Difference between revisions of "Axel Embedded Linux Kit (XELK)"

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(Created page with "{{InfoBoxTop}} {{AppliesToDacu}} {{AppliesToAxel}} {{InfoBoxBottom}} ==Introduction== [[File:|500px]] Axel Embedded Linux Kit (XELK for short) provides all the necessary co...")
 
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== XELK software components ==
 +
 +
Dave adds to the latest Linux BSP from Freescale the customization required to support the Axel platform. For this reason most of the documentation provided by Freescale remains valid for the XELK development kit. However, some customization is required, in particular at bootloader and linux kernel levels.
 +
 +
The following table reports the XELK releases information.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
!
 +
!colspan="1" | XELK version
 +
|-
 +
|Release number
 +
|1.0.0
 +
|-
 +
|Status
 +
|Planned
 +
|-
 +
|Release date
 +
|November, 4th 2013
 +
|-
 +
|'''Release notes'''
 +
|[[XELK_1.0.0 | Ver 1.0.0]]
 +
|-
 +
|SOM PCB version
 +
|CS030713
 +
|-
 +
|Supported carrier boards
 +
|[[AxelEVB-Lite]]<br>[[:Category:Dacu | Dacu]]
 +
|-
 +
|U-Boot version
 +
|2013.10-xelk-1.0.0
 +
|-
 +
|Linux version
 +
|3.0.35-xelk-1.0.0
 +
|-
 +
|Drivers
 +
|SPI NOR Flash (boot)<br>UART debug (2-wire)<br>USB Host<br>USB OTG<br>SD/MMC1<br>CAN<br>Touch screen controller<br>EMAC<br>SATA<br>HMDI<br>LVDS1
 +
|-
 +
|Freescale BSP version
 +
|L3.0.35-4.1.0
 +
|}
 +
 +
==== XELK microSD Layout ====
 +
 +
The microSD provided with XELK is used to store:
 +
* A bootable partition (mmcblk0p1, vfat) containing:
 +
** binary images (u-boot and kernel images)
 +
** XELK documentation
 +
** XELK DVDK virtual machine image
 +
* XELK root file system partition (mmcblk0p2, ext3)
 +
 +
 +
XELK contains all the required software and documentation to start developing Linux application on the Axel platform. In particular, XELK provides a  Virtualbox virtual machine with two emulated disks:
 +
 +
* Boot disk with pre-installed Ubuntu Linux 12.04.2 LTS and pre-configured basic Linux services (TFTP, NFS, ...)
 +
* Secondary disk containing source code and tools:
 +
** Bootloader (u-boot) source tree cloned from DAVE's public git repository
 +
** Linux kernel source tree cloned from DAVE's public git repository
 +
** Toolchain
 +
** Root file systems
 +
 +
Please note that XELK u-boot and kernel source trees are derived from the official trees released by Freescale; these trees have been customized to add support for the Axel SOM.
 +
 +
=== XELK Updates ===
 +
 +
{{ImportantMessage|text=It's recommended to use the latest available XELK version. Please refer to [[Release notes | Release notes]] for further information.}}
 +
 +
==== Updating git repositories ====
 +
 +
In XELK, the following source trees are clones of DAVE's public git repositories:
 +
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
!| Component
 +
!GIT Remote
 +
!XELK Installation Directory
 +
|-
 +
|Linux
 +
|git@git.dave.eu:dave/axel/linux-2.6-imx.git
 +
|/home/dvdk/xelk/linux-2.6-imx
 +
|-
 +
|U-Boot
 +
|git@git.dave.eu:dave/diva/u-boot-imx.git
 +
|/home/dvdk/xelk/u-boot-imx
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 +
This means that these components can be kept in sync and up to date with DAVE's repositories.
 +
 +
==== RSA key generation ====
 +
 +
Please follow the procedure reported below to generate the RSA ssh key:
 +
 +
* select your username (ad es. username@myhost.com)
 +
* start the DVDK and login into the virtual machine
 +
* start a shell session
 +
* enter the .ssh subdirectory into your home directory: <code>cd ~/.ssh/</code>
 +
* launch the following command: <br><pre>ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "username@myhost.com"</pre>
 +
* this command creates the files <code>~/.ssh/username@myhost.com</code> ('''private key''') and <code>~/.ssh/username@myhost.com.pub</code> ('''public key''')
 +
* edit your <code>~/.ssh/config</code> adding the following lines:
 +
 +
<pre>
 +
Host git.dave.eu
 +
    User git
 +
    Hostname git.dave.eu
 +
    PreferredAuthentications publickey
 +
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/username@myhost.com.pub
 +
</pre>
 +
 +
Please send the public key file to one of the following email support addresses (depending on which SOM is included in your kit version)
 +
 +
* [mailto:support-axel@dave.eu support-diva@dave.eu]
 +
 +
with the request for the creation of a new public git account associated to your username. The support team will enable the account and send you a confirmation as soon as possible.
 +
 +
==== Synchronizing the repository ====
 +
 +
When the account is enabled, you can synchronize a source tree entering the repository directory and launching the <code>git fetch</code> command, like in the following example:
 +
 +
<pre class="workstation-terminal">
 +
dvdk@dvdk-vm:~$ cd /home/dvdk/xelk/linux-2.6-imx/
 +
dvdk@dvdk-vm:/home/dvdk/xelk/linux-2.6-imx$ git fetch origin
 +
</pre>
 +
 +
Please note that <code>git fetch</code> doesn't merge the commits on the current branch. To do that, you should run
 +
 +
<pre class="workstation-terminal">
 +
git merge origin/axel
 +
</pre>
 +
 +
or replace the ''fetch-merge'' process with a single <code>git pull</code> command. Please note that the recommended method is the ''fetch-merge'' process. For further information on Git, please refer to [http://git-scm.com/documentation Git Documentation].
 +
 +
== Release notes ==
 +
 +
=== XELK 1.0.0 ===
 +
 +
* Release date: November, 4th 2013
 +
* Status: planned
 +
* Freescale Linux BSP: L3.0.35-4.1.0
 +
* Supported carrier boards: AxelEVB-Lite on Dacu
 +
 +
==== Notes ====
 +
 +
* First official release
 +
 +
==== Known Limitations ====
 +
 +
The following table reports the known limitations of this XELK release:
 +
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
!Issue
 +
!Description
 +
|-
 +
|Boot modes
 +
|This kit version supports boot from USB (for recovery purpose) and from SPI nor flash. Other boot devices (MicroSD, NAND flash, ..) will be available on a future release.
 +
|-
 +
|CPU cores
 +
|Max 2 cores. 3rd and 4th cores will be available on a future release.
 +
|-
 +
|USB OTG
 +
|Verified in Host and Device modes
 +
|-
 +
|Reboot from software
 +
|Rebooting the system from software (eg: launching the reboot command from Linux user space) can lead to a system lock. To solve it, reset the board with the dedicated button (S10)
 +
|-
 +
|Ethernet
 +
|Verified speeds: 1 Gbps and 100 Mbps
 +
|-
 +
|CAN
 +
|Maximum supported speed: 500 kbps
 +
|-
 +
|Touch controller
 +
|Touch events are detected, but touch point is not resolved with precision
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 +
 +
  
