HowTo create ipq40xx BDF files

RolandoMagico · December 18, 2023, 8:43am

Hi everyone,
I'm currently porting OpenWrt to a Linksys MR6350 and now I'm struggling with creating the BDF files for the device. I already had a look here:

github.com/openwrt/openwrt

ipq40xx: add support for 8devices Jalapeno

openwrt:master ← robimarko:Jalapeno-PR

opened 07:07PM - 03 Feb 18 UTC

robimarko

+319 -10

This patch adds support for 8devices Jalapeno. Specification: * QCA IPQ4018,… Quad core ARM v7 Cortex A7 717MHz * 256 MB of DDR3 RAM * 8 MB of SPI NOR flash * 128 MB of Winbond SPI NAND flash * WLAN1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA4018 2.4GHz 802.11bgn 2:2x2 requires special BDF in QCA4019/hw1.0/board-2.bin with: bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=16,variant=8devices-Jalapeno * WLAN2: Qualcomm Atheros QCA4018 5GHz 802.11a/n/ac 2:2x2 requires special BDF in QCA4019/hw1.0/board-2.bin with: bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=17,variant=8devices-Jalapeno * ETH: Qualcomm Atheros QCA8072 Gigabit Switch (1 x LAN, 1 x WAN) phy@mdio3: Label: eth0 gmac0 phy@mdio4: Label: eth1 gmac1 Installation instructions: Since boards ship with old version of LEDE installation is simple. Just use sysupgrade -n -F sysupgrade.bin Syuspgrade needs to be forced since OpenWRT uses DT detection in recent releases. If you get error that FIT configuration is not found during boot it is due to older U-boot used on your board. That is because 8devices used custom FIT configuration partition name as they internally had v1 and v2 boards. Only v2 boards are sold so now they are shipping boards with never U-boot using generic config@1 FIT partition name. Also for old uboot it is possible to force loading config@1 by changing uboot environment: setenv boot5 'bootm 0x84000000#config@1’ saveenv Signed-off-by: Robert Marko <robimarko@gmail.com>

But for me it's not yet clear how to create the files. Is there a HowTo for this topic?

Bootlog of my device (if required):

github.com

RolandoMagico/openwrt-misc/blob/MR6350/BootLog_no_MACs.txt


Format: Log Type - Time(microsec) - Message - Optional Info
Log Type: B - Since Boot(Power On Reset),  D - Delta,  S - Statistic
S - QC_IMAGE_VERSION_STRING=BOOT.BF.3.1.1-00126
S - IMAGE_VARIANT_STRING=DAACANAZA
S - OEM_IMAGE_VERSION_STRING=CRM
S - Boot Config, 0x00000025
S - Reset status Config, 0x00000000
S - Core 0 Frequency, 0 MHz
B -       261 - PBL, Start
B -      1339 - bootable_media_detect_entry, Start
B -      2612 - bootable_media_detect_success, Start
B -      2626 - elf_loader_entry, Start
B -      4036 - auth_hash_seg_entry, Start
B -      6191 - auth_hash_seg_exit, Start
B -     74251 - elf_segs_hash_verify_entry, Start
B -    198498 - PBL, End
B -    198523 - SBL1, Start
B -    291987 - pm_device_init, Start
D -         7 - pm_device_init, Delta

This file has been truncated. show original

I also have the firmware files from the OEM image from lib/firmware:

└── IPQ4019
    ├── AH
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── AU
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── CN
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── EU
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── FCC
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── HK
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── hw.1 -> /tmp/IPQ4019/hw.1
    ├── hw_1
    │   ├── athwlan.bin
    │   ├── athwlan.codeswap.bin
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK01_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK01_5G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK03_wifi0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK03_wifi1.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G_neg_pwr.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G_neg_pwr.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK05_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK05_5G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK06_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK06_5G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK07_wifi0_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK07_wifi0_5G_HB.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK07_wifi1_5G_LB.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK08_wifi0_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK08_wifi1_5G_LB.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_Y9803_wifi0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_Y9803_wifi1.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_YA131_wifi0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_YA131_wifi1.bin
    │   ├── boarddata_1.bin
    │   ├── otp.bin
    │   ├── utf.bin
    │   └── utf.codeswap.bin
    ├── IC
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── IN
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── JP
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── KR
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── ME
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── PH
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    ├── SG
    │   ├── boarddata_0.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
    │   ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
    │   └── boarddata_1.bin
    └── TH
        ├── boarddata_0.bin
        ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin
        ├── boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin
        └── boarddata_1.bin

Question 1: Wireless is already working on my device and also on another one from a member of this forum. Are the BDFs still required?
Question 2: If answer to the previous question is yes, which files do I have to process in which way?

Thanks
Roland

RolandoMagico · December 18, 2023, 5:48pm

One step ahead when creating the files:

Clone https://github.com/qca/qca-swiss-army-knife.git
Create board.json like that:

[
    {
        "data": "firmware/AH/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=20,variant=linksys-mr6350-ahm"
        ]
    }, 
    {
        "data": "firmware/AH/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=21,variant=linksys-mr6350-ahm"
        ]
    },
    {
        "data": "firmware/EU/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=20,variant=linksys-mr6350-eum"
        ]
    }, 
    {
        "data": "firmware/EU/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=21,variant=linksys-mr6350-eum"
        ]
    },
    {
        "data": "firmware/FCC/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=20,variant=linksys-mr6350-fcc"
        ]
    }, 
    {
        "data": "firmware/FCC/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=21,variant=linksys-mr6350-fcc"
        ]
    },
    {
        "data": "firmware/IC/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_2G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=20,variant=linksys-mr6350-ic"
        ]
    }, 
    {
        "data": "firmware/IC/boardData_1_0_IPQ4019_DK04_5G.bin", 
        "names": [
            "bus=ahb,bmi-chip-id=0,bmi-board-id=21,variant=linksys-mr6350-ic"
        ]
    }
]

Run command:
python3 tools/scripts/ath10k/ath10k-bdencoder -c board.json
board-2.bin is created, it must be renamed according to the device, e.g. board-linksys_mr6350.qca4019
Looks like only the sections for AH, EU, FCC and IC must be present, not sure if it is correct. Just compared with other files in https://github.com/openwrt/firmware_qca-wireless. And in the DTS, only the FCC variant is referenced

tmn505 · December 22, 2023, 11:52am

There could be small differences in board construction and this could lead to worse range of WiFi if wrong BDF is used. And naturally, vendor BDFs were used for certification, so to be in line with limits, use ones provided with device.

OpenWrt doesn't have any logic to reload BDF depending on what country is set in configuration, so people include single BDF for each band covering most of the world. I, in contrary, did include all of BDFs that vendor provided, since there were only few of them (https://git.openwrt.org/?p=project/firmware/qca-wireless.git;a=commit;h=5e8d89f1b93ba2bd7cb7291f0f8e7272cfc86e6a), so "power users" could change them. This was also accepted upstream (https://lore.kernel.org/ath10k/874jqjli8o.fsf@kernel.org), so if You want to package more of them, go ahead.

Keep in mind to first compare md5sums with all variants of vendor provided ones, if they overlap. After (this one also applies if You want to package single BDF for each band), unpack OpenWrt ones from qca-wireless.git and upstream ones from linux-firmware.git and compare md5sums, maybe it's already there under different name.