot
216or load the driver your EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 boards will be
217sharing interrupts.
218
219
2202.4 USING HIGH SHARED MEMORY
221
222The EasyConnection 8/64-EI, ONboard and Stallion boards are capable of
223using shared memory addresses above the usual 640K - 1Mb range. The ONboard
224ISA and the Stallion boards can be programmed to use memory addresses up to
22516Mb (the ISA bus addressing limit), and the EasyConnection 8/64-EI and
226ONboard/E can be programmed for memory addresses up to 4Gb (the EISA bus
227addressing limit).
228
229The higher than 1Mb memory addresses are fully supported by this driver.
230Just enter the address as you normally would for a lower than 1Mb address
231(in the driver's board configuration structure).
232
233
234
2352.5 TROUBLE SHOOTING
236
237If a board is not found by the driver but is actually in the system then the
238most likely problem is that the I/O address is wrong. Change the module load
239argument for the loadable module form. Or change it in the driver stallion.c
240or istallion.c configuration structure and rebuild the kernel or modules, or
241change it on the board.
242
243On EasyIO and EasyConnection 8/32 boards the IRQ is software programmable, so
244if there is a conflict you may need to change the IRQ used for a board. There
245are no interrupts to worry about for ONboard, Brumby or EasyConnection 8/64
Paul Gortmakerd157be82012-05-16 20:27:32 -0400246(ISA and EISA) boards. The memory region on EasyConnection 8/64 and
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700247ONboard boards is software programmable, but not on the Brumby boards.
248
249
250
2513. USING THE DRIVERS
252
2533.1 INTELLIGENT DRIVER OPERATION
254
255The intelligent boards also need to have their "firmware" code downloaded
256to them. This is done via a user level application supplied in the driver
257utility package called "stlload". Compile this program wherever you dropped
258the package files, by typing "make". In its simplest form you can then type
259
260 ./stlload -i cdk.sys
261
262in this directory and that will download board 0 (assuming board 0 is an
263EasyConnection 8/64 or EasyConnection/RA board). To download to an
264ONboard, Brumby or Stallion do:
265
266 ./stlload -i 2681.sys
267
268Normally you would want all boards to be downloaded as part of the standard
269system startup. To achieve this, add one of the lines above into the
270/etc/rc.d/rc.S or /etc/rc.d/rc.serial file. To download each board just add
271the "-b <brd-number>" option to the line. You will need to download code for
272every board. You should probably move the stlload program into a system
273directory, such as /usr/sbin. Also, the default location of the cdk.sys image
274file in the stlload down-loader is /usr/lib/stallion. Create that directory
275and put the cdk.sys and 2681.sys files in it. (It's a convenient place to put
276them anyway). As an example your /etc/rc.d/rc.S file might have the
277following lines added to it (if you had 3 boards):
278
279 /usr/sbin/stlload -b 0 -i /usr/lib/stallion/cdk.sys
280 /usr/sbin/stlload -b 1 -i /usr/lib/stallion/2681.sys
281 /usr/sbin/stlload -b 2 -i /usr/lib/stallion/2681.sys
282
283The image files cdk.sys and 2681.sys are specific to the board types. The
284cdk.sys will only function correctly on an EasyConnection 8/64 board. Similarly
285the 2681.sys image fill only operate on ONboard, Brumby and Stallion boards.
286If you load the wrong image file into a board it will fail to start up, and
287of course the ports will not be operational!
288
289If you are using the modularized version of the driver you might want to put
290the modprobe calls in the startup script as well (before the download lines
291obviously).
292
293
2943.2 USING THE SERIAL PORTS
295
296Once the driver is installed you will need to setup some device nodes to
297access the serial ports. The simplest method is to use the /dev/MAKEDEV program.
298It will automatically create device entries for Stallion boards. This will
299create the normal serial port devices as /dev/ttyE# where# is the port number
300starting from 0. A bank of 64 minor device numbers is allocated to each board,
301so the first port on the second board is port 64,etc. A set of callout type
302devices may also be created. They are created as the devices /dev/cue# where #
303is the same as for the ttyE devices.
