Booting Linux Using Prebuilt SD Card Image

How to create an SD card using pre-compiled Linux binaries package and use it to boot Linux on the Altera Cyclone V SoC Development board

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Prerequisites

The following items will be needed in order to succesfully get started with Linux on the Altera SoC Development board:

• Altera SoC Development board (include power supply and required accessories).
• Host computer running Linux
• External USB micro SD card reader (or host computer with built-in micro SD card reader). Alternatively a micro SD to SD card adapter can be used if the host PC or the reader has a SD slot but no micro SD slot.
• 4GB (or larger) micro SD or micro SDHC card. The actual image is 2GB, but most SD cards have some amount of invalid sectors, so using a 2GB SD card might not work.
• Local Ethernet network, with DHCP server (will be used to provide IP address to the board).

Creating SD Card

This section explains how to create the SD card necessary to boot Linux, using the SD card image available with the precompiled Linux binaries package.

The steps required to create the SD card for the Cyclone V Development board are:

1. Download the Golden System Reference Design (GSRD) User Manuals release binaries:

$ cd ~
$ wget https://releases.rocketboards.org/2015.10/gsrd/bin/linux-socfpga-gsrd-15.1-cv-bin.tar.gz

2. Extract the compressed Linux SD card image from archive

$ tar xzf linux-socfpga-gsrd-15.1-cv-bin.tar.gz

3. Expand the compressed Linux SD card image

$ gunzip sdimage.tar.gz

4. Determine the device associated with the SD card on the host by running the following command before and after inserting the card in the reader:

$ cat /proc/partitions 

Let's assume it is /dev/sdx.

5. Use dd utility to write the SD image to the SD card:

$ sudo dd if=sdimage.img of=/dev/sdx bs=1M

Note we are using sudo to be able to write to the card.

6. Use sync utility to flush the changes to the SD card:

$ sudo sync

The steps to create the SD card for the Arria V development board are similar:

$ wget https://releases.rocketboards.org/2015.10/gsrd/bin/linux-socfpga-gsrd-15.1-av-bin.tar.gz
$ tar -xzf linux-socfpga-gsrd-15.1-av-bin.tar.gz
$ gunzip sdimage.img.gz
$ sudo dd if=sdimage.img of=/dev/sdx bs=1M

Configuring Board

This section presents the necessary board settings in order to run the Golden System Reference Design (GSRD) User Manuals on the Altera SoC development boards.

Cyclone V Development Board

The following image is provided to make it easier to find these locations on the board:

• Configure Jumpers

  Jumper	Setting
  J5	open
  J6	shorted
  J7	shorted
  J9	open
  J13	shorted
  J16	open
  J26	left shorted
  J27	right shorted
  J28	left shorted
  J29	right shorted
  J30	left shorted
  J31	open

  • Configure switches

    Switch	Setting
    SW1	All OFF
    SW2	All OFF
    SW3	1:ON 2:ON 3:ON 4:ON 5:ON 6:ON
    SW4	1:OFF 2:OFF 3:ON 4:ON

    • Make sure the power switch SW5 on the board is turned OFF.
    • Connect mini USB cable from the host PC to the board connector J8.
    • Connect Ethernet cable from board connector J2 to the local network (hub or switch). This is needed only if networking is to be used.
    • Connect 19V power supply cable to the board connector J22.

    Arria V Development Board

    The following image is provided to make it easier to find the jumpers, switched and connectors locations on the board:
    
    • Configure Jumpers

      Jumper	Setting
      J6	2.5 shorted
      J7	open
      J18	open
      J19	shorted
      J21	shorted
      J23	open
      J28	open
      J30	open
      J37	left shorted
      J38	right shorted
      J39	left shorted
      J40	right shorted
      J41	left shorted
      J45	shorted
      J46	shorted

      • Configure switches

        Switch	Setting
        SW1	1:OFF 2:OFF 3:OFF 4:OFF 5:OFF 6:OFF 7:ON 8:ON
        SW2	1:OFF 2:ON 3:OFF 4:OFF
        SW3	All ON
        SW4	1:OFF 2:OFF 3:ON 4:OFF

        • Make sure the power switch SW5 on the board is turned OFF.
        • Connect mini USB cable from the host PC to the board connector J22.
        • Connect Ethernet cable from board connector J13 to the local network (hub or switch). This is needed only if networking is to be used.
        • Connect 19V power supply cable to the board connector J34.

        Configuring Serial Connection

        The board has a built-in USB to Serial converter chip that allows the host computer to see the board as a virtual serial port.
        Both Ubuntu 12.04 and CentsOS 6.5 have built-in drivers for the USB to Serial converter chip that is on the Altera SoC Development board, so no driver installation is necessary on those platforms.
        1. The virtual serial port is usually named /dev/ttyUSB0. In order to determine the device name associated with the virtual serial port on your host PC, please perform the following:
        • Use the following command to determine which USB serial devices are already installed: ls /dev/ttyUSB*
        • Power up the board using the switch SW5. The board LEDs will turn on.
        • Use the ls /dev/ttyUSB* command command again to determine which new USB serial device appeared.
        2. Install minicom application on host PC, if not already installed.
        • On CentOS, use sudo yum install minicom
        • On Ubuntu, use sudo apt-get install minicom
        3. Configure minicom

        $ sudo minicom -s

        Under Serial Port Setup choose the following
        • Serial Device: /dev/ttyUSB0 (edit to match the system as necessary)
        • Bps/Par/Bits: 115200 8N1
        • Hardware Flow Control: No
        • Software Flow Control: No
        • Hit [ESC] to return to the main configuration menu
        Select Save Setup as dfl to save the default setupSelect Exit.
        Notes:
        • Depending on your board version, the USB Serial device may not be available to your host PC until the board is powered up. This will prevent you from starting minicom until the board is powered up. If the SD card is already inserted, the boot process will have already started by the time minicom is started, and you may miss some of the boot messages.
        • To avoid the above problem, you may use this sequence:
          1. Power up the board without the SD card inserted,
          2. Start minicom
          3. Insert SD card and press HPS warm reset button (S8 on Cyclone V board, S10 on Arria V board)

        Booting Linux

        This section presents how to boot Linux on the board. The required steps are:
        1. Prepare SD card
        2. Configure Board
        3. Configure Minicom
        4. Start Minicom - it will use the defined configuration
        5. Power up board (or, if already powered up, press Warm reset button or power cycle)
        6. Minicom will show Linux booting, then asking for the username. Enter root then press ENTER. No password will be required.
        7. The four FPGA LEDs on the top right corner of the board will light ON and OFF sequentially.
        8. The IP address of the target board will be displayed on the 1st line of the LCD display. Note that the IP address is displayed only at the boot time, it is not updated if the IP address is changed later, for example by the user.

        Reference Information

        • http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/altera/kit-cyclone-v-soc.html
        • http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/altera/kit-arria-v-soc.html