The AVR32 Linux Kernel

Current Status

The AVR32 Linux Kernel was used to demonstrate the AVR32 architecture on the Embedded World 2006 conference in Nuremberg. It can boot from an MMC or SD Card, or it can be loaded over the network with root filesystem mounted over NFS (NfsRoot^?). Using the BusyBox suite linked against MicroClibc, it functions like most other Linux-based systems. It can also show MPEG4 video using MPlayer.

AVR32 support has been merged into the mainstream kernel, and was included in the 2.6.19 release. This release also contains a few other related changes which makes it possible to boot from a filesystem stored in external flash with console on the serial port. The CorePatches page contains more information about the current status of the core AVR32 support.

The LinuxPatches page contains additional patches against various kernel versions, and includes support for ethernet, SPI and LCDC, among other things. For help on building your new kernel see the CompilingTheKernel page.

Supported Chips

• AT32AP7000. Get the data sheet here
• AT32AP7001
• AT32AP7002

Supported Boards

• ATSTK1000 with ATSTK1002, ATSTK1003, ATSTK1004 or ATSTK1006 CPU daughterboard.
• ATNGW100

Unsupported Chips and Boards

The AVR32 UC3 family and associated development boards are not yet supported by the Linux kernel. However, some of these chips are actually capable of running the Linux kernel, so they may be supported in the future. See the LinuxKernelOnUC3 page for more information.

Drivers

Driver	Description	Status	Patch
AtmelUsartDriver	Serial port driver for AVR32 and AT91	In mainline (2.6.19)	N/A
AtmelMacbDriver	Ethernet driver for the Atmel MACB ethernet interface	In mainline (2.6.20)	N/A
AtmelDmacaDriver	Driver for the DMACA DMA controller	In mainline (2.6.27)	new driver, old driver in .atmel
AtmelFbDriver	Driver for Framebuffer video	In mainline (2.6.22)	N/A
AtmelMmcDriver	Driver for the Atmel MMC interface	In mainline (2.6.27)	new driver, old driver in .atmel
AtmelLcdcDriver	Framebuffer driver for the Atmel LCDC (LCD Controller)	In mainline (2.6.22)	N/A
AtmelSpiDriver	Driver for the Atmel SPI interface	In mainline (2.6.21)	N/A
AtmelTwiDriver	Driver for the Atmel TWI i2c interface	Has some issues	2.6.22-rc5, In .atmel
AtmelUsbDeviceDriver	USB Gadget driver for the Atmel USB Device Controller	In mainline (2.6.24)	2.6.22-rc5
SciensisSpiProtocolDriver	SPI protocol driver to interface the AVR32 with other microcontrollers	Working	2.6.20
CompactFlashDriver	Necessary glue code for accessing CompactFlash cards from an AVR32 controller	Should merge with at91_cf	2.6.22, In 2.6.23.atmel.2
GpioDevInterface	AVR32-specific /dev interface for doing GPIO	Deprecated	2.6.22-rc5
Ap7000RealTimeCounter	Driver for the AT32AP700x RTC	In mainline (2.6.23)	In 2.6.22.atmel.3
Ap7000WatchDogTimer	Driver for the AT32AP700x WDT	In mainline (2.6.23)	In 2.6.22.atmel.3
AtmelSscDriver?	Driver for the Synchronous Serial Controller	In mainline (2.6.24)	In 2.6.22.atmel.3
At73c213Driver	Driver for the AT73C213 i2s codec	In mainline (2.6.24)	In 2.6.22.atmel.3
AtmelAc97cDriver	Driver for the Atmel AC97 Controller	Working	In 2.6.22.atmel.4
AtmelAbdacDriver?	Driver for the Audio Bitstream DAC	Working (?)	In 2.6.22.atmel.4
AtmelIsiDriver	Driver for the Atmel Image Sensor Interface	Needs testing	In 2.6.23.atmel.5
AtmelPwmDriver	Driver for the Atmel Pulse Width Modulation controller	In mainline (2.6.25)	archives
PsifDriver	Driver for the PS/2 Interface	Input driver in mainline (2.6.26)	patch test app
PataDriver	Driver for Parallel ATA Disk Drive	In mainline (2.6.24)
NandDriver	Driver for NAND flash hooked up to the EBI/SMC	In mainline (2.6.27)	In 2.6.25.6.atmel.1
TimerCounterDriver?	Driver for the Timer/Counter module	"tclib" layer in mainline (2.6.25)	N/A

Libraries

• SciensisRsaCryptographicApi: Kernel api for fast modular exponentiation