304
305For the most part the Stallion driver tries to emulate the standard PC system
306COM ports and the standard Linux serial driver. The idea is that you should
307be able to use Stallion board ports and COM ports interchangeably without
308modifying anything but the device name. Anything that doesn't work like that
309should be considered a bug in this driver!
310
311If you look at the driver code you will notice that it is fairly closely
312based on the Linux serial driver (linux/drivers/char/serial.c). This is
313intentional, obviously this is the easiest way to emulate its behavior!
314
315Since this driver tries to emulate the standard serial ports as much as
316possible, most system utilities should work as they do for the standard
317COM ports. Most importantly "stty" works as expected and "setserial" can
318also be used (excepting the ability to auto-configure the I/O and IRQ
319addresses of boards). Higher baud rates are supported in the usual fashion
320through setserial or using the CBAUDEX extensions. Note that the EasyIO and
321EasyConnection (all types) support at least 57600 and 115200 baud. The newer
322EasyConnection XP modules and new EasyIO boards support 230400 and 460800
323baud as well. The older boards including ONboard and Brumby support a
324maximum baud rate of 38400.
325
326If you are unfamiliar with how to use serial ports, then get the Serial-HOWTO
327by Greg Hankins. It will explain everything you need to know!
328
329
330
3314. NOTES
332
333You can use both drivers at once if you have a mix of board types installed
334in a system. However to do this you will need to change the major numbers
335used by one of the drivers. Currently both drivers use major numbers 24, 25
336and 28 for their devices. Change one driver to use some other major numbers,
337and then modify the mkdevnods script to make device nodes based on those new
338major numbers. For example, you could change the istallion.c driver to use
339major numbers 60, 61 and 62. You will also need to create device nodes with
340different names for the ports, for example ttyF# and cuf#.
341
342The original Stallion board is no longer supported by Stallion Technologies.
343Although it is known to work with the istallion driver.
344
345Finding a free physical memory address range can be a problem. The older
346boards like the Stallion and ONboard need large areas (64K or even 128K), so
347they can be very difficult to get into a system. If you have 16 Mb of RAM
348then you have no choice but to put them somewhere in the 640K -> 1Mb range.
349ONboards require 64K, so typically 0xd0000 is good, or 0xe0000 on some
350systems. If you have an original Stallion board, "V4.0" or Rev.O, then you
351need a 64K memory address space, so again 0xd0000 and 0xe0000 are good.
352Older Stallion boards are a much bigger problem. They need 128K of address
353space and must be on a 128K boundary. If you don't have a VGA card then
3540xc0000 might be usable - there is really no other place you can put them
355below 1Mb.
356
357Both the ONboard and old Stallion boards can use higher memory addresses as
358well, but you must have less than 16Mb of RAM to be able to use them. Usual
359high memory addresses used include 0xec0000 and 0xf00000.
360
361The Brumby boards only require 16Kb of address space, so you can usually
362squeeze them in somewhere. Common addresses are 0xc8000, 0xcc000, or in
363the 0xd0000 range. EasyConnection 8/64 boards are even better, they only
364require 4Kb of address space, again usually 0xc8000, 0xcc000 or 0xd0000
365are good.
366
367If you are using an EasyConnection 8/64-EI or ONboard/E then usually the
3680xd0000 or 0xe0000 ranges are the best options below 1Mb. If neither of
369them can be used then the high memory support to use the really high address
370ranges is the best option. Typically the 2Gb range is convenient for them,
371and gets them well out of the way.
372
373The ports of the EasyIO-8M board do not have DCD or DTR signals. So these
374ports cannot be used as real modem devices. Generally, when using these
375ports you should only use the cueX devices.
376
377The driver utility package contains a couple of very useful programs. One
378is a serial port statistics collection and display program - very handy
379for solving serial port problems. The other is an extended option setting
380program that works with the intelligent boards.
381
382
383
3845. DISCLAIMER
385
386The information contained in this document is believed to be accurate and
387reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed by Stallion Technologies
388Pty. Ltd. for its use, nor any infringements of patents or other rights
389of third parties resulting from its use. Stallion Technologies reserves
390the right to modify the design of its products and will endeavour to change
391the information in manuals and accompanying documentation accordingly.
392