Timesys Getting Started Guide for NXP i.MX93 EVK
Contents
- Introduction
- Prerequisites
- Preparing the Target
- Preparing the Host
- Booting the Board
- Booting via Tftp and NFS
- Booting via SD card
- Additional Information
Introduction
This document will describe in detail both the procedures for booting a Linux kernel image and mounting a root file system over NFS and SD on the NXP i.MX93 EVK.Prerequisites
Host Requirements
To properly boot the NXP i.MX93 EVK using software from Timesys, your host machine must meet the following requirements:- Modern GNU/Linux Distribution. Timesys recommends one of the following distributions:
- Ubuntu (Most recent release or LTS)
- Fedora (Most recent release)
- Root or sudo permission on the Development Host.
- A copy of the Linux Kernel (Image-6.1-ts-aarch64) and Root File System (rootfs.tar.gz) for the Target Board downloaded from Factory. These are found in the output directory of your online build, or in the directory build_aarch64-timesys-linux-<libc>/images/ on the command line.
- An available USB port on your Development Host.
- A SD card slot or adapter on your Development Host.
Target Requirements
To boot the NXP i.MX93 EVK, you will need the following items:- NXP i.MX93 EVK
- SD Card
- Type-C USB Cable
- Power Adapter
- Connect the USB Debug port of the board (J1401) to a USB port of your workstation using the Type-C USB Cable.
- Connect the power supply to your board (J301).
- Set aside the SD card, you will need to intialize it from the Development Host before booting the board.
Preparing the Target
Configuring Serial Communication
The i.MX93 EVK uses a serial debug port to communicate with the host machine. The commands discussed in this section are meant to be performed by a privileged user account. This requires the root login or prepending each command with sudo.Using Minicom
- Start minicom on your host machine in configuration mode. As root:
# minicom -o -s -w
- A menu of configuration should appear. Use the Down-arrow key to scroll down and select the Serial port setup option, and press Enter.
- Verify that the listed serial port is the same one that is connected to the target board. If it is not, press A, and enter the correct device. This is /dev/ttyUSB0 on most Linux distributions.
- Set the Bps/Par/Bits option by pressing the letter E and using the next menu to set the appropriate values. You press the key that corresponds to the value 115200, then press Enter.
- Set Hardware flow control to No using the F key.
- Set Software flow control to No using the G key.
- Press Enter to return to the main configuration menu, and then press Esc to exit this menu.
- Reset the board, and wait for a moment. If you do not see output from the board, press Enter several times until you see the prompt. If you do not see any output from the board, and have verified that the serial terminal connection is setup correctly, contact your board vendor.
/dev/ttyUSB0: 28358
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
28923 pts/0 S+ 0:00 minicom
Using GNU Screen
To quickly connect to a board using Gnu Screen, execute the following:Configuring the Network Interface
Finding and Changing the MAC Address
The MAC address on the i.MX93 EVK is set by the ethaddr environment variable in U-Boot. If ethaddr is not set, it can be set using the setenv command. Examplebaudrate=115200
bootfile="Image-6.1-ts-aarch64"
stdin=serial
stdout=serial
stderr=serial
ethaddr=12:34:56:78:9a:bc
Changing the IP Address
The IP address can be set manually by modifying the ipaddr environment variable, or automatically using the dhcp or bootp commands.Preparing the Host
No additional host setup is required to boot from SD. But, If you prefer NFS booting follow below steps
Setting up the network
The commands discussed in this section are meant to be performed by a privileged user account. This requires the root login or prepending each command with sudo.
Identify the network adapter connecting the Host to the Target
Timesys only supports direct Ethernet connections from the development Host to the Target board. Ideally, the development Host would have two network adapters; one adapter to connect to your LAN, and one Ethernet card to connect directly to the Target board with a crossover cable or Ethernet hub. If your development Host only has one network interface it must be directly connected to the Target board.
The Ethernet adapter connected directly to the target board must be:
- Configured with a proper static IP address and Subnet Mask.
- Connected directly to the target board with either a crossover cable or its own Ethernet hub.
