DESK-MX6UL-L/Deployment/Standalone boot

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History
Issue Date Notes

2021/07/20

First DESK-MX6UL-L release

2022/03/16

DESK-MX6UL-L 3.0.0 release
2023/05/04 DESK-MX6UL-L 4.0.0 release


Standalone boot[edit | edit source]

Introduction[edit | edit source]

This document was written and tested with the software/hardware combination described in the history table above. However, it contains general concepts that can be adapted on any DAVE Embedded Systems' Linux platform.


200px-Emblem-important.svg.png

The following programming examples are intended for laboratory usage or for preliminary deployment strategy.

A complete deployment strategy has to be carefully identifiyed taking into account the overall arguments like: boot speed, safe boot, recovery mechanisms, watchdog supervisor, etc.


We'll explain how to program and configure a <SOM> to boot in standalone mode, without the need of a system microSD card or an NFS server, with two options:

  • booting with NOR and NAND internal storage
    • in this configuration the primary boot images will be fetched from NOR flash storage, while the root file system will be fetched from NAND flash
  • booting with NAND only
    • in this configuration the whole system will boot without the need of a NOR flash storage, all images and the root file system will be fetched from NAND flash

Program boot images into NOR flash[edit | edit source]

U-Boot[edit | edit source]

Update to the latest U-Boot version allows usage of u-boot environment variables available.

=> run load_spl 
Using FEC0 device
TFTP from server 192.168.4.210; our IP address is 192.168.4.230
Filename 'desk-mxul-l/SPL'.
Load address: 0x80800000
Loading: ##########
         1.4 MiB/s
done
Bytes transferred = 48128 (bc00 hex)
=> run spi_update_spl 
SF: Detected is25lp128 with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 16 MiB
SF: 65536 bytes @ 0x0 Erased: OK
device 0 offset 0x400, size 0xbc00
SF: 48128 bytes @ 0x400 Written: OK
=> run load_uboot 
Using FEC0 device
TFTP from server 192.168.4.210; our IP address is 192.168.4.230
Filename 'desk-mxul-l/u-boot.img'.
Load address: 0x80800000
Loading: #################################################################
         ###########################################
         1.8 MiB/s
done
Bytes transferred = 552160 (86ce0 hex)
=> run spi_update_uboot 
SF: Detected is25lp128 with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 16 MiB
SF: 589824 bytes @ 0x10000 Erased: OK
device 0 offset 0x10000, size 0x86ce0
SF: 552160 bytes @ 0x10000 Written: OK

kernel image and device tree[edit | edit source]

We assume that the following environment variables are present in U-Boot:

loadk=tftpboot ${loadaddr} ${serverip}:${bootfile}
loadfdt=tftpboot ${fdtaddr} ${serverip}:${fdtfile}
spi_updatek=sf erase 200000 800000; sf write ${loadaddr} 200000 ${filesize}
spi_updatefdt=sf erase 180000 80000; sf write ${fdtaddr} 180000 ${filesize}
spi_loadk=sf read ${loadaddr} 200000 800000
spi_loadfdt=sf read ${fdtaddr} 180000 80000
spi_nand=sf probe; run spi_loadk spi_loadfdt nandargs addcons addmisc; if run configid_fixupfdt; then bootm ${loadaddr} - ${fdtaddr}; fi
  • Update the bootfile and fdtfile environment variables to fit the filename as found inside the TFTP server.
  • Program kernel and device tree on NOR flash with the following U-Boot command
sf probe; run loadk spi_updatek loadfdt spi_updatefdt

E.g.:

