Modular kernel?

Antigraviton

I installed the Ubuntu18.04 linux distro on my brand new Renegade Elite, but I'm puzled by the empty output of 'lsmod'.

✓ firefly ~ # lsmod
Module Size Used by
✓ firefly ~ #

Does this mean that the kernel is not modular but has 'everything' precompiled?

loverpi

We have not started pushing out images yet. Firefly images are not currently supported since they are based on the Linux 4.4 SDK.

Antigraviton

but, but, but, my board is running, quite well actually
Ok, no jokes, I'll be patient and wait for 'proper' images.
Thanks loverpi

loverpi

Firefly images are based on Rockchip SDK. Our images are based on upstream as much as possible. No one is better than the other. It depends on what your looking for.

jfs10

When do you think you will have an image ready for the board?

loverpi

@jfs10 ~month?

Zaf9670

@loverpi said:
@jfs10 ~month?

Anywhere we can follow the progress or assist/test? GitHub repo, etc?

jfs10

I read this post:
http://forum.loverpi.com/discussion/357/very-little-software-support-i-would-not-buy-it-again#latest

and I am not optimistic. I did not purchase this board thinking that the software was going to be DIY. I know ARM is different, but I did expect Libre to provide a decent Linux distro upon release of the board.

Zaf9670

The market is definitely saturated with RK3399 boards. So I have a feeling at least some progress will be made on stability or performance for the CPU and GPU. It probably won't gain it's full momentum for another year but it should be usable.

loverpi

We are meeting with Firefly's engineers this week to get everything sorted. Look for new images in 2-3 weeks. We are going over the UEFI u-boot implementation as well.

Zaf9670

@loverpi said:
We are meeting with Firefly's engineers this week to get everything sorted. Look for new images in 2-3 weeks. We are going over the UEFI u-boot implementation as well.

Great news! Hope to hear some great news for April. So long as it's not an April Fool's Day update.

karendar

@loverpi said:
We are meeting with Firefly's engineers this week to get everything sorted. Look for new images in 2-3 weeks. We are going over the UEFI u-boot implementation as well.

Windows for ARM?? :O hehe. #WishfulThinking

Will we eventually be able to boot off our SSD's?

loverpi

@karendar We are working with the Firefly engineers on this. PCI-E NVMe boot support is not part of our first firmware target.

jfs10

@loverpi do you have any updates for us on this?

Zaf9670

@loverpi Where will the updates/files be posted when the new kernel versions are ready with UEFI u-boot?

loverpi

@Zaf9670 It will be on our share.loverpi.com site.

karendar

Kind of nuts how late everything is on the proposed schedule for this.

jfs10

Based on their past projects, this seems to be how they go. Wait for hardware. Then get hardware and wait months for software and documentation. I have purchased a Jetson Nano. It cost the same amount and has production ready software. My Renegade Elite might just stay unused. Wish I could return it.

Zaf9670

jfs10 said:

Based on their past projects, this seems to be how they go. Wait for hardware. Then get hardware and wait months for software and documentation. I have purchased a Jetson Nano. It cost the same amount and has production ready software. My Renegade Elite might just stay unused. Wish I could return it.

I just wish the Jetson Nano had more storage options and a slightly smaller form factor. That heatsink is a bit intense but it does have a rocking GPU. I also like the USB-C/PoE options with this vs the barrel jack/micro-USB on the Jetson. I just hope the Jetson Nano kernel gives some insight or advancements to the Linux for Nintendo Switch development.

But either way they're all development boards so I'm not expecting them to be anything more than a project board in my use cases. The ODROID-N2 is shaping up nicely for support/performance at first glance. But lack of alternatives to eMMC and SD card are it's main caveats similar to Jetson Nano.

loverpi

karendar said:

Kind of nuts how late everything is on the proposed schedule for this.

Rockchip is not great at open source despite all of their collaboration with Google.

karendar

loverpi said:

karendar said:

Kind of nuts how late everything is on the proposed schedule for this.

Rockchip is not great at open source despite all of their collaboration with Google.

I had high hopes for Rockchip for the RK3399... Kinda saddened it's not moving faster. 

loverpi

The chip is great. The software is garbage. It's one of the only chips to offer DP over Type C so the hardware engineers did a great job. The fail is on the laps of the software teams.

Zaf9670

loverpi said:

The chip is great. The software is garbage. It's one of the only chips to offer DP over Type C so the hardware engineers did a great job. The fail is on the laps of the software teams.

How's the progress coming with the Firefly engineers and getting a new release?

jfs10

Any word on when we can expect upstream images? Is it still being worked on?

Zaf9670

jfs10 said:

Any word on when we can expect upstream images? Is it still being worked on?

It looks like Firefly just uploaded a new build of Ubuntu. Not sure if that has some of things Libre was waiting on from the engineers or not.

jfs10

Looks like the new build will allow installation and booting from a M.2 drive. The image still lacks a modular kernel. The graphics are still slow. No support for my usb wifi adapter. I wish @loverpi would give us an update. Libre has nothing to say now that the most people have received the hardware. Frustrated and disappointed. I will not back a Libre project again. 

loverpi

I think you are using the wrong terms. "Modular" kernel?
Graphics are slow: this encompasses a whole range of issues so you need to be specific as to what exactly is slow.
No support for my usb wifi adapter: Have you tried a DKMS driver for your specific dongle?
The next Linux LTS release is 5.3 or 5.4 which is due mid year. You have to be specific about the problems you are having because a lot of issues you mentioned are not product/hardware issues but rather Linux distribution issues.

jfs10

I know that it is the software and not the hardware that is the problem. I know that it is the Linux distribution.
So, are you saying that mid-year we will get an upstream based Linux image? Also you know that mid-year is not the far away.
Ideally, I want plug and play for adding hardware like a usb wifi adapter. I tried a few usb wifi adapters that work with the Raspberry Pi.
Slow graphics is no doubt related to the software. Perhaps it is not taking advantage of the Mali GPU. Windows open slowly and not smoothly. Menus are slow as well.

loverpi

Do you have a heatsink? If the board is hot and throttles, it'll be slow as hell since the CPU is at the lowest frequency. Also if applications start slowly, it may be your SD card speed is quite slow. Linux is particularly slow if random write speeds are low.

jfs10

I do have a heatsink. The SD card could be the issue. All I can remember about it is that it is a Samsung card. I am not sure which one. I will try a different card. 

loverpi

It's best to use a Samsung Pro or Sandisk Extreme card. Samsung EVO and Sandisk Ultra cards are incredibly slow.