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WS2 Linux Kernel Introduction for Altera SoC Devices
This is the first of a series of workshops, to help users become familiar with software development for the Altera SoC family of parts.

Introduction
- Link to Workshop Slides
- Links to Lab Sections
Set Up for Labs

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Introduction

This workshop will take you though the manual steps of building the SoCFPGA specific pieces of a custom embedded Linux distribution. It is intended to familiarize you with the resources necessary to build an embedded Linux distribution for your own custom SoCFPGA based board.

This workshop is not an introduction to or training on Embedded Linux. It is only intended to be an overview of the SoC FPGA specific components of a custom Linux distribution. While an in-depth knowledge of embedded Linux is not required to complete this workshop, it is recommended before embarking on an SoC FPGA Linux development for a custom board.

There is more than one way to build your custom embedded Linux distribution. The Yocto and Angstrom build environments automate most of the steps discussed in this workshop. If you are planning on using an automated build environment, such as Yocto, this workshop will help you understand the SoCFPGA specific components in that build flow so you are better equipped to maintain and customize your own distribution.

In this workshop, you will:

Configure the Preloader to correctly load a custom u-boot build.
Obtain the u-boot source tree, configure u-boot, compile the source, and load u-boot into your system.
Build a custom Linux Device Tree with the Device Tree Generator tool.
Configure and compile a u-boot script to:
- load an FPGA image and configure the FPGA from u-boot
- load a custom device tree
- load and boot a Linux kernel
Obtain, configure, compile, and load a Linux kernel for the SoCFPGA devices.
Create an SD card image which loads all of the components you generated onto a single, bootable SD card

This workshop focuses on booting from an SD card, as that is the easiest boot method for working with the development kits used in this workshop. The SoC FPGA devices support multiple boot sources and storage devices. When building your custom distribution, you should consider your system's specific requirements when choosing boot sources and storage devices.

Link to Workshop Slides

The slides from the classroom presentation are available here: WS_2_Linux_Kernel_Introduction_Workshop.pdf

Links to Lab Sections

Lab 1: Preloader
Lab 2: U-Boot
Lab 3: Linux Kernel and Device Tree
Lab 4: SD Card and Lab Validation

Set Up for Labs

For the Labs, you will need:

A supported SoC board
A blank microSD card and microSD to SD adapter
A Linux PC with two USB ports and sudo support for the following commands:
- mount, umount, fdisk, losetup, partprobe, and dd
An SD card reader (either internal or external)
Two USB cables appropriate for your board (USB A to either mini USB or micro USB)
The required software (Altera ACDS and SoCEDS and ARM Development Studio)
A terminal emulator program

Note: this lab is only supported on Linux PCs, as a Linux PC is required for embedded Linux development

Install Required Tools

First, you will need to install the required software to complete the labs. You can find instructions and download links on the following page:

Software Installation for the Workshops

Obtain and Configure a Supported Development Board

You will need to obtain and configure one of the supported boards in order to complete the Labs for the various Workshops. The list of supported boards and their configurations are on the follow page:

Supported Boards and Their Configurations

Note: It is important that your board is properly configured to be compatible with the pre-built SD card images.

Note: due to the configuration of the Critical Link MitySOM development board, this Workshop is not currently supported on the Critical Link MitySOM development board.

Obtain SD card Image

Once you have obtained and configured a board, you will need to download the microSD card image for that board and program it onto a microSD card. You can download the microSD card images from and find instructions for programming the images to the microSD card on the following page:

SD Card Images

Verify that the SD card is properly programmed and that your board and host PC are properly configured

Plug the SD card you just programmed with the Workshop Image into the development target board.
Connect the development target board to your development host machine with the USB serial cable.
Start an appropriate terminal emulation program on your development host. See the "USB serial console interface" page for advice on this.
Power on your development target board.
Verify that your board boots through the Preloader and U-Boot, into Linux. You may need to reset the board to view the complete serial output.

If your board does not boot correctly, return to the board configuration page to verify that you have the board properly configured to match the configuration of the pre-built SD card image image. It is important that the MSEL switches match the FPGA configuration image on the SD card.

Copy the Lab Materials from SD Card

Once you have the SD card imaged with the proper development board image, you will need to mount the FAT partition on that SD card onto your development host machine and copy some files from the SD card onto your development host. There are basically two ways to accomplish this.

You can simply plug the SD card into your development host using whatever SD card reader you used to image the SD card in the first place. Then mount the FAT partition on your develpment host.
You can plug the SD card into your target development board, connect the USB OTG cable between the target and your host, and boot your target into linux where it should automatically start the USB gadget mass storage service. You should then see a removable USB media device appear on your development host. At that point you can mount the FAT partition on your development host. For more information on this proceedure please refer to this link, Interacting with the USB gadget mass storage interface.

Once you get the FAT partition mounted on your development host, the layout of your SD card contents should look similar to this. ws1 files 1.png

Now move the following objects from the SD card onto your local hard drive of your host development machine.

Create a working directory somewhere on the local hard drive of your development host, something like "ws2_labwork".
Then copy the "WS2-IntroToLinux" folder from the SD card FAT partition over to your working directory on your host development machine.
Next you need to identify the directory for your target development board. Each of the different boards supported by the workshop have their own board specific directory on the SD card.
Once you have located the correct directory for your development board you need to copy the "hps_isw_handoff" folder and the "output_files/.rbf" file from the board specific directory on the SD card into the "WS2-IntroToLinux" folder that you just copied onto your host development machine.
When you are finished, the working directory on your host development machine should look something like this. In this case we've used the DE0_NANO_SOC board as our example.
You should now be prepared to start the lab work.