mpc880 linux-2.6.32 slow running processes

[Wolfgang Denk]

Dear Rafael Beims,

In message <AANLkTin5XTnDEu1BJUOeF0UWtfEpotW5Bq__i8g6U05h at mail.gmail.com> you wrote:
>
> I'm working with an MPC880 board that is supposed to run linux-2.6.32. After
> some work, I could get the kernel up and running, mounting a rootfs via
> NFS.

2.6.32 is pretty old.  Is there any specific reason for not using a
recent kernel version?

> The problem that I'm facing now is that when I try to run any process (may
> be an ls, cat, or whatever), the response of the process is *very* slow
> (something like 10 to 20 seconds for a ls).

This sounds as if only the output to the (serial ?) console port was
slow - typically this happens when there is a problem with interrupt
assignment, and you receive charatcers only after each of these times
out.

> My question to all is, did anyone see something like this already? Besides

We have seen this many times in the past, when interrupts were not
working correctly.  I recommend to check youyr device tree settings
for these.

[It would have helped if you had included a log of your kernel's boot
messages.]

> that, what is the status of the linux kernel support for the 8xx platform?

It is working and actively maintained, but 8xx is a platform that is
more or less hopelessly obsoleted - nobody uses it in new designs any
more, so there is little work going on with it in recent kernel
versions (at least compared with other architectures).

> Is it being actively tested / used today? I ask this because it seems that

Yes, it is.

> all the information on the internet very aged (forum discussions from 2005
> and below mostly).

> Is there something that I can do to try to narrow the cause of the problem?

Check your interrupts.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

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