 
==Related Documents ==
 
==Related Documents ==

Revision as of 17:08, 31 October 2013

HOME SOMs SBCs ToloMEO Embedded Assistant Sale-tag.pngGET A QUOTE Customer-service.pngONLINE HELPDESK
Roadmap IoT Services ML/AI services Embedded Design Services
Info Box
Dacu-top-view.png Applies to Dacu
Axel-04.png Applies to Axel Ultra

Introduction[edit | edit source]

[[File:|500px]]

Axel Embedded Linux Kit (XELK for short) provides all the necessary components required to set up the developing environment to:

  • build the bootloader (U-Boot)
  • build and run Linux operating system on Axel-based systems
  • build Linux applications that will run on the target.

The main kit components are:

  • hardware platform composed of
    • Axel system-on-module (SOM for short)
    • AxelEVB-Lite plugged on Dacu carrier board
    • 800x480 7" LVDS display
  • Development virtual machine containing:
    • Toolchain
    • U-Boot bootloader sources
    • Linux kernel sources
    • Root file systems
  • Technical documentation such hardware manuals, mechanical drawings, reference schematics, application notes etc.

The documents related to the software issues help the user to quickly start configuring the bootloader and the operating system, by hiding most of the complexity of the underlying hardware. For more details about Axel hardware characteristics, please refer to the Axel Hardware Manual. An account for the reserved area of DAVE's website is required to access the kit contents.

Kit Contents[edit | edit source]

Component Description Notes
Axel-01.png Axel SOM
CPU: Freescale i.MX6
SDRAM: 2 GB DDR3
NOR: bootable SPI flash 32 MB
NAND: 1GB 		Please refer to Axel Ultra Hardware Manual
[[File:|40px]] AxelEVB-Lite Carrier board Please refer to AxelEVB-Lite page
Dacu-top-view.png Dacu Carrier board Please refer to Dacu page
Display.jpg Ampire AM-800480STMQW
7” 800x480 LCD display
LVDS interface 		Please refer to XELK Quick Start Guide
Alimentatore.jpg AC/DC Single Output Wall Mount adapter
Output: +12V – 2.0 A 		Please refer to XELK Quick Start Guide
Cavetto-seriale2.jpg DB9 Male Serial port adapter Please refer to XELK Quick Start Guide
ProdSDC-MBLY-thumb.png MicroSDHC card with SD adapter and USB adapter Please refer to XELK Quick Start Guide


XELK software components[edit | edit source]

Dave adds to the latest Linux BSP from Freescale the customization required to support the Axel platform. For this reason most of the documentation provided by Freescale remains valid for the XELK development kit. However, some customization is required, in particular at bootloader and linux kernel levels.