=> sf probe; run loadk spi_updatek loadfdt spi_updatefdt
SF: Detected is25lp128 with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 16 MiB
Using FEC0 device
TFTP from server 192.168.4.210; our IP address is 192.168.4.230
Filename 'desk-mxul-l/uImage'.
Load address: 0x80800000
Loading: #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         ######
         2.1 MiB/s
done
Bytes transferred = 8016512 (7a5280 hex)
SF: 8388608 bytes @ 0x200000 Erased: OK
device 0 offset 0x200000, size 0x7a5280
SF: 8016512 bytes @ 0x200000 Written: OK
Using FEC0 device
TFTP from server 192.168.4.210; our IP address is 192.168.4.230
Filename 'desk-mxul-l/imx6ul-axelulite-cb003a.dtb'.
Load address: 0x83000000
Loading: #######
         804.7 KiB/s
done
Bytes transferred = 32964 (80c4 hex)
SF: 524288 bytes @ 0x180000 Erased: OK
device 0 offset 0x180000, size 0x80c4
SF: 32964 bytes @ 0x180000 Written: OK

Reboot the system and configure U-Boot to apply the new configuration

=> setenv bootcmd run spi_nand
=> saveenv

Program boot images into NAND flash[edit | edit source]

U-Boot[edit | edit source]

U-Boot on NAND flash must be programmed using NXP kobs-ng utility: this tool is required for writing the correct U-Boot image on NAND storing all information needed by bootrom to identify the NAND as a boot device.

Here below an example:

