AR7
From LinuxMIPS
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AR5
The early AR5 was a multi-chip ADSL solution.
- TNET4310 MIPS32 4Kc
- TNET4320 MIPS32 4Kc
- TNET4400 MIPS32 4Kc
- TNETD5301 MIPS32 4Kc
- TNETD5310 MIPS32 4Kc
- TNETD5320 MIPS32 4Kc
Devices:
- SpeedStream 5200 modem/router
AR7
The Texas Instrument AR7 is the fully integrated single-chip ADSL CPE access router solution. The AR7 combines a MIPS32 processor, a DSP-based digital transceiver, and an ADSL analog front end.
Features:
- Integrated high performance MIPS 4KEc 32-Bit RISC processor
- ADSL PHY subsystem based on TI C62x DSP, with integrated transceiver, codec, line driver, and line receiver
- Hardware accelerated ATM SAR
- Integrated IEEE 802.3 PHY
- Two IEEE 802.3 MACs with integrated Media Independent Interface (MII) and Quality of Service (QoS)
- Integrated USB 1.1 compliant transceiver (slave only?)
- Two VLYNQ interfaces for compatible high-speed expansion devices
- Two 16c550 compatible UARTs
- EJTAG, GPIO and FSER interfaces
- 4Kb PROM (0xBFC00000) and 4Kb RAM (0x80000000) on the chip for boot purposes
- 324 BGA with 1.0-mm ball pitch
Options:
- AR7DB
- AR7RD
- AR7WRD (TNETD7300GDU) is an AR7 option with a interface for WiFi card.
- AR7VWI : DSL + VoIP + Wireless
- AR7VW
- AR7WI
- AR7V : DSL + VoIP
TI does not provide detailed technical documentation for this SoC. Some details are known from the GPL-ed Linux sources.
Another source is a and documentation. It seems, AR7 SoC peripherials is very close to the OMAP16xx and OMAP730 application processors , but MIPS instead ARM9-based.
Source Code
The "GPL source code" as provided by the various vendors of TI AR7 (with linux) devices is incomplete, since TI apparently refuses to publish the source code to some of their core kernel modifications, such as LZMA (de)compression of the zImage. The project is actively trying to resolve this issue.
If you go through the GPL releases for AR7 devices by different vendors, you can find all the sources for the AR7 board. Here's a list:
| Network driver | In almost every vendor GPL release | |
| DSL driver | Netgear DG834(G) V1.0.5 | Hidden in patch-knl file |
| Wifi driver | Linksys WAG54G v2 1.00.19-UK | src/router/ti_ap/AP-DK5.7.0.4.tar.gz |
| USB driver | Netgear DG834(G) V1.0.5 | Hidden in patch-knl file |
| Unknown status | Actiontec GPL source code |
IRC
There is a specifically targeted #ar7 irc channel on Freenode where those devoted to hacking ar7 based architecture go to hang out.
Memory map
AR7 family deploys unusual memory map. The AR7 chip has a small memory banks on the chip : 4Kb PROM (@0xBFC00000) and 4Kb RAM (@0x80000000) and memory block for the DSP (@unknown). The rest of the external memory banks are selectable with CS0..4. The FLASH is located at 0x90000000 (CS0) and RAM is located at 0x94000000 (CS1). Linux should define a non-contiguous memory and install an IRQ trampolines at the MIPS interrupt vectors.
C62x DSP
TI TMS320C62x is a fixed-point Digital Signal Processor core. C62x is based on the VelociTI VLIW architecture developed by TI. C62x is a member of the family.
VLYNQ
TI's is a low power, low pin-count serial communication interface that enables the extension of an internal bus segment to one or more external physical devices. The external devices are mapped into local, physical address space and appears as if they are on the internal bus. The external device must have a VLYNQ interface. The VLYNQ module serializes bus transactions in one device, transfers the serialized data via a VLYNQ port, and de-serializes the transaction in the external device. The VLYNQ interface is described in the following TI documents:
- SPRU768 - OMAP5912 Multimedia processor VLYNQ Serial Communications Interface Reference Guide
- - TMS320DM644x DMSoC VLYNQ Port. User's guide.
Emulation
Qemu with additional patches supports emulation of AR7 and some of its most important devices (serial ports, ethernet). It also includes a flash emulation and can run firmware of typical AR7 based DSL routers.
UR8
UR8 is integrated DSL/VoIP chipset. It combines MIPS 4KEc, C62x DSP (for DSL functions) and C55x DSP (for VoIP). MIPS CPU and C62x DSP operates at 360MHz and the C55x DSP at 180MHz.
Devices based on the Texas Instruments AR7
- Asus AAM6010EV : TNETD7300GDU, 2Mb FLASH, 8Mb SDRAM
- Aztech : 2Mb FLASH, 8Mb SDRAM
- Aztech : 2Mb FLASH, 8Mb SDRAM, 88E6060 Switch
- Aztech : 4Mb FLASH, 16Mb SDRAM, 88E6060 Switch, TNETW1130
- D-Link DSL-xxxT
- (DSL board only)
- ECI B-FOCuS combo 352+ , B-FOCuS Router 312+ (TNETD7300AGDW) 2Mb FLASH 8Mb SDRAM
- devolo ,
- Efficient Networks, Inc / ENI SpeedStream 5100
- LevelOne : (TNETD7300GDU) 2Mb FLASH, 8Mb SDRAM, 88E6060 Switch
- Linksys ADSL2MUE 4MB Flash, 16MB ram, USB + 1 Ethernet only
- Linksys AG241
- Linksys WAG200Gv1
- Linksys WAG54Gv2 and v3
- Linksys WAG54GP2v2
- Linksys WAG354Gv1,v2 and v2.1
- Linksys WRTP54G
- Linksys HG200
- (Version 1, 2 and 3 have AR7 Chipset, )
- Paradyne (Zhone) Hotwire 6210-A2, 6211-A2, and 6381-A2 (OEM Asus AAM6010EV)
- Siemens uses realtime OS (SOHO.BIN) and BRN Boot Loader from the Broad Net Technology, Inc.
- Siemens
- Solwise ADSL-SAR-600E
- Sphairon Turbolink JDR454WB WLAN ADSL Modem ()
- T-Com Speedport W501V
- T-Com Speedport W701V
- WireSpeed 2000 and ProLine 6100
- (Arcor-DSL Speed-Modem 50Z), at OpenWrt
- 3com 3rcwdr100x series ADSL firewall router
and many more
Mainline integration
Starting with 2.6.31-rc1, AR7 (which also supports UR8) has been merged into Linux-MIPS and has mainline support for the:
- VLYNQ bus
- CPMAC integrated Ethernet MACs
OpenWrt has source support for the ACX111 Wi-Fi (sta only) and DSL driver (sangam-atm) and maintains it to work with upstream kernels.
External links
- Actiontec GPL Source Code Download Center
- D-Link GPL Source
- Netgear GPL Source
- Texas Instrument ADSL Router SoC
- Texas Instrument Multimedia Gateway SoC
- QEMU based AR7 emulation, Linux based
- , ADSL2MUE (Incomplete), WAG54G, WAG354, WAG200G GPL sourcecode
- OpenWRT
- Datasheet
- a VoIP chip from TI, including 213MHz MIPS32 core and a TMS320C55x 150MHz DSP
- AR7 based routers
- 3rd party firmware