The following table reports the XELK releases information.

XELK version
Release number 1.0.0
Status Planned
Release date November, 4th 2013
Release notes Ver 1.0.0
SOM PCB version CS030713
Supported carrier boards AxelEVB-Lite
Dacu
U-Boot version 2013.10-xelk-1.0.0
Linux version 3.0.35-xelk-1.0.0
Drivers SPI NOR Flash (boot)
UART debug (2-wire)
USB Host
USB OTG
SD/MMC1
CAN
Touch screen controller
EMAC
SATA
HMDI
LVDS1
Freescale BSP version L3.0.35-4.1.0

XELK microSD Layout[edit | edit source]

The microSD provided with XELK is used to store:

  • A bootable partition (mmcblk0p1, vfat) containing:
    • binary images (u-boot and kernel images)
    • XELK documentation
    • XELK DVDK virtual machine image
  • XELK root file system partition (mmcblk0p2, ext3)


XELK contains all the required software and documentation to start developing Linux application on the Axel platform. In particular, XELK provides a Virtualbox virtual machine with two emulated disks:

  • Boot disk with pre-installed Ubuntu Linux 12.04.2 LTS and pre-configured basic Linux services (TFTP, NFS, ...)
  • Secondary disk containing source code and tools:
    • Bootloader (u-boot) source tree cloned from DAVE's public git repository
    • Linux kernel source tree cloned from DAVE's public git repository
    • Toolchain
    • Root file systems

Please note that XELK u-boot and kernel source trees are derived from the official trees released by Freescale; these trees have been customized to add support for the Axel SOM.

XELK Updates[edit | edit source]

200px-Emblem-important.svg.png

It's recommended to use the latest available XELK version. Please refer to Release notes for further information.

Updating git repositories[edit | edit source]

In XELK, the following source trees are clones of DAVE's public git repositories:

Component GIT Remote XELK Installation Directory
Linux git@git.dave.eu:dave/axel/linux-2.6-imx.git /home/dvdk/xelk/linux-2.6-imx
U-Boot git@git.dave.eu:dave/diva/u-boot-imx.git /home/dvdk/xelk/u-boot-imx

This means that these components can be kept in sync and up to date with DAVE's repositories.

RSA key generation[edit | edit source]

Please follow the procedure reported below to generate the RSA ssh key:

  • select your username (ad es. username@myhost.com)
  • start the DVDK and login into the virtual machine
  • start a shell session
  • enter the .ssh subdirectory into your home directory: cd ~/.ssh/
  • launch the following command: 
    ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "username@myhost.com"
  • this command creates the files ~/.ssh/username@myhost.com (private key) and ~/.ssh/username@myhost.com.pub (public key)
  • edit your ~/.ssh/config adding the following lines:
Host git.dave.eu
    User git
    Hostname git.dave.eu
    PreferredAuthentications publickey
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/username@myhost.com.pub

Please send the public key file to one of the following email support addresses (depending on which SOM is included in your kit version)

with the request for the creation of a new public git account associated to your username. The support team will enable the account and send you a confirmation as soon as possible.

Synchronizing the repository[edit | edit source]

When the account is enabled, you can synchronize a source tree entering the repository directory and launching the git fetch command, like in the following example: 

dvdk@dvdk-vm:~$ cd /home/dvdk/xelk/linux-2.6-imx/
dvdk@dvdk-vm:/home/dvdk/xelk/linux-2.6-imx$ git fetch origin

Please note that git fetch doesn't merge the commits on the current branch. To do that, you should run 

git merge origin/axel

or replace the fetch-merge process with a single git pull command. Please note that the recommended method is the fetch-merge process. For further information on Git, please refer to Git Documentation.

Release notes[edit | edit source]

XELK 1.0.0[edit | edit source]

  • Release date: November, 4th 2013
  • Status: planned
  • Freescale Linux BSP: L3.0.35-4.1.0
  • Supported carrier boards: AxelEVB-Lite on Dacu

Notes[edit | edit source]

  • First official release

Known Limitations[edit | edit source]

The following table reports the known limitations of this XELK release:

Issue Description
Boot modes This kit version supports boot from USB (for recovery purpose) and from SPI nor flash. Other boot devices (MicroSD, NAND flash, ..) will be available on a future release.
CPU cores Max 2 cores. 3rd and 4th cores will be available on a future release.
USB OTG Verified in Host and Device modes
Reboot from software Rebooting the system from software (eg: launching the reboot command from Linux user space) can lead to a system lock. To solve it, reset the board with the dedicated button (S10)
Ethernet Verified speeds: 1 Gbps and 100 Mbps
CAN Maximum supported speed: 500 kbps
Touch controller Touch events are detected, but touch point is not resolved with precision



Related Documents[edit | edit source]

HOME SOMs SBCs ToloMEO Embedded Assistant Sale-tag.pngGET A QUOTE Customer-service.pngONLINE HELPDESK
Roadmap IoT Services ML/AI services Embedded Design Services
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