  • boot the system via SD on NFS
  • uses a rfs with kobs-ng utility available on it (e.g. DAVE's rfs provided with DESK-MX6UL-L)
  • copy the related U-Boot image file on nfs /home/root (for example)
  • execute kobs-ng passing the parameters for flashing U-Boot on NAND
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# kobs-ng -x -v -w desk-mx6ul-l-4.0.0_mx6uldesk_axelulite_SPL
MTD CONFIG:
  chip_0_device_path = "/dev/mtd0"
  chip_1_device_path = "(null)"
  search_exponent = 2
  data_setup_time = 80
  data_hold_time = 60
  address_setup_time = 25
  data_sample_time = 6
  row_address_size = 3
  column_address_size = 2
  read_command_code1 = 0
  read_command_code2 = 48
  boot_stream_major_version = 1
  boot_stream_minor_version = 0
  boot_stream_sub_version = 0
  ncb_version = 3
  boot_stream_1_address = 0
  boot_stream_2_address = 0
  secondary_boot_stream_off_in_MB = 64
         -- We add the 1k-padding to the uboot.
.tmp_kobs_ng: verifying using key '00000000000000000000000000000000'
.tmp_kobs_ng: is a valid bootstream for key '00000000000000000000000000000000'
mtd: use new bch layout raw access mode
mtd: opening: "/dev/mtd0"
NFC geometry :
        ECC Strength       : 2
        Page Size in Bytes : 2071
        Metadata size      : 10
        ECC Chunk Size in byte : 512
        ECC Chunk count        : 4
        Block Mark Byte Offset : 2028
        Block Mark Bit Offset  : 2
====================================================
mtd: opened '/dev/mtd0' - '(null)'
mtd: max_boot_stream_size_in_bytes = 524288
mtd: boot_stream_size_in_bytes = 49152
mtd: boot_stream_size_in_pages = 24
mtd: #1 0x00100000 - 0x00180000 (0x0010c000)
mtd: #2 0x00180000 - 0x00200000 (0x0018c000)
FCB
  m_u32Checksum = 0x00000000
  m_u32FingerPrint = 0x20424346
  m_u32Version = 0x01000000
  m_NANDTiming.m_u8DataSetup = 80
  m_NANDTiming.m_u8DataHold = 60
  m_NANDTiming.m_u8AddressSetup = 25
  m_NANDTiming.m_u8DSAMPLE_TIME = 6
  m_u32PageDataSize = 2048
  m_u32TotalPageSize = 2112
  m_u32SectorsPerBlock = 64
  m_u32NumberOfNANDs = 0
  m_u32TotalInternalDie = 0
  m_u32CellType = 0
  m_u32EccBlockNEccType = 1
  m_u32EccBlock0Size = 512
  m_u32EccBlockNSize = 512
  m_u32EccBlock0EccType = 1
  m_u32MetadataBytes = 10
  m_u32NumEccBlocksPerPage = 3
  m_u32EccBlockNEccLevelSDK = 0
  m_u32EccBlock0SizeSDK = 0
  m_u32EccBlockNSizeSDK = 0
  m_u32EccBlock0EccLevelSDK = 0
  m_u32NumEccBlocksPerPageSDK = 0
  m_u32MetadataBytesSDK = 0
  m_u32EraseThreshold = 0
  m_u32Firmware1_startingPage = 512
  m_u32Firmware2_startingPage = 768
  m_u32PagesInFirmware1 = 24
  m_u32PagesInFirmware2 = 24
  m_u32DBBTSearchAreaStartAddress = 256
  m_u32BadBlockMarkerByte = 2028
  m_u32BadBlockMarkerStartBit = 2
m_u32BBMarkerPhysicalOffset = 2048
m_u32BCHType = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMTiming2_ReadLatency = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMTiming2_PreambleDelay = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMTiming2_CEDelay = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMTiming2_PostambleDelay = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMTiming2_CmdAddPause = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMTiming2_DataPause = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMSpeed = 0
m_NANDTMTiming.m_u32TMTiming1_BusyTimeout = 0
m_u32DISBBM = 0
m_u32BBMarkerPhysicalOffsetInSpareData = 0
m_u32OnfiSyncEnable = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFISpeed = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFITiming_ReadLatency = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFITiming_CEDelay = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFITiming_PreambleDelay = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFITiming_PostambleDelay = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFITiming_CmdAddPause = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFITiming_DataPause = 0
m_NANDONFITiming.m_u32ONFITiming_BusyTimeout = 0
m_u32DISBBSearch = 0
m_u32RandomizerEnable = 0
m_u32ReadRetryEnable = 0
m_u32ReadRetrySeqLength = 0
DBBT
m_u32Checksum = 0x00000000
m_u32FingerPrint = 0x54424244
m_u32Version = 0x01000000
m_u32DBBTNumOfPages = 0
Firmware: image #0 @ 0x100000 size 0xc000 - available 0x80000
Firmware: image #1 @ 0x180000 size 0xc000 - available 0x80000
-------------- Start to write the [ FCB ] -----
mtd: erasing @0:0x0-0x20000
mtd: Writing FCB0 [ @0:0x0 ] (840) *
mtd: erasing @0:0x20000-0x40000
mtd: Writing FCB1 [ @0:0x20000 ] (840) *
mtd: erasing @0:0x40000-0x60000
mtd: Writing FCB2 [ @0:0x40000 ] (840) *
mtd: erasing @0:0x60000-0x80000
mtd: Writing FCB3 [ @0:0x60000 ] (840) *
mtd_commit_bcb(FCB): status 0

-------------- Start to write the [ DBBT ] -----
mtd: erasing @0:0x80000-0xa0000
mtd: Writing DBBT0 [ @0:0x80000 ] (800) *
mtd: erasing @0:0xa0000-0xc0000
mtd: Writing DBBT1 [ @0:0xa0000 ] (800) *
mtd: erasing @0:0xc0000-0xe0000
mtd: Writing DBBT2 [ @0:0xc0000 ] (800) *
mtd: erasing @0:0xe0000-0x100000
mtd: Writing DBBT3 [ @0:0xe0000 ] (800) *
mtd_commit_bcb(DBBT): status 0

---------- Start to write the [ .tmp_kobs_ng ]----
mtd: Writting .tmp_kobs_ng: #0 @0: 0x00100000 - 0x0010c000
mtd: erasing @0:0x100000-0x120000
mtd: We write one page for save guard. *
mtd: Writting .tmp_kobs_ng: #1 @0: 0x00180000 - 0x0018c000
mtd: erasing @0:0x180000-0x1a0000
mtd: We write one page for save guard. *
</pre>

then the second <code>mtd1</code> partition can be written using ''nandwrite'':

