LinuxLibre:ATM FORE200E
Contents
- 1 Reference at LinuxLibre log
- 2 What is the purpose of the device?
- 3 Who needs it?
- 4 How critical it is to get free support for it?
- 5 What is(are) the processor architecture(s) of this device?
- 6 Who is working on a free firmware implementation?
- 7 Links to online documentation
- 8 Where are the non-free firmware images made available?
- 9 What makes them non-free?
- 10 What else do we know about this device?
Reference at LinuxLibre log
ATM_FORE200E - FORE Systems 200E-series drivers/atm/fore200e.c: disabled non-Free firmware-loading machinery drivers/atm/fore200e.c: removed blobs Documentation/networking/fore200e.txt: removed blobs drivers/atm/.gitignore: removed blobs Documentation/dontdiff: removed blobs
What is the purpose of the device?
ATM Network card (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asynchronous_Transfer_Mode)
ForeRunner PCA-200E is a 32-bit, 155 Mbps PCI-based adapter familiy includings boards supporting multimode (both ST and SC connector) and single mode fiber as well ass UTP 5 cabling with RJ 45 connector. Features include: * support of UNI 3.0, UNI 3.1, LANE 1.0, RFC 1577 and ILMI. * On board 25 MHz i960 cell processor * Enhanced SAR Processor (ESP) ASIC * Special-purpose hardware for AAL5 and AAL3/4, HEC, and CRC calculations * Supports Available Bit Rate (ABR) with ForeThought software * ATM cell processing per ANSI T1S1.5/92-002R3, ITU I.361, ATM Forum UNI v3.0 specification
source: http://www.chipweb.de/atm/index.php?menu=2&id2=34
Who needs it?
(which computer models use this device or which niche users usually buy such peripherals?)
How critical it is to get free support for it?
(Is it a very popular device that requires us to prioritize efforts?)
What is(are) the processor architecture(s) of this device?
- on-board 25MHz i960 Intel RISC processor
The PCA 200E cards have a good level of signalling performance because they have an on-board 25MHz i960 Intel RISC processor performing cell processing using buffer rings in the same manner as an Ethernet controller.
Who is working on a free firmware implementation?
Nobody.
Links to online documentation
(i.e. datasheets, developer's guides, official or non-official specifications, etc)
Where are the non-free firmware images made available?
This section includes links to non-free firmware with the purpose of fostering the development of a fully free firmware for this device. Please, do not use these non-free firmwares if you are not developing a free replacement for it.
"The Free Software Foundation follows the rule that we cannot install any proprietary program on our computers except temporarily for the specific purpose of writing a free replacement for that very program. Aside from that, we feel there is no possible excuse for installing a proprietary program." [1]
- http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/pca200e/pca200e.bin (old firmware version)
- http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/pca200e/pca200e-0.3.tar.gz
What makes them non-free?
Source code is not available.
What else do we know about this device?
(any further info that might help the creation of free firmware for it)
- Free driver webpage
- For sale at [2] (US$ 34.79)
Following are the features of the PCA 200E cards: * 155 MHz ATM, ST/SC SM/MM and RJ-45 UTP 5 * AAL1, AAL2, AAL3 and AAL5 modes. * Integrated 25 MHz i960 RISC cell processor. * Enhance SAR Processor (ESP) ASIC * Special-purpose hardware for AAL5 and AAL3/4, HEC, and CRC calculations. * Dual-ported RAM and Buffer Ring technique similar to Ethernet Controller. * Serial communications emulation. * Supports ABR * ATM cell processing per ANSI T1S1.5/92-002R3, ITU I.361, ATM Form UNI v3.0, 3.1, 4.0 Advantages Following are the advantages of the PCA 200E cards: * Inexpensive (about $200 a card). * Supports MTP3b. * Can support 3GPP UMTS Iu User and Control Plane over PVCs. Disadvantages Following are the disadvantages of the PCA 200E cards: * Does not support traditional SS7 links. * Requires external ATM switch or point-to-point ATM connection.
- Info about ATM SAR: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmentation_and_Reassembly
- http://sourceforge.net/projects/sarlib/ ATM SAR Library under GPL