EthFw Release Notes

Version: 11.00.00.04

Introduction

This release notes provides important information that will assist you in using the EthFw component. This document provides the product information and known issues with respect to EthFw software component. The EthFw component consists of firmware for Ethernet switch, profiling tools and demos/applications for J721E, J7200, J784S4 and J742S2 silicon platforms.

Licensing

Refer to Processor SDK RTOS top-level manifest.

Getting Started

The Ethernet Firmware User's Guide provides the documentation and references necessary to run EthFw demos and begin development on TI's platforms.

Documentation

Refer to following documentation for further details:

Ethernet Firmware User Guide	Build instructions, Demos	[HTML]
Ethernet Firmware API Guide	API Guide	[HTML]

What's New

Ethernet Firmware's TSN stack initialization time is reduced to less than 10 milliseconds.
Ethernet Firmware's IEEE 802.1AS stack (gPTP) 'Time to Achieve Initial Sync' from cold boot (PORz) is optimized to 500 ms.
Multicore Time Synchronization support is enabled. Time synchronization between RTOS Client (mcu_2_1) and Ethernet Firmware Server (mcu_2__0) is demonstrated. Multicore TIme Synchronization Documentation
CPSW ECC (Error Correction Code) support is showcased as a diagnostic feature (SDL)
Support to run Ethernet Firmware Server to run on other R5F cores. Currently MCU2_0 and MCU2_1 cores are supported
IEEE 802.1 Qbu frame preemption (IET) is enabled on CPSW MAC ports

Upgrade and Compatibility Information

Users moving from SDK 8.2 or older to SDK 8.6 must refer to the Porting Guide document which describes how the board initialization routines have been restructured.

VLAN configuration parameter from static shared multicast table has been removed.

In VEPA case VLAN is handled based on VLANs joined by client and VEPA table. Clients can join a particual VLAN and then can join the shared multicast with that VLAN. VEPA table will have client mask based on mac address + VLAN

In NON-VEPA VLAN is not handled due to lwIP bridge VLAN handling limitation (lwIP bridge does not differentiate tagged and untagged packets). Hence this parameter is not required at all.

Exclusive multicast address is considered to be exclusive irrespective of VLAN. In case when client registers exclusive multicast in a VLAN, VLAN provided will be ignored and it will be registered only based on multicast address. Any other client registering the same multicast address (even with different VLAN) will result an error from EthFw.

Device Support

Below table shows device support for EthFw.

SoC	HOST (OS)	Target (OS)	Test Platform
J721E	Linux	FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS	J721E EVM with GESI and QSGMII Daughter Boards
J7200	Linux	FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS	J7200 EVM with QSGMII Daughter Board
J784S4	Linux	FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS	J784S4 EVM with QSGMII Daughter Board

Refer Processor SDK RTOS RTOS release notes for SDK device support.

Validation Information

This release was built and validated using the following tools. Refer to the EthFw User's Guide for additional instructions to install and setup the dependencies.

Build Tools (included in Processor SDK)

TI ARM CLANG: 3.2.2.LTS
lwIP stack: 2.2.0
FreeRTOS Kernel: 10.4.3
SafeRTOS Kernel - see table below

SoC	ISA	SafeRTOS package version
J721E	R5F	009-005-199-024-219-005
J7200	R5F	009-005-199-024-219-005
J784S4	R5F	009-005-199-024-219-005

Fixed Issues

Issue ID	Headline	Module	Reported in Release	Affected Platforms	Fixed in Release
ETHFW-3028	Error when attempting to register to same exclusive multicast address on different VLANs	EthFw	10.01.00.00	J721E, J7200, J784S4	11.00.00
ETHFW-2593	TSN stack initialization time increased	EthFw	09.02.00.00	J721E, J7200, J784S4	11.00.00

Known Issues and Limitations

Issue ID	Headline	Module	Reported in Release	Affected Platforms	Workaround in this release
ETHFW-2088	EthFW will get stuck waiting for link if link partner is not ready	Documentation	08.04.00.00	J721E, J7200, J784S4	None.
ETHFW-2575	CPSW error flags are not getting updated in UDMA host packet descriptor	EthFw	09.02.00.00	J721E, J7200, J784S4	None.
ETHFW-2975	ETHFW: REGISTER_MAC request fails post reset recovery with Linux client due to timeout	EthFw	10.01.00.00	J721E, J784S4	Reduce logging level of gPTP and combase untill stack initialization time has been reduced.
ETHFW-3068	EthFw: gPTP synch is not achieved post reset recovery	EthFw	11.00.00.00	J721E, J7200, J784S4	Disable reset recovery out of the box (patch soon to be provided for proper fix).

Limitations

As J742S2 EVM E1 version does not provide any Enet board/connector, hence no functionality test has been done on J742S2-EVM. EthFw (built for J742S2) for CPSW_9G is validated on J784S4-EVM post applying a patch. Please refer to ETHFW J742S2 Testing section in ETHFW User's Guide for more details.

Reset recovery functionality for Ethernet Firmware has been disabled out of box presently. Ethernet Firmware testing showed an issue wherein gPTP synchronization did not occur post reset recovery. This issue is being tracked and a patch for its fix will soon be provided on the e2e link provided here.

Dependencies

All Ethernet Firmware dependencies are also part of the SDK, please refer to the User's Guide for details.

Technical Support

For technical support and additional assistance, contact local TI Field Application Engineer

Package Versioning

Each package version is composed of 4 period-delimited numbers - represented here by the letters M, m, p and b [M.m.p.b]. The table below provides a descriptive reference regarding package version numbering.

Digit	Meaning	Description
1 (M=Major)	Major revision	Incremented when the new version is substantially different from the previous For example, a new module added or an existing module's algorithm significantly altered.
2 (m=minor)	Minor revision	Incremented when the new version has changed but not in a major way. For example, some minor changes in the API or feature set.
3 (p=patch)	Patch number	Incremented for all other source code changes. This include any packaging support code.
4 (b=build)	Build number	Incremented for each release delivery to CM. Reset for any change to M, m or p.