<pre class="workstation-terminal">
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# flash_erase /dev/mtd1 0 0
Erasing 128 Kibyte @ 5e0000 -- 100 % complete 
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# nandwrite -p /dev/mtd1 desk-mx6ul-l-3.0.0_mx6uldesk_axelulite_u-boot.img 
Writing data to block 0 at offset 0x0
Writing data to block 1 at offset 0x20000
Writing data to block 2 at offset 0x40000
Writing data to block 3 at offset 0x60000
Writing data to block 4 at offset 0x80000

kernel image and device tree[edit | edit source]

We assume that the following environment variables are present in u-boot:

nand_updatek=nand erase.part nand-kernel; nand write ${loadaddr} nand-kernel ${filesize}
nand_updatefdt=nand erase.part nand-fdt; nand write ${fdtaddr} nand-fdt ${filesize}
nand_loadk=nand read ${loadaddr} nand-kernel
nand_loadfdt=nand read ${fdtaddr} nand-fdt
nand_nand=run nand_loadk nand_loadfdt nandargs addcons addmisc; if run configid_fixupfdt; then bootm ${loadaddr} - ${fdtaddr}; fi
  • Update the bootfile and fdtfile environment variables to fit the filename as found inside the TFTP server.
  • Program kernel and device tree on NAND flash with the following U-Boot command
run loadk nand_updatek loadfdt nand_updatefdt

E.g.:

=> run loadk nand_updatek loadfdt nand_updatefdt
Using FEC0 device
TFTP from server 192.168.4.210; our IP address is 192.168.4.159
Filename 'desk-mxul-l/uImage'.
Load address: 0x80800000
Loading: #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         #################################################################
         ######
         2.1 MiB/s
done
Bytes transferred = 8016512 (7a5280 hex)

NAND erase.part: device 0 offset 0xc00000, size 0x800000
Erasing at 0x13e0000 -- 100% complete.
OK

NAND write: device 0 offset 0xc00000, size 0x7a5280
 8016512 bytes written: OK
Using FEC0 device
TFTP from server 192.168.4.210; our IP address is 192.168.4.159
Filename 'desk-mxul-l/imx6ul-axelulite-cb003a.dtb'.
Load address: 0x83000000
Loading: #######
         804.7 KiB/s
done
Bytes transferred = 32964 (80c4 hex)

NAND erase.part: device 0 offset 0xa00000, size 0x100000
Erasing at 0xae0000 -- 100% complete.
OK

NAND write: device 0 offset 0xa00000, size 0x80c4
 32964 bytes written: OK

Reboot the system and configure U-Boot to apply the new configuration

=> setenv bootcmd run nand_nand
=> saveenv

Program root file system into NAND flash[edit | edit source]

  • boot the system via SD or NFS as described in the Booting from NFS
  • by default, the NAND is already partitioned to allow booting from NAND-only (see next section) and, thus, some partitions are reserved for u-boot and kernel images. Here we won't modify this default configuration. The MTD partitions can be dumped with /proc/mtd (the partition's name should be self-explanatory)
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# cat /proc/mtd 
dev:    size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 00200000 00020000 "nand-SPL"
mtd1: 00600000 00020000 "nand-uboot"
mtd2: 00100000 00020000 "nand-env1"
mtd3: 00100000 00020000 "nand-env2"
mtd4: 00100000 00020000 "nand-fdt"
mtd5: 00100000 00020000 "nand-spare"
mtd6: 00800000 00020000 "nand-kernel"
mtd7: 00400000 00020000 "nand-splash"
mtd8: 06800000 00020000 "nand-ubi"
mtd9: 00010000 00001000 "spi-SPL"
mtd10: 000f0000 00001000 "spi-uboot"
mtd11: 00040000 00001000 "spi-env1"
mtd12: 00040000 00001000 "spi-env2"
mtd13: 00080000 00001000 "spi-dtb"
mtd14: 00800000 00001000 "spi-kernel"
mtd15: 00400000 00001000 "spi-splash"
mtd16: 00200000 00001000 "spi-free"


