Re: [LinuxBIOS] google support: automatic build reports: HOWTO ?

[todthgie]

hello all,

sorry about the bad language in this mail, i dont have much time atm.
I'm quite new to linuxbios(this is my first post to te list), but i find it 
realy interresting.
in some time i will start to install it in some machines here starting whit 
the to be carpc.
I'm more a hardware engineer that a software one (but i concider firmware 
almost hardware;-) )
and i think i can and maybe will design a (new) device for automated testing

This  because i dont realy like to (hot) swap chips. and i think adding 
support for new board (i have not found one of my boards on the list)
will not be done i a few builds. So the device for automated building can 
help greatly with the 'normal' devolopment.

but before i start designing i would like to have some input about what 
functions the device should have.

at this moment im thinking about the folowing:

- as a minimum savior like way to update the bios, but much better is this 
can be done remote
    im thinking about using the flash chip as a shared memory between a 
microcontroler and the motherboard (using tristable drivers for arbitrage)
- have a usb to serial convertor so the test server can talk to the 
microcontroler.
- maybe include a way to switch the mains voltage to the target computer
- OR / AND inculde a way to switch off the remaining voltage (+5Vsb) of the 
atx power supply (this is easy)
      and prevent the mother board from switching on the atx PSU.
- monitor at least some core functions of the target device (power supply 
voltage ect) to report state to the host.
- maybe relay the serial debug console of the target to the host.

- of cource als schematics/layouts/Ucfirmware will be public.
- i have no idea of i price yet. but i hope to come up with something that 
can do a lost for not too much money.

furthermore i would like to know what kind of bios chips are around on 
motherboards.. i know of the following:

Prom like flash devices in DIP or PLCC or SOIC packages that have Address, 
Data and Control (CE/RD/WR) busses
Disk on Chip Millenium combo devices that combine a flash 'disk' with a 
'bios'

Greetings
Reinder de Haan
The Netherlands

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Stuge" 
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 19:14
Subject: Re: [LinuxBIOS] google support: automatic build reports: HOWTO ?
> On Wed, Mar 14, 2007 at 05:44:12PM +0100, Stefan Reinauer wrote:
> > It might be an interesting idea to integrate the bios savior into
> > the circuit as well, as IOSS does not produce the bios savior
> > anymore.
>
> No doubt the way to go.
>
> //Peter