How to Configure Your Windows Host

Use the following general procedure to configure a Windows host for embedded Linux development:

1. Install the correct version of Cygwin on your Windows host. Embedded Linux development with a Timesys LinuxLink Classic reference distribution requires the Cygwin UNIX emulator, with cygwin1.dll version 1.5.16 or later. Cygwin distributions from Timesys are recommended. You will need Administrator privileges to complete the installation.
2. Install and configure Cygwin services. Hosting a LinuxLink Classic Linux distribution from TimeSys on Windows requires the Cygwin versions of the following services:
   • dhcpd – The DHCP server daemon. This server gives your target board an IP address via DHCP. Configuring dhcpd is described in Configuring a DHCP Server for Windows.
   • tftpd – The Trivial File Transfer Protocol daemon, and xinetd – the Extended Internet Services Daemon, which controls the TFTP daemon. These servers transfer the kernel to the target board via Ethernet. These services are described in Configuring a TFTP Server for Windows.
   • nfsd – The NFS services daemon, portmap – the RPC portmapper daemon, and mountd – the NFS mount daemon. These services export the root filesystem to the target, and are described in Configuring an NFS Server for Windows.

   Configuring these daemons as Windows services allows them to be controlled by Windows interfaces, so that they can be set to start automatically when you start the Windows operating system, and can be controlled from the Windows Control Panel interface. These services only have to be installed once when setting up the host system.

3. Install the reference distribution for your target board and, optionally, install TimeStorm.
4. Restart the required services.

Refer to your LinuxLink Classic reference distribution’s Getting Started guide to continue by connecting your host and target.