[microblaze-uclinux] Ethernet transfer/console development

[Matt Staniszewski <matt.staniszewski@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

First of all, thanks Michal for all your help on getting me started on my board.  I now have gone through and loaded uCLinux and some applications without any problems.  I've also tested the GPIO test and it works great.

Now, I'd like to move on to my next part of development, which is getting rid of the serial port for downloading and console usage.  I know Michal that you sent me a post of someone on another list trying to do this through netconsole.  I've also taken a look at the HOWTOs that John has put up here:

http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~jwilliams/mblaze-uclinux/Documentation/networking.html
http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~jwilliams/mblaze-uclinux/Documentation/networking2.html

Using these and the SVN build, I was able to telnet into my board no problem.  TFTP didn't work, but I'm pretty sure our university's firewall may be to blame.  I'll give it a try at home.

I want to be able to both:

1) transfer files via ehternet (using tftp)
2) view the boot/console status of uCLinux (using netconsole?)

Instead of using my Spartan 3e and my laptop connected to the network, I'd like to directly connect my laptop to the S3E via ethernet.  Does anyone have suggestions about doing this?  I imagine I'll need a crossover cable for a direct connection between the two systems, but I'm unsure of how to setup everything in CentOS.

The end goal of all this is to stop using the serial port, since our future laptop that will be used for this project most likely will not have a serial port, and I'd rather not use a USB to serial converter.  

Let me know if this is feasible.  Thanks.

Matt