200px-Emblem-important.svg.png

Please note that MTD partition index may change depending of flash device availability, flash device size, u-boot environment variables or kernel device driver load order. Always take care of looking inside /proc/mtd to match your specific layout


  • Format and initialize nand-ubi partition, which in our case is mtd8, using UBI with:
ubiformat /dev/mtd8
ubiattach -m 8
ubimkvol /dev/ubi0 -N rootfs -m

E.g.

root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# ubiformat /dev/mtd8
ubiformat: mtd8 (nand), size 109051904 bytes (104.0 MiB), 832 eraseblocks of 131072 bytes (128.0 KiB), min. I/O size 2048 bytes
libscan: scanning eraseblock 831 -- 100 % complete  
ubiformat: 832 eraseblocks have valid erase counter, mean value is 39
ubiformat: formatting eraseblock 831 -- 100 % complete  
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# ubiattach -m 8
UBI device number 0, total 832 LEBs (105644032 bytes, 100.7 MiB), available 808 LEBs (102596608 bytes, 97.8 MiB), LEB size 126976 bytes (124.0 KiB)
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# ubimkvol /dev/ubi0 -N rootfs -m
Set volume size to 102596608
Volume ID 0, size 808 LEBs (102596608 bytes, 97.8 MiB), LEB size 126976 bytes (124.0 KiB), dynamic, name "rootfs", alignment 1
  • Now mount the UBI volume using UBIFS in a temporary directory
mkdir -p /mnt/nand
mount -t ubifs ubi0_0 /mnt/nand

E.g.:

root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# mkdir -p /mnt/nand
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# mount -t ubifs ubi0_0 /mnt/nand/
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# dmesg | tail -n 7
[   86.268589] UBIFS (ubi0:0): Mounting in unauthenticated mode
[   86.272276] UBIFS (ubi0:0): background thread "ubifs_bgt0_0" started, PID 276
[   86.302293] UBIFS (ubi0:0): UBIFS: mounted UBI device 0, volume 0, name "rootfs"
[   86.302349] UBIFS (ubi0:0): LEB size: 126976 bytes (124 KiB), min./max. I/O unit sizes: 2048 bytes/2048 bytes
[   86.302377] UBIFS (ubi0:0): FS size: 101199872 bytes (96 MiB, 797 LEBs), max 808 LEBs, journal size 5079040 bytes (4 MiB, 40 LEBs)
[   86.302411] UBIFS (ubi0:0): reserved for root: 4779919 bytes (4667 KiB)
[   86.302431] UBIFS (ubi0:0): media format: w5/r0 (latest is w5/r0), UUID 36C676F6-9160-4334-B687-9CEE57A30FEF, small LPT model
  • you can now extract the root file system into that directory
tar xvjf desk-image-qt5-desk-mx6ul-axelulite.tar.bz2 -C /mnt/nand/
  • finally, you need to cleanly umount and detach the MTD partition
umount /mnt/nand/
ubidetach -m 8

E.g.

root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# umount /mnt/nand/
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# ubidetach -m 8
root@desk-mx6ul-axelulite:~# dmesg | tail -n 4
[  105.493236] UBIFS (ubi0:0): un-mount UBI device 0
[  105.493401] UBIFS (ubi0:0): background thread "ubifs_bgt0_0" stops
[  109.963440] ubi0: detaching mtd8
[  109.971275] ubi0: mtd8 is detached

You can now safely reboot or turn off the system.

In U-Boot environment check the following variable, which must contain the same MTD partition number used above

nandargs=setenv bootargs ubi.mtd=8 root=ubi0_0 rootfstype=ubifs rw