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Is embedded Linux the right solution?

I am hoping to build a device using the Cypress EZ-HOST chip that basically acts as a USB host, extracts data from a USB mass storage device and sends it on demand to a codec chip. It will also have some form of diagnostic display, probably an LCD.

At the heart of the EZ-HOST is Cypress' CY16 RISC processor with 4K x 16 internal ROM, which contains a built-in BIOS, and 8K x 16 internal RAM for code and data buffering. It also has support for external memory.

This device will be a prototype and I need to balance the cost of additional hardware carefully with development time.

As a result, I should be grateful if someone could assist with the following:

i) Would implementing embedded Linux, such as uClinux, be feasible with this chip?

ii) Does embedded Linux function just like "regular Linux" in respect of USB mass storage devices? IE automatically register them as, for example, /dev/sda ?

iii) How much memory should I expect embedded Linux to need?

iv) Can I expect implementing embedded Linux to speed up development significantly over implementing my own firmware using the built-in BIOS?

v) Has anyone got any experience with the Cypress EZ-HOST / CY16?

Sorry for all the questions! :-)

Many thanks,

Ben

Reply to
Ben
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Probably not. IIRC this thing uses a 16 bit sparc; Linux is mostly successful on things with 32 bit cores and ideally an MMU.

Furthermore, your application doesn't seem to fit Linux (or BSD) strengths. You don't need any networking, a Unix-like process model or APIs, etc. Almost any embedded OS will provide the basic DOS filesystem support that you do need; Cypress or a partner will undoubtedly be able to provide the necessary USB stack and toolchain. Beyond that, your project will mainly involve LCD, codec, and button drivers.

I suggest asking Cypress what software they ship in their development kit, and what other software they can provide or suggest. That path is vastly less likely to produce a software disaster than attempting to use Linux in a space-constrained embedded project for no apparent reason.

I've never used uclinux as such, but for many applications it appears to be measured in hundreds of kilobytes and up. See the mailinglists at uclinux.org.

Standard Linux takes a few megabytes or up. *Way* up.

--
Grant Taylor - gtaylorpicante.com - http://www.picante.com/~gtaylor/
   Linux Printing Website and HOWTO:  http://www.linuxprinting.org/
Reply to
Grant Taylor

Many thanks for confirming my suspicions! I spent some time researching it and concluded that my main reason for considering embedded Linux wasn't for any technical reason, but enjoy fiddling with Linux and thought it would be good fun if it worked!

I now realise that would be an incredibly big *IF* on that hardware...

Having spent the weekend trawling websites, I now agree! :-)

Thanks for your time!

Take care,

Ben

Reply to
Ben

The AT43USB370 comes complete with USB Mass Storage Drivers. If you want to play with Embedded Linux and USB Host, then the AT91RM9200 ARM9 controller might be what you are looking for. Connects very nicely to my USB Flash Drive

--
Best Regards,
Ulf Samuelsson   ulf@a-t-m-e-l.com
This is a personal view which may or may not be
share by my Employer Atmel Nordic AB
Reply to
Ulf Samuelsson

Ah-ha! :-) Excellent stuff... could dramatically cut down my development time! Many many thanks! :-)

Ben

Reply to
Ben

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