A Playground for Firmware development for advanced user of RTL8372/RTL8373 based 2.5GBit Switches.
For each hardware configuration of these devices, there is usually a managed and an umanaged version sold, with mostly identical hardware. The aim is to provide management features also for unmanaged devices with additional features such as Management VLAN, dhcp servers, multi-language support, IPv6 and TLS-encrypted web-pages. At present, however only the following features are provided:
- A modern web-interface with mouse-over to display further information
- A serial console interface to configure all features
- IGMP to configure Multicast streaming
- Port configuration showing detailed informtion about own and Link-partner advertised Speed settins and configuration of these settings on the local side
- Per-port configuration of frame sizes (MTUs) for Jumbo-Frame support or limiting MTUs for particular devices
- EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet) can be configured per-port. Detailed information is provided for support offered by the link partner and the EEE status of a port.
- VLAN configuration
- SFP information is displayed on the inserted modules, the current sensor values such as temperatures, RX and TX power are displayed in the CLI and as mouse-over on the web
- Mirror configuration
- Link Aggregation Groups can be set up
- Detailed information on port packet statistics
- Configuration saved to flash via the web-interface
- Firmware updates via the web
- Installation as a firmware upgrade from the original web-interface
While the firmware provides already considerable improvements over the original managed firmware, the firmware still lacks support for STP and the proprietary loop prevention protocols as well as DHCP. If you need these features, do not install the playground on your managed devices. In any case, installation is strongly discouraged unless you can at least make a backup of the original flash content via a SOIC clamp such as also used for BIOS backups and can re-install that firmware in case something is wrong. For this no soldering skills are necessary.
The firmware supports all hardware featues of devices with
- 4 2.5GBit ports + 2 SFP+ ports
- 5 2.5GBIT + 1 SFP+ port
- 8 2.5GBit + 1 SFP+ port Devices sold usually have a fairly common design, however there may be differences in the LED configuration (switches have LEDs with different colours and use types of LEDs). The list of tested devices can be found in Supported devices.
To do meaningful development you will need to use a serial console, so soldering skills are required. Flashing must be done via a SOIC-8 PatchClamp or by soldering a socket for the flash chip.
If you don't want to open your device, you can use the project's code to learn about the devices by looking at the image using e.g. Ghidra. If you want to contribute to the design of the web-interface or get a feeling for the interface first, a standalone device simulator is provided, which runs entirely under Linux as a local webserver.
Install the following particular build requisites (Debian 12/13), note that Ubuntu 24.04 still has an older version of sdcc, but you will need sdcc version 4.5 for the code to compile:
sudo apt install make gcc sdcc xxd python-is-python3 libjson-c-dev
Edit machine.h with an editor like vi or nano. Select the correct machine the firmware should build for.
Tip
You can write configuration parameters in config.txt (see below) in order your switch to get straight at the first boot, a correct IP configuration.
Now, building the firmware image should work:
make
Note, that the image generated ends in .bin, not .img, in order to make IMSProg happy.
image location is stored in RTLPlayground/output/rtlplayground_version_machine.bin
for example
rtlplayground-v0.1.0-12c98ba-dirty-LIANGUO_ZX_SWTGW215AS.bin
Caution
This image can be flashed directly to the chip OR through the firmware update/upgrade interface of RTLPlaygound interface
Managed switches can be updated from the existing original firmware using a SPECIFIC upgrade image. You first need to build the firmware for direct chip flashing : See below (1)
Then
cd installer
make
image location is stored in RTLPlayground/installer/output/rtlplayground_oem_upgrade.bin
Caution
This image must ONLY be used for original OEM firmware web interface firmware upgrade. You do not need this image if you are already on RTLplayground firmware. Unless you go back to the original OEM firmware, you would only flash this specific firmware only once. Future upgrades of RTLPlayground will only need to follow (1)
example of compilation console output
RTLPlayground/installer$ make
mkdir -p output
gcc updatebuilder.c -o output/updatebuilder
sdas8051 -plosgff -o output/crtstart.rel crtstart.asm
sdcc -mmcs51 --code-loc 0x1000 -o output/installer.rel -c installer.c
sdcc -mmcs51 -Wl-bHOME=0x1100 -Wl-r -o output/rtlinstaller.ihx output/crtstart.rel output/installer.rel
./output/updatebuilder -i output/rtlinstaller.ihx -o output/rtlplayground_oem_upgrade.bin ../output/rtlplayground.bin
Input file size: 524288
Bytes read: 524288
EOF
Payload sum 1 is: 0x25100
Payload sum 2 is: 0x25100
Payload sum with header is: 0x264ec
Payload sum is: 0xf8fe94
Header checksum is: 0x5a1
You can play with the image using ghidra or flash real Switch Hardware. For ghidra see this information about Ghidra images.
