Kernel 4.14.3 build 1 - beta

This is a beta release for checking and testing purposes. My first experiences with this kernel indicate that everything that worked in 4.11.6 kernel works in this kernel, too.

Kernel package may be installed besides 4.11.6 kernel. But the new kernel installation does not cause to load the new kernel automatically after reboot. Some changes in u-boot environment are needed.

To run this kernel release, the following files should be loaded by u-boot:

/boot/vmlinuz-4.14.3+
/boot/nanopim3-4.14.3+.dtb
/boot/initrd.img-4.14.3+

Files vmlinuz-4.14.3+ and nanopim3-4.14.3+.dtb are a part of the kernel package. File initrd.img-4.14.3+ is generated during installation process. It is a good practice to create symbolic links to these files:

vmlinuz -> vmlinuz-4.14.3+
nanopim3.dtb -> nanopim3-4.14.3+.dtb
initrd.img -> initrd.img-4.14.3+

and specify in u-boot environment names of symbolic links, for example:

bootcmd=ext4load mmc 1:1 0x49000000 boot/vmlinuz; unzip 0x49000000 0x48000000; mw 0x49000000 0 0x800000; ext4load mmc 1:1 0x49000000 boot/initrd.img; ext4load mmc 1:1 0x4a000000 boot/nanopim3.dtb; booti 0x48000000 - 0x4a000000

Note that dtb file name differs from such in 4.11.6 release, to avoid conflicts with the 4.11.6 kernel. The name contains now also kernel version in name to avoid possible name conflicts in future.

brcmfmac driver firmware

Firmware file names in brcmfmac driver have changed slightly since version 4.11.6. This is an upstream change, not mine. File brcmfmac43430-sdio.bin was renamed to brcmfmac43430a0-sdio.bin and brcmfmac43430-sdio.txt file was renamed to brcmfmac43430a0-sdio.txt. Firmware files are located in /lib/firmware/brcm directory.

The brcmfmac driver in 4.14. kernel has a bug, which manifests with Oops when firmware file is not found. This is a bug in upstream kernel. But when firmware files are loaded by driver successfully, driver seem to work correctly, without surprises.