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ac6 >> ac6-training >> Operating Systems >> Linux >> Embedded Linux with Buildroot and Yocto Download Catalog Download as PDF Write us Printable version

D1 Embedded Linux with Buildroot and Yocto

Building and installing an embedded and real-time Linux platform

Building and installing an embedded and real-time Linux platform
formateur
Objectives
  • Understanding the architecture of the Linux system
  • Create and use a cross-development toolchain
  • Learn how to install Linux on your hardware and create a BSP
  • Explore the Linux system architecture
    • Booting Linux
    • Initializing the system
  • Install existing packages on the target
  • Learn how to install Linux on flash chips
Labs are conducted on target boards, that can be:
    Dual Cortex/A7-based "STM32MP15-DISCO" boards from STMicroelectronics.
    Quad Cortex/A9-based "SabreLite" boards from NXP.
    Quad Cortex/A53-based "imx8q-evk" boards from NXP.
We use a recent (4.x) linux kernel, as supported by the chip supplier.

Some labs are conducted using the System Workbench for Linux IDE.

Course environment
  • Printed course material (in English)
  • One Linux PC for two trainees.
  • One target platform for two trainees
Prerequisite

FIRST DAY
Linux overview
  • Linux
    • History
    • Version management
  • Linux architecture and modularity
  • Linux system components
  • The various licenses used by Linux (GPL, LGPL, etc)
Cross compiling toolchains
  • Pre-compiled toolchains
  • Toolchain generation tools
    • Crosstool-ng
    • Buildroot
  • Manual toolchain compilation
Exercise:  Creating a toolchain with Crosstool-ng
Linux tools for embedded systems
  • Bootloaders (UBoot, Redboot, barebox)
  • C libraries (glibc, eglibc, uClibc)
  • Embedded GUIs
  • Busybox
  • Embedded distributions
The U-Boot boot loader
  • Introduction to U-Boot
  • Booting the board through U-Boot
    • Booting from NOR
    • Booting from NAND
    • Booting from eMMC
  • U-Boot environment variables
    • User-defined variables
    • Predefined variables
    • Variables substitution
  • The U-Boot minimal shell
    • Writing scripts in variables
    • Executing scripts
    • Using variables in scripts: the set-script pattern
  • U-Boot main commands
    • Booting an OS
    • Accessing flash chips
    • Accessing file systems (NFS, FAT, EXTx, JFFS2…)
  • The full U-Boot shell
    • Script structure
    • Control flow instructions (if, for…)
Exercise:  Booting the board on NFS, using pre-existing images
SECOND DAY
Creating the embedded Linux kernel
  • Downloading stable source code
    • Getting a tarball
    • Using GIT
  • Configuring the kernel
  • Compiling the kernel and its modules
    • Modules delivered in-tree
    • Out-of-tree modules
  • Installing the kernel and the modules
Exercise:  Configuring and compiling a target kernel for the target board
The Linux BSP
  • Linux BSP architecture
    • Overall structure
    • The ARM BSP
    • The Linux build system
  • Linux device drivers
  • Defining and initializing the board
    • Plug and Play buses
    • Using the Flattened Device Tree
Exercise:  Create a minimal BSP for the target board, editing the device tree.
Creating a root file system
  • Packages
    • Various package build systems (autotools, CMake, …)
    • Cross-compiling a package
  • The all-in-one applications
    • Busybox, the basic utilities
    • Dropbear: encrypted communications (ssh)
  • Manually building your root file system
    • Device nodes, programs and libraries
    • Configuration files (network, udev, …)
    • Installing modules
    • Looking for and installing the needed libraries
    • Testing file system consistency and completeness
Exercise:  Configuring and compiling Busybox and Dropbear
Exercise:  Creating a minimal root file system using busybox and dropbear
The Linux Boot
  • Linux kernel parameters
  • The Linux startup sequence
  • Various initialization systems
    • busybox init
    • system V init
    • systemd
  • Automatically starting an embedded system
Exercise:  Boot Linux automatically starting a user application
THIRD DAY
Embedded file systems
  • Storage interfaces
    • Block devices
    • MTD
  • Flash memories and Linux MTDs
    • NOR flashes
    • NAND flashes
    • ONENAND flashes
  • The various flash file system formats
    • JFFS2, YAFFS2, UBIFS
  • Read-only file system
    • CRAMFS, SQUASHFS
  • Standard Linux file systems
    • Ext2/3/4, FAT, NFS
  • Ramdisks and initrd
    • Creating an initramfs
    • Booting through an initramfs
  • Choosing the right file system formats
  • Flashing the file system
Exercise:  Building an initrd root file system
Buildroot
  • Operation
    • Toolchain configuration
    • Package selection
    • System configuration (serial port, filling /dev, …)
    • Kernel and bootloader configuration
    • Building File system image
  • Customization
    • Using a pre-built toolchain
    • Adding a patch to an existing package
    • Adding a new package
    • Using a custom rootfs skeleton
Exercise:  Building a root file system using Buildroot
Exercise:  Add a package to the root file system using Buidroot
FOURTH DAY
Introduction to Yocto
  • Overview of Yocto
    • History
    • Yocto, Open Embedded and Poky
    • Purpose of the Yocto project
    • The main projects
  • Yocto architecture
    • Overview
    • Recipes and classes
    • Tasks
Exercise:  Building a root file system using Yocto
The Yocto build system
  • Build system objectives
    • Building deployable images
Exercise:  Building a root file system using Yocto
  • Layers and layer priorities
  • Directory layout
  • Configuration files (local, machine and distribution)
  • The bitbake tool
    • Common options
  • Using Yocto
    • Building a package
    • Building an image (root file system + u-boot + kernel)
Exercise:  Use bitbake commands to build package & images
Yocto package recipes structure
  • Recipe architecture
    • Tasks
    • Task dependencies
    • Recipe dependencies
  • The bitbake language
    • Standard variables and functions
    • Classes and recipes
    • The base Yocto classes
    • Main bitbake commands
  • Adding a new layer
    • Layer structure
    • Various kinds of layers
Exercise:  Adding a new layer
Exercise:  Adding a new recipe
ANNEXES
Real-time Linux
  • real-time solutions for Linux
    • xenomai
    • real-time patch
