Notes on NetBSD/sandpoint

["Toru Nishimura" <locore64%alkyltechnology.com@localhost>]

Guys,

I feel obligated a bit as a postmaster not updating port WWW page
to reflect its current status and developement direction.  Here
I would like to make a summary.

Sandpoint was the name of Moto's reference platform to foster
generations of MPC processor in a standard ATX formfactor box.
The CPU was on a mezzanine sub card whose design was called
MPMC/PrPMC.  The CPU card works, in PC world terms, as CPU
plus northbridge in a module while sandpoint baseboard provides
standard PCI slots and peripherals with the help of southbridge.
MPC106 and MPC107 memory controller and PCI host bridge are
used for northbridge role.  Sandpoint has WinBond 83C553 southbridge.
The sandpoint platform shares the common ancesstor of CHRP, PReP
and PPC Mac, and has been superceded by other eval platform
products.  NetBSD/sandpoint started its life for Sandpoint X2
model and then adapted X3 model.

In mid 2007 a team of NetBSD developers made renovation efforts
to revive whole powerpc ports in order to enhance the code quality
and the degree of code sharing.  During the process this port was
ported Ampro EnCorePP1 eval board.  The eval has MPC8245 SoC
which is a standalone processor with PPC603e core and MPC107
northbridge inside.  Combined with VIA 82C686B southbridge
EnCorePP1 is the same breed of beast as a Moto Sandpoint eval.

MPC8241/5 SoC was a sort of hit product in consumer markets
and broadly used for a range of WLAN access stations and network
attached storages (NAS).  By the demand to have NetBSD
for them the charter of NetBSD/sandpoint was changed to adapt
the hardwares.  The single Sandpoint X3 eval of us is out of order
now (mezannine is dead), and due to the very small availability
of SandPoint/EnCorePP1 evals these days, our attention is shifted 
forward NAS to support in a single umbrella. This port is now in
slow progress to adapt them.

- the new forcus
NetBSD/sandpoint is in construction to support the following NAS
products;

NIC     IDE             machine description
----    ----            --------------------------
tlp.11  cmdide.12       classic Kurobox
re.11   cmdide.12       Kurobox HG
re.11   iteide.12/13    classic TeraStation
re.11   satalink.12/13  TeraStation Pro
re.11   iteide.12       Gigabit LinkStation
mak.15  iteide.13       Synology DS-106j/LinkStation LANxxxG
mak.15  satalink.13     Synology DS-101g+/106e/106/207
mak.15  satalink.12/13  Synology CS-406/RS-406/CS-406e/CS-407e
wm.15   satalink.13     QNAP TS-101/201

- the obstracle to conquer
To pave the way for sane bootloading stuff.  I'm confident that it
would be far easier to port NetBSD U-Boot equipped NAS.  NetBSD
LIBSA bootloader is taking a good shape.  In the end it might be an
alternative to replace proprietary bootloaders and at least become
an extention of U-Boot functionality stored in free NOR memory space.

Toru Nishimura / ALKYL Technology