From a command prompt issue the command:
Each interface will report its IP address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway information:
inet addr:192.168.3.244 Bcast:192.168.3.255 Mask:255.255.254.0
inet6 addr: fe80::219:bbff:fe49:ff0e/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:57214 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:47272 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:43109083 (41.1 MB) TX bytes:6308206 (6.0 MB)
Interrupt:16
eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:10:b5:4a:c1:a9
inet addr:10.0.0.1 Bcast:10.0.0.255 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:21 Base address:0x1100
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1974 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1974 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:226637 (221.3 KB) TX bytes:226637 (221.3 KB)
Note the IP address and Subnet Mask of the appropriate network connection. You will use this to configure the DHCP server.
Installing the server daemons on the development host
- On Ubuntu 11.04 and newer:
# apt-get install xinetd tftp tftpd isc-dhcp-server \
nfs-kernel-server portmap
- On Ubuntu 10.11 and older:
# apt-get install xinetd tftp tftpd dhcp3-server \NOTE: Older versions of Ubuntu use nfs-common and nfs-user-server in place of nfs-kernel-server
nfs-kernel-server portmap
- On Fedora Core:
# yum install xinetd tftp tftp-server dhcp nfs-utils
Important:
After installing these packages the DHCP server software may start automatically. Having the DHCP server running while you are connected to a LAN can interfere with the operation of other computers. After the DHCP service installs and starts issue these commands to stop the DHCP service and prevent it from starting automatically at boot:
- To stop the dhcp service:
- On Ubuntu 11.04 and newer:
# service isc-dhcp-server stop
- On Ubuntu 10.11 and older:
# service dhcp3-server stop
- On Fedora Core:
# /etc/init.d/dhcp stop
- On Ubuntu 11.04 and newer:
- To prevent the service from starting automatically:
- On Ubuntu 11.04 and newer:
# chmod 644 /etc/init.d/isc-dhcp-server
- On Ubuntu 10.11 and older:
# chmod 644 /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server
- On Fedora Core:
- Click the System Menu
- Select Administration
- Select Services
- Select dhcpd
- Click the Customize button
- Uncheck Runlevel 2, 3, 4 and 5
- On Ubuntu 11.04 and newer:
Disable SELinux and Firewall on Fedora Core
On Fedora Core, SELinux and the firewall will interfere with many of the services that are needed to work with the target board. These should be disabled before continuing.
Generally Ubuntu does not have these services running by default.
- Disable SELinux:
- Click the System Menu
- Select Administration
- Select SELinux Management
- Change System Default Enforcing Mode to Disabled
- Disable Firewall:
- Click the System Menu
- Select Administration
- Select Services
- Select iptables
- Click the Customize button
- uncheck Runlevel 2, 3, 4 and 5
Setting up DHCP
- Edit the dhcpd configuration file:
- On Ubuntu, edit /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf and include the following lines (note: on older versions of Ubuntu this file is at either /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf or /etc/dhcpd.conf):
subnet 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.0.0.0 {
host targetboard {
fixed-address 10.0.0.10;
hardware ethernet 12:34:56:78:9a:bc;
option root-path "/full/path/to/rfs";
filename "Image-6.1-ts-aarch64";
}
}
- On Fedora Core, edit /etc/dhcpd.conf and include the following lines:
ddns-update-style ad-hoc;
subnet 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.0.0.0 {
host targetboard {
fixed-address 10.0.0.10;
hardware ethernet 12:34:56:78:9a:bc;
option root-path "/full/path/to/rfs";
next-server 10.0.0.1;
filename "Image-6.1-ts-aarch64";
}
}
- On Ubuntu, edit /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf and include the following lines (note: on older versions of Ubuntu this file is at either /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf or /etc/dhcpd.conf):
- Test the DHCP server on the network card that is connected to your
development board. For this example assume eth1. This command will
start the DHCP server in the foreground and output any status or error
messages to the screen.
- On Ubuntu up to 12.04 LTS:
# service dhcp3-server restart
- On Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and later:
# service isc-dhcp-server restart
- On Fedora Core:
# /usr/sbin/dhcpd -d eth1
- It is recommended to start the DHCP server in this manner each time you need to boot your Target board.
