OpenMandriva for Rock 5B test build released

#1

Hi,
we’ve ported OpenMandriva to Rock 5B - and a test build that works pretty well is available here:
https://abf.openmandriva.org/platforms/cooker/products/52/product_build_lists/1781
Download OpenMandriva-Lx-rock5b-cooker-1781.img.xz and write2device, then use the write2device script to write the image to an eMMC module or SD card. (You can also use dd, write2device uses dd script and then resizes the root partition to fill the entire device.)

There is one known problem with which we could use some help: GPU acceleration isn’t working (the image uses the llvmpipe driver, which is workable, but of course neither very fast nor very energy efficient). We’ve taken all the G610 patches from panfork userland, but the problem seems to be the panfrost kernel module complaining it can’t initialize the graphics hardware.

We’re currently using the kernel from Radxa’s repository unmodified (except for configs adding CONFIG_DRM_PANFROST and disabling the kernel part of the non-free driver) – probably some extra patches are needed on top. Rock 5B support on mainline still seems incomplete. Any pointer to the needed patch(es) or alternative kernel trees?

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#3

I think drivers for x11 are the mali blobs ones… I just saw the project you uploaded is doomed to be removed in 71 days… are you giving up?

#4

Hi, thanks – we’re 100% Open Source, so the mali blobs aren’t an option, but the panfork stuff is supposed to work (fortunately at least llvmpipe is working already, so while graphics are a bit slow, we have a usable system).

Unfortuantely the alternative kernel that has all the related changes - https://github.com/Googulator/linux-rk3588-midstream/tree/pancsf-midstream - doesn’t even start to boot here, so maybe we need to pick just the pancsf related bits from there.

Not giving up – on the contrary. The way our build system works is that if we build a snapshot without marking it a release, it’s deleted after 90 days because we assume that within 90 days, there will be a newer, better build.

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#5

@DarkevilPT none of this is true, panfork raster graphics acceleration works fine on wayland and on X11, and you can use libmali both on wayland and X11. Developers know what they’re doing (usually)…

#6

I know… but since its x11 I thought maybe mali blobs would do better… (as alternative to panfork…) since they are running into issues.

#7

What kernel do you use with panfork? The Radxa kernel doesn’t seem to support the GPU without the non-free driver.

We actually do both x11 and wayland – currently defaulting to x11 because on most hardware, that’s still more reliable in our experience – but wouldn’t mind switching to wayland for the rock5b builds if that works better. (In fact, we’d just have to pass an extra flag to the image builder to make that switch).

#8

I’m using the armbian legacy kernel (whatever armbian comes with, I’m not an expert on this).

#9

@bero i know below set of config and compilation flow works as intended if you are sure the kernel is the culprit.

https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/tree/PKGBUILD?h=linux-radxa-rkbsp5-git

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#10

Thanks, will give that a try. Doesn’t look very promising though… I don’t see any patch in there that would touch panfrost GPU detection, and the patches in there don’t even apply cleanly (they haven’t been kept up to date with the base branch).
Fixed that and it’s building now, but I think it won’t fix the GPU. Only way to find out is to wait for it to finish of course…

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#11

Pretty much as expected, this still gives me

[Fri Mar  3 09:49:20 2023] panfrost fb000000.gpu: clock rate = 200000000
[Fri Mar  3 09:49:20 2023] panfrost fb000000.gpu: Looking up mali-supply from device tree
[Fri Mar  3 09:49:20 2023] panfrost fb000000.gpu: opp_parse_supplies: Invalid number of elements)
[Fri Mar  3 09:49:20 2023] panfrost fb000000.gpu: _of_add_opp_table_v2: Failed to add OPP, -22
[Fri Mar  3 09:49:20 2023] panfrost fb000000.gpu: devfreq init failed -22
[Fri Mar  3 09:49:20 2023] panfrost fb000000.gpu: Fatal error during GPU init
[Fri Mar  3 09:49:20 2023] panfrost: probe of fb000000.gpu failed with error -22

and while the build works OK, GPU acceleration does not (uses llvmpipe rather than panfork).
(And that’s after adding panfrost into the kernel config – the config in AUR doesn’t even try to enable it).

I think we need the pancsf driver, but unfortunately so far nothing that has it even boots on Rock 5B. Guess it’ll take some more research to make that GPU work with open drivers.

#12

It’s a lie, pancsf is already working on rock 5b (it also works on station m3, orange 5, khandas edge 2). There are problems with wayland mode (the developers warned about this), but in x11 mode, although the performance is lower, but the system works with acceleration. You can find the test results in this topic.

https://forum.armbian.com/topic/24931-armbian-efigrub-nvme/?do=findComment&comment=162267

#13

Ah i see, panfrost is not available in the rockchip kernel, only viable option atm is the panfork with vop2.

There us an interim experimental kernel from @Googulator that has pancsf support, there are several threads about it in the forum, but my experince with below cfg it works, (except you need to enable gpu cpufreq druver and fix the gpu clock, fynamic clock seems to leave some artifacts on video output)

Midstream kernel

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