Managed switches (OEM firmware of RTLplaygroud firmware) can be upgraded via the web interface. Unmanaged switch cannot be flashed this way (see 5).
Go to "Firmware update" tab, select the correct file.
Important
If your device already runs RTLPlayground, you must upload the binary file /RTLPlayground/output/rtlplayground_Version_Machine.bin If your device is OEM, you must upload the binary file /RTLPlayground/installer/outputrtlplayground_oem_upgrade.bin
Caution
Check one more time that your device matches the machine type before flashing. Be shure you have a backup of the original firmware before diving in RTLPlaygroung.
Finally, push the Upload File Button and you're done !
This procedure is the only way to flash unmanaged switches, if the ROM chip is large enough. This is also the only way to unbrick your device if something went wroong.
Important
You need a SOIC-8 clip to flash the ROM chip directly onboard. Alternatively you can de-solder the flash chip and install a SOIC adapter). For flashing the chip directly, you must use the binary file /RTLPlayground/output/rtlplayground_Version_Machine.bin
Caution
As you need to open your switch case, consider that the warranty is gone.
- Disconnect power from switch.
- Open the switch.
- Attach the clip onto the flash chip (Red line on Pin 1, Pin 1 has a point marker).
- Connect USB of flash programmer, the power LED on the switch will light up, check cabling if not.
- Don't panic, mixing up GND and 3.3V usually does not destroy the switch.
- Use IMSProg, Flashrom, or whatever Programmer to detect the chip.
- MAKE A BACKUP (DUMP) OF THE EXISTING FIRMWARE !
- ERASE THE ROM (BLANK) !
- Load the firmware into IMSProg.
- Flash is to the ROM chip.
- Disconect the clip from the ROM chip.
- You're done, ready for the first boot.
You can connect a serial cable to the UART port found on all the devices, set 8N1 @ 115200 baud.
When you power up the switch, the device will perform some examples and provide a minimal console (if wired to a serial interface), the documentation of which can be found in the source code rtlplayground.c`.
The web-interface can be reached under the default 192.168.10.247 unless you specified an IP adress in the config.txt before compilation.
Tip
The default password is 1234.
The command line is very rudimentary and mostly for testing purposes. The following is a boot-log with some examples:
Detecting CPU
RTL8373 detected
Starting up...
Flash controller
NIC reset
rtl8372_init called
RTL837X_REG_SDS_MODES: 0x00000bed
phy_config_8224 called
phy_config_8224 done
rtl8224_phy_enable called
rtl8224_phy_enable done
rtl8372_init done
A minimal prompt to explore the RTL8372:
CPU detected: RTL8373
Clock register: 0x00001101
Register 0x7b20/RTL837X_REG_SDS_MODES: 0x00000bed
Verifying PHY settings:
Port State Link TxGood TxBad RxGood RxBad
1 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
2 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
3 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
4 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
5 On 2.5G 0x00000008 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
6 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
7 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
8 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
9 NO SFP Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
> port 5 1g
CMD: port 5 1g
PORT 04 1G
> stat
CMD: stat
Port State Link TxGood TxBad RxGood RxBad
1 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
2 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
3 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
4 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
5 On 1000M 0x00000035 0x00000000 0x00000017 0x00000000
6 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
7 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
8 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
9 NO SFP Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
>
<SFP-RX OK>
<MODULE INSERTED> Rate: 67 Encoding: 01
Lightron Inc. WSPXG-ES3LC-IHA 0000
> stat
CMD: stat
Port State Link TxGood TxBad RxGood RxBad
1 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
2 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
3 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
4 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
5 On 1000M 0x00000065 0x00000000 0x0000003b 0x00000000
6 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
7 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
8 On Down 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x00000000
9 SFP OK 10G 0x00000000 0x00000000 0x0000001c 0x00000000
> sfp
CMD: sfp
Rate: 67 Encoding: 01
Lightron Inc. WSPXG-ES3LC-IHA 0000
You can configure more deeply the switch without the need of the console mode.
While in compilation part, you might write directly to config.txt file before making the binary firmware
nano config.txt
If you want to modify settings after the flash is done, go to the Advanced Settings tab in System Settings
ip xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx = IP adress of the switch
gw yyy.yyy.yyy.yyy = IP adress of the gateway
netmask zzz.zzz.zzz.zzz = Network mask of the switch
port x name xxx = Name xxx the port number x
port z 1g = Set 1g speed for port z
igmp on/off = Turn IGMP on or off
[To be continue]
Enjoy playing!
The following documents give further documentation on specific features of the RTL837x SoCs: