orangepi-4a: add initial mainline kernel support

[EvilOlaf]

Description

This PR (very sloppily) adds support to build mainline kernels for the Orange Pi 4A.
It does not allow building ready-to-use images due to lack of proper U-Boot.
Maybe somebody wants to use it as a base to tinker further.

Based on bare mainline w/o standard patchset and this: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20250619173007.3367034-1-wens@kernel.org/

How Has This Been Tested?

• build https://paste.armbian.com/ijayirerik
• boot: lol ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Checklist:

• My code follows the style guidelines of this project
• I have performed a self-review of my own code
• I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
• My changes generate no new warnings
• Any dependent changes have been merged and published in downstream modules

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Walkthrough

This change introduces support for the Orange Pi 4A board by adding a new board configuration file (orangepi-4a.csc) specifying board parameters and partition layout. It also adds a comprehensive Linux kernel configuration file (linux-sun55iw3-edge.config) tailored for the sun55iw3-edge platform, enabling a wide range of kernel features and hardware support. Additionally, the sun55iw3.conf source configuration is updated to include a new "edge" branch, setting kernel versioning and source parameters for the 6.16 kernel series.

Possibly related PRs

• sunxi-6.15: switching EDGE to v6.15 #8270: Updates the kernel version for the "edge" branch from 6.14 to 6.15, similar to this PR which introduces a new kernel version (6.16) for the "edge" branch, indicating a related progression in kernel version management.

Suggested labels

Ready to merge, BSP, Framework

Suggested reviewers

• igorpecovnik

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[EvilOlaf]

@coderabbitai review

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

🧹 Nitpick comments (2)

config/boards/orangepi-4a.csc (2)

4-6: Complete the hardware-specific configuration fields.

Several critical configuration fields are incomplete and marked as "fixme":

• BOOTCONFIG needs the correct U-Boot defconfig for Orange Pi 4A
• OVERLAY_PREFIX should match the actual device tree naming convention

These hardware-specific configurations require knowledge of the Orange Pi 4A's actual device tree and U-Boot support. Please verify the correct values with the hardware documentation or existing working configurations.

---

4-4: Add board maintainer information.

The BOARD_MAINTAINER field is empty. Please add maintainer contact information for ongoing support and issue tracking.

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between fa9302f and 2d77ada.

⛔ Files ignored due to path filters (1)

• patch/kernel/archive/sunxi-6.16/add-orangepi-4a.patch is excluded by !patch/**

📒 Files selected for processing (3)

• config/boards/orangepi-4a.csc (1 hunks)
• config/kernel/linux-sun55iw3-edge.config (1 hunks)
• config/sources/families/sun55iw3.conf (1 hunks)

🔇 Additional comments (2)

config/boards/orangepi-4a.csc (1)

9-9: Verify the device tree file path.

The BOOT_FDT_FILE is marked as "fixme" and may not reflect the actual device tree file that will be available for the Orange Pi 4A in mainline kernel 6.16-rc3.

Please verify that sun55i-t527-orangepi-4a.dtb will be available in the mainline kernel or if a different device tree file should be used.

config/kernel/linux-sun55iw3-edge.config (1)

1-1465: Comprehensive kernel configuration appropriate for initial mainline support.

This kernel configuration provides extensive hardware support and debugging capabilities suitable for initial Orange Pi 4A mainline kernel development. Key highlights:

• Proper ARM64 and Sunxi platform support enabled
• Comprehensive driver support for networking, storage, multimedia, and USB
• Debug features enabled for development and troubleshooting
• Security and virtualization features included
• Preemptible kernel configuration for better responsiveness

The extensive feature set aligns well with the goal of providing a foundation for further development as mentioned in the PR objectives.

[EvilOlaf]

Alright this is kind of interesting. I tried to bump this to the v3 sent upstream but the framework does not accept this patch which just moves some stuff around in the same file: https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-arm-kernel/patch/20250628161608.3072968-4-wens@kernel.org/
It detects it as previously applied patch which is wrong: https://paste.armbian.com/emuvizapis

For now I strip this patch since there is no function change.