[MinnowBoard] linux driver for PCIe bus on Minnowboard MAX

[John 'Warthog9' Hawley]

On 04/24/2015 11:01 AM, Vasanthi, Jagatha wrote:
> Hi All
> 
> My project is to  assess the performance of the CPU in transferring data
> to and from a RAM disk that will be connected through the PCIe port.
> 
>  
> 
> I’m very new to embedded linux and the Minnowboard MAX so I have a
> couple of basic questions based on my research so far.
> 
>  
> 
> 1.       Are there any considerations to keep in mind for my project
> while choosing the linux distribution to work with? I would like to use
> Ubunto but I’m wondering if there are advantages in Debian or Angstrom
> that I should know about.

The various distributions have various advantages / disadvantages.  If
you are used to Ubuntu, I'd likely say you should stick with that.

There's some slightly dated instructions here for how to install a MAX:

http://elinux.org/Minnowboard:MinnowMaxDistros

> 2.       Is there a PCIe driver/device file that is available for the
> Minnowboard Max?

There's not a PCI-e driver per-se, but the device attached to PCI-e will
almost certainly need a driver to be of use.

Keeping in mind that while we expose a single PCI-e x1 gen 2 lane
through the HSE, the only lures I've seen to date break it out to a
mPCI-e connector, so getting this connected to a "standard" PCI-e slot
will require a further adapter that we've seen, at best, mixed success with.

- John 'Warthog9' Hawley