Open Firmware Boot Firmware for StrongARM

System ROM Code

An Open Firmware boot firmware implementation for the StrongARM processor is now available from FirmWorks. This implementation is the recommended firmware implementation for use on the Digital Network Appliance Reference Design.

Open Firmware, formally described by IEEE Standard 1275-1994, is the first non-proprietary open-standard boot firmware that is usable on different processors and buses.

Open Firmware includes:

A processor-independent "device interface" that enables an add-in peripheral card to identify itself and to supply a single boot driver that can be used, unchanged, on any CPU using Open Firmware.
A "user interface" with powerful scripting and debugging capabilities.
A "client interface" that enables operating systems and their loaders to make use of Open Firmware services to assist in the configuration and initialization process.

FirmWorks's Open Firmware implementation for StrongARM complies with:

IEEE Std 1275-1994 Standard for Boot (Initialization Configuration) Firmware: Core Requirements and Practices
ARM Processor Binding Specification
Digital Network Architecture Platform Binding Specification
PCI Binding Specification

This implementation supports:

SA-110 Processor
PCI, ISA and other buses
NetBSD

The core technology of FirmWorks's Open Firmware is a small, fast, efficient Forth micro-kernel enabling powerful, interactive debugging and automated system configuration.

This mature code is based on a field-proven implementation and can be easily ported to your specific system architecture.

Features:

Provides machine-independent configuration and booting support for plug-in devices.
Provides a framework for plug-in drivers so that user-installed peripherals boot "out-of-the-box".
Provides a standard set of firmware functions for use by "client programs": operating systems, loaders, diagnostics, etc.
Provides complete run-time configuration information to client programs.
Contains a full ANS Forth interpreter for interactive programming, debugging and configuration.
Off-the-shelf drivers are available for many commonly-used devices. (And, if we don't have what you need, we can create it for you easily.)

Technical Support Available:

Consulting services.
Training:
- At FirmWorks.
- At your site.
Porting to your system:
- Modifications for your architecture.
- Creation of custom drivers.
Bring-up assistance with new systems.

Availability:

Available now.

Licensing:

Source code licenses and object code distribution licenses are available.