- On Ubuntu up to 12.04 LTS:
Setting up TFTP
- Edit the xinetd.conf file
- On Ubuntu, edit /etc/xinetd.conf and add the following lines just above the line
that reads includedir /etc/xinetd.d.
service tftp
{
socket_type = dgram
protocol = udp
wait = yes
user = root
server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
server_args = -s /tftpboot
disable = no
}
- On Fedora Core, the tftp-server package creates a /etc/xinetd.d/tftp file. Edit this
file and change the disable line from
yes to no. The contents of the file are:
service tftp
{
socket_type = dgram
protocol = udp
wait = yes
user = root
server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
server_args = -s /tftpboot
disable = no
per_source = 11
cps = 100 2
flags = IPv4
}
- On Ubuntu, edit /etc/xinetd.conf and add the following lines just above the line
that reads includedir /etc/xinetd.d.
- Create the /tftpboot folder if it does not exist:
# mkdir /tftpboot
- Copy the kernel image to the /tftpboot directory:
# cp /path/to/kernel/image/Image-6.1-ts-aarch64 \
/tftpboot/Image-6.1-ts-aarch64
NOTE Also copy other files that are required for booting, such as a device tree blob, to /tftpboot.
- Restart the xinetd server with the following command:
# /etc/init.d/xinetd restart
- Test the TFTP server with the following commands
# tftp localhost
tftp> get Image-6.1-ts-aarch64
Received 1456898 bytes in 0.4 seconds
tftp> quit
- Set xinetd to start automatically on Fedora Core.
Ubuntu users will skip this step.
- Click the System Menu
- Select Administration
- Select Services
- Select xinetd
- Click the Customize button
- Check Runlevel 2, 3, 4 and 5
Setting up NFS
- As root, extract rootfs.tar.gz to a directory
and note the path. This path will be referred to as /full/path/to/rfs
in this document.
# mkdir /full/path/to/rfs
# cd /full/path/to/rfs
# sudo tar xvf rootfs.tar.gz
- Export this path by editing /etc/exports to include a line similar
to the following:
/full/path/to/rfs 10.0.0.10(rw,no_root_squash)
- Restart the NFS services
- On Ubuntu issue the following commands in order:
# service portmap stopNOTE: Older versions of Ubuntu use nfs-common and nfs-user-server in place of nfs-kernel-server
# service nfs-kernel-server stop
# service portmap start
# service nfs-kernel-server start
- On Fedora Core:
# /etc/init.d/nfs restart
- On Ubuntu issue the following commands in order:
- Set nfsd to start automatically on Fedora Core. Ubuntu users will
skip this step.
- Click the System Menu
- Select Administration
- Select Services
- Select NFS
- Click the Customize button
- Check Runlevel 2, 3, 4 and 5
Booting the Board
U-boot Flashing
To boot the board through NFS, you need access to the U-Boot console. Follow the steps below to launch the console on your target board.Insert the SD card in your host system and transfer the U-Boot binary (flash.bin) to your SD card. In Desktop Factory, this file is located at: build_aarch64-timesys-linux-<libc>/images/bootloaders/flash.bin.
Unmount the SD card and insert it into the NXP i.MX93 EVK board (J1002) and power ON the board.
Booting via Tftp and NFS
Set Environment Variables
You must set a few environment variables in order to boot the board over TFTP and DHCP. This is done with the setenv and saveenv commands in U-Boot.
On the target, set the following environment variables:
Variable | Value | ||||||
bootargs | console=ttyLP0,115200 ip=${ipaddr} root=/dev/nfs rw nfsroot=${serverip}:/full/path/to/rfs | ||||||
bootcmd | bootp\;tftp 0x80400000 Image-6.1-ts-aarch64\;tftp 0x83000000 i.MX93EVK.dtb\;booti 0x80400000 - 0x83000000 | ||||||
loadaddr | 0x80400000 |
If you are not using bootp to load the kernel, you must also specify the following values:
Variable | Value | ||||||
serverip | 10.0.0.1 | ||||||
ipaddr | 10.0.0.10 | ||||||
bootfile | Image-6.1-ts-aarch64 | ||||||
bootargs | console=ttyLP0,115200 ip=${ipaddr} root=/dev/nfs rw nfsroot=${serverip}:/full/path/to/rfs | ||||||
bootcmd | tftp 0x80400000 Image-6.1-ts-aarch64\;tftp 0x83000000 i.MX93EVK.dtb\;booti 0x80400000 - 0x83000000 |
Example
> setenv {ipaddr}
> setenv bootargs console=ttyLP0,115200 ip=${ipaddr} root=/dev/nfs rw nfsroot=${serverip}:/full/path/to/rfs
> setenv bootcmd bootp\;tftp 0x80400000 Image-6.1-ts-aarch64\;tftp 0x83000000 i.MX93EVK.dtb\;booti 0x80400000 - 0x83000000
> saveenv
Load The Kernel
You can use bootp or tftp to load the kernel. Note that the DHCP server needs to be set up for bootp, and tftp is necessary for both.
