Hi Alvar, Alvar Kusma wrote: > >> As I have stated before, afaik the net5501 do not have any design >> issues, Attila's problem is most likely either software related, > > Please, can you explain, why similar board from PCEngines (Alix 2D13) > with same software (OpenWRT image) just works, but Soekris board shows > some unstability? Can you explain, why this same exact software works on > one net5501 without a glitch over year now, but two other units show > unstability signs - random hangs, sometimes works over month, sometimes > crashes 2 times a day? This is still a mystery for me. Just bad luck?
No, pretty simple: The Linux VT6105M driver has interrupt race problems, reported to have been fixed recently, don't know if it have ported to the main Linux sources. The Atheros wlan drivers seems to also have interrupt race problems, don't remember if that have been fixed too. The Alix 3D13 have few expansion options, just 3 ethernet ports and 1 Mini-PCI slot, and therefore don't need to share the 4 possible interrupt pins on the Geode LX. The net5501 have 4 ethernet ports, 1 Mini-PCI slot and 2 PCI expansion slots each with 4 interrupt lines. Therefore the 4 interrupt pins on the Geode LX need to be shared along the possible devices. PCI Interrupt sharing is part of the PCI specification and should in principle not be an issue with correct drivers. But can easily be an issue on less than perfect drivers with interrupt race problems and not much testing on slow processors, and can vary depending on exact version and usage patterns.... Afaik, those reporting problems with crashing are all running Linux with Atheros wlan. Best Regards, Soren Kristensen CEO & Chief Engineer Soekris Engineering, Inc. _______________________________________________ Soekris-tech mailing list Soekris-tech@lists.soekris.com http://lists.soekris.com/mailman/listinfo/soekris-tech
