mpc880 linux-2.6.32 slow running processes

[Rafael Beims]

Hello Mr. Denk

As I already posted, the patch that was posted before seems to have
solved the problem. Anyway, some answers follow:

On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 4:35 PM, Wolfgang Denk <wd at denx.de> wrote:
>
> 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 company that I work for uses some kernel versions in favor of
others... Maybe with time we can change that, but for now I need to
use this 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.

This is very nice, because this way we can be more confident that
everything will work as it should.

>
> > 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
>
> --
> DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
> HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
> Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-10 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: wd at denx.de
> Never underestimate the power of human stupidity  when  it  comes  to
> using technology they don't understand.

Thank you very much for the answers!

Rafael Beims
rbeims at gmail.com
(41) 8873-7565
"What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. And what I do, I understand."
- Chinese Proverb