topic Re: Custom motherboard: Questions on bringup process, bootloader, etc. in Embedded Intel® Core™ Processors

Custom motherboard: Questions on bringup process, bootloader, etc.

CD8 — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 22:57:56 GMT

I have access to DZP and I'm designing a motherboard for ADL-N (N100).

I'm super confused on what the process should look like. I really struggle to find tools or documentation online. I don't know who to contact in sales/fae to get support. I don't have a signed CNDA.

Some questions:

ADL-N has configurable HSIOs, they can be PCIe, USB, SATA, etc. I assume those are configured during the boot process. Do we need a custom BIOS for this (I'm equating BIOS = uBoot in my mind), or is there a configuration layer on top of a standard, off the shelf and free binary BIOS that we don't need to change? Does Intel have any tool or documentation for this step?
I have discovered Slimbootloader, and people have apparently used it with ADL-N successfully. I don't understand if people are using Slimbootloader because it's the most accessible way of doing this, or because they are straying off the beaten path.
I discovered (and I could download) the FIT tool. It looks nice, but it seems it's asking for binaries I don't have (BIOS, ME, PDR, etc.). How should I go about getting those binaries? Any documentation for this? Are we supposed to use the validation board bios binary and extract it inside the FIT tool? I have access to the RVP design files but I don't know how to access the binaries.
How do we validate the DDR design after bringup? Other vendors might have tool optimizing the center point in the eye diagram and such. Is this inside the Bringup Toolkit? I have tried accessing it without luck.

I hope someone can put me in contact with people that will let me design this motherboard successfully.

Thank you.

Re: Custom motherboard: Questions on bringup process, bootloader, etc.

Diego_INTEL — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 01:59:09 GMT

Hello @CD8,

Thank you for contacting Intel Embedded Community.

For the signed CNDA you may check the following:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000058073/programs/resource-and-documentation-center.html

Regarding the contact, you can check the Distributor Partner Directory for an Intel Sales Representative near your zone.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/partner/showcase/partner-directory/distributor.html#sort=relevancy

In this link you can check all available documents related to Alder Lake N:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/embedded-processors/atom/atomx7000e/docs.html

You can look for the following documents:

#646929 - PDG

#645548 - EDS Vol1

#645550 - EDS Vol2

1) For the HSIO design, you can use the tool from the document #621838, it is a tool that can help in choosing a supported configuration, but at this moment I think it needs to be republished, so I'm sharing the number for later.

2) Yes, Slimbootloader is widely used, but I don't have much information regarding uBoot, other way is you can work with a BIOS vendor, they can help you with the BIOS configuration as you see fit.

https://slimbootloader.github.io/

3) You can check document #823350 - Intel Atom® x7000 Processor Series, Intel® Processor N-Series, & Intel® Core™ i3-N305 Processor for Network and Edge (ASL MR1 and ADL-N MR5) Firmware Best Known Configuration (BKC), here you can get the necessary files to build the image.

Also, document #816273 - Alder Lake N Production Version(IPU 2024.2 PV) Best Known Configuration (BKC) Software Package (Microsoft Windows 11 23H2– 64 bit) WW08-2024, there you can download the CSME package, there are some tools like the FIT and guides.

4) For the DDR design, you can use the document #1001596 - Automated Trace Length Calculator and the PDG mentioned above.

Also, we have the services for Schematic and Layout review.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000088384/programs/resource-and-documentation-center.html

Lastly, there is the IPS service too, you can get all the help you need there.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057045/ethernet-products.html

Best regards,

@Diego_INTEL

Re: Custom motherboard: Questions on bringup process, bootloader, etc.

CD8 — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 02:35:31 GMT

Hello @Diego_INTEL, and thank you for this answer and your other messages in this forum. I apologies for taking your time.

CNDA: I already followed the link above and I already have access to Developer Zone Premiere (I got a DZP acceptance email). However, I never signed any CNDA with Intel. I believe that a lot of my issues are stemming from this:

When visiting the Alder Lake N document collection, I can only see six links, same as visiting as a guest.
However, by modifying the URLs with the document IDs you mentioned, I can access the documents that I cannot otherwise find. For example, I could just download the 646929 DPG, which I had no idea existed until a minute ago.

This is how I accessed most of the data I have today. I would like to get a CNDA but my trusted distributor, Avnet Silica, doesn't seem to be an Intel partner, and I doubt Digikey would push the paperwork through.

BIOS vendor: is it reasonable for OEMs to create fixed-function slimbootloader/etc binaries, or do we need to pay a third party BIOS vendor? The reason I brought up uBoot is how in the ARM ecosystem people just use and customize uBoot, and that's it. It's still unclear to me if I can get access to all the tools neededed to compile a boot system that can work for a custom board (without user-configurability), but slimbootloader existing is giving me hope.

Unfortunately I couldn't download #816273 or #1001596 but they clearly are great documents to have.

Re: Custom motherboard: Questions on bringup process, bootloader, etc.

Diego_INTEL — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 06:07:48 GMT

Hello @CD8,

You are very welcome.

I think your account is fine but there must be an issue in the browser, can you delete cache and login again, like pressing Ctrl+F5 or login in another browser like Microsoft Edge?

Also, let me know if the following can be accessed:

BKC:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/secure/design/internal/content-details.html?DocID=816273

Automated Trace Length Calculator:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/secure/design/internal/content-details.html?DocID=1001596

If the issue doesn't get fixed, I think you can download the MoW, so you can get all the available documents for the platform instead.

#690947 - Alder Lake N and Twin Lake Platform Message of the Week

I hope this helps.

Regarding the FAE, I understand that they should be able to help, so you can try asking for an Intel Sales Representative at Digikey.

Best regards,

@Diego_INTEL