Example
Speed: 100, full duplex
BOOTP broadcast 1
Using eTSEC1 device
TFTP from server 10.0.0.1; our IP address is 10.0.0.10
Filename 'Image-6.1-ts-aarch64'.
Load address: 0x80400000
Loading: #################################################################
#################################################################
##################################################
done
Bytes transferred = 2632869 (282ca5 hex)
Load The Device Tree Blob
You can use tftp to load the device tree. The previous bootp command will have set up the interface for you.
Example
Speed: 100, full duplex
Using eTSEC1 device
TFTP from server 10.0.0.1; our IP address is 10.0.0.10
Filename 'i.MX93EVK.dtb'.
Load address: 0x83000000
Loading: #
done
Bytes transferred = 13395 (3453 hex)
Boot the Kernel
The booti command is used to boot the kernel. It loads the file that was previously uploaded using the bootp, dhcp, or tftp commands.
Example
## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 00x80400000 ...
Image Name: Linux-6.1
Image Type: Linux Kernel Image (gzip compressed)
Data Size: 2632805 Bytes = 2.5 MB
Load Address: 00000000
Entry Point: 00000000
Verifying Checksum ... OK
## Flattened Device Tree blob at 000x83000000
Booting using the fdt blob at 0x0x83000000
Uncompressing Kernel Image ... OK
Loading Device Tree to 007f9000, end 007ff452 ... OK
Booting via SD card
Preparing the Secure Digital Card
The i.MX93 EVK boots from an SD card. Some kits may be shipped with one that contains a sample kernel and RFS preloaded. We will be replacing these with the kernel and RFS from Factory. If you are using a blank SD card or have trouble replacing the software on the preloaded one, see Partitioning the SD Card. Otherwise, skip directly to Writing Boot Files to the SD Card.
Before you begin, you should determine the name of your SD card on your host system. To do so:
- Connect the SD card to your host system. Many modern systems have SD card slots on the case, or you can purchase a USB SD Card Reader for around $15 US.
- Determine the device name of the SD Card. This can be done using dmesg. In the following example, the device is /dev/sdX, which contains one partition sdX1.
$ dmesg | tail
[88050.184080] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] 1990656 512-byte hardware sectors: (1.01 GB/972 MiB)
[88050.184821] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] Write Protect is off
[88050.184824] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
[88050.184827] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] Assuming drive cache: write through
[88050.185575] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] 1990656 512-byte hardware sectors: (1.01 GB/972 MiB)
[88050.186323] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] Write Protect is off
[88050.186325] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
[88050.186327] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdX] Assuming drive cache: write through
[88050.186330] sdX: sdX1
Partitioning the SD card
If you want to use a different SD card or its contents become corrupted, you can use the fdisk tool to create two partitions on your SD card. Please note that all data on the card will be lost upon completion of these steps.
- Unmount the partition if it was automounted by using the umount command.
$ umount /dev/sdX1
$ umount /dev/sdX2
- As root, run the fdisk utility on the drive.
$ sudo fdisk /dev/sdX
- In fdisk, Delete the existing partition table and create a new one using the o command.
Command (m for help): o
Building a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0x8b025602.
Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.
After that, of course, the previous content won't be recoverable.
- Create a new primary partition using the n command. The first partition will be a FAT partition for storing the boot files. 64 MB is typically more than enough for this purpose.
Command (m for help): n
Partition type:
p primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free)
e extended
Select (default p): p
Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1
First sector (2048-30679039, default 2048): 20480
Last sector, +sectors or +sizeK,M,G,T,P (20480-30535679, default 30535679): +64M
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 64 MiB.
- Set the first partition as W95 FAT32 (LBA) using the t command and entering the Hex code c.
Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Hex code (type L to list codes): c
- Set the bootable flag on the first partition using the a command.
Command (m for help): a
Partition number (1-4): 1
- Create a second primary partition using the n command. This partition will be a linux partition for storing the root filesystem. It will fill the rest of the SD card.
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
e extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p):
Using default response p.
Partition number (2-4, default 2):
First sector (2048-30535679, default 2048): 151552
Last sector, +sectors or +sizeK,M,G,T,P (151552-30535679, default 30535679):
Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux' and of size 14.5 GiB.
- Verify that the partition table is correct by using the p command. It should look similar to the following:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sdb: 14.6 GiB, 15634268160 bytes, 30535680 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xd56d1361
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1 * 20480 151551 131072 64M c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdb2 151552 30535679 30384128 14.5G 83 Linux
- This step will destroy all data on the SD Card - Write the partition table to the card using the w command.
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
WARNING: If you have created or modified any DOS 6.x
partitions, please see the fdisk manual page for additional
information.
Syncing disks.
- Format the first partition of the SD card with a FAT filesystem using the mkfs.vfat tool.
$ sudo /sbin/mkfs.vfat -n boot /dev/sdX1
- Format the second partition using an ext4 filesystem using the mkfs.ext4 tool.
$ sudo /sbin/mkfs.ext4 -L rfs /dev/sdX2
Writing Boot Files to the SD Card
- Mount the partitions. You can remove and reinsert the card to trigger the automount, or you can use the mount command to mount the partition to an arbitrary location.
$ sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /media/boot
$ sudo mount /dev/sdX2 /media/rfs
- Transfer the U-Boot binary (flash.bin) to your SD card. In Desktop Factory, this file is located at: build_aarch64-timesys-linux-<libc>/images/bootloaders/flash.bin.
sudo dd if=flash.bin of=/dev/sdX bs=1K seek=32
- As root, copy the Image file, Image-6.1-ts-aarch64, to the boot partition of the card.
$ sudo cp Image-6.1-ts-aarch64 /media/boot/
- As root, copy the Device Tree Blob file, i.MX93EVK.dtb, to the boot partition of the card.
$ sudo cp i.MX93EVK.dtb /media/boot/
- As root, extract the rootfs.tar.gz archive to the mounted directory. This file is located at build_aarch64-timesys-linux-<libc>/images/rfs/ on Desktop Factory builds.
$ sudo tar xzf rootfs.tar.gz -C /media/rfs
- As root, umount the SD Card.
$ sync
$ sudo umount /media/boot
$ sudo umount /media/rfs
- Remove the SD Card from the host machine, and insert it into the SD Card slot on the target board J1601. You should hear the card 'click' into place.
Set Environment Variables
You must set a few environment variables in order to boot the board from the SD card. This is done with the setenv and saveenv commands in U-Boot.
On the target, set the following environment variables:
Variable | Value | |||||
bootargs | console=ttyLP0,115200 ip=dhcp root=/dev/mmcblk1p2 rootwait | |||||
load_kernel | fatload mmc 1:1 0x80400000 Image-6.1-ts-aarch64 | |||||
load_dtb | fatload mmc 1:1 0x83000000 i.MX93EVK.dtb | |||||
bootcmd | mmc rescan\; run load_kernel load_dtb\; booti 0x80400000 - 0x83000000 |
Example
> setenv load_kernel fatload mmc 1:1 0x80400000 Image-6.1-ts-aarch64
> setenv load_dtb fatload mmc 1:1 0x83000000 i.MX93EVK.dtb
> setenv bootcmd mmc rescan\; run load_kernel load_dtb\; booti 0x80400000 - 0x83000000
> saveenv
Load The Kernel
You can use the mmc subsystem to load the kernel from the SD card.
Example
> fatload mmc 1:1 0x80400000 Image-6.1-ts-aarch64
reading Image-6.1-ts-aarch64
3008612 bytes read
Load The Device Tree
You can use the mmc subsystem to load the device tree file (dtb) from the SD card.
Example
> fatload mmc 1:1 0x83000000 i.MX93EVK.dtb
reading i.MX93EVK.dtb
24612 bytes read
Boot the Kernel
The booti command is used to boot the kernel. It loads the file that was previously loaded using the fatload command.
Example
## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 0x80400000 ..
Image Name: Linux-6.1
Image Type: ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)
Data Size: 3008548 Bytes = 2.9 MB
Load Address: 80008000
Entry Point: 80008000
Verifying Checksum ... OK
Loading Kernel Image ... OK
## Flattened Device Tree blob at 0x83000000
Booting using the fdt blob at 0x83000000
Loading Kernel Image ... OK
OK
Additional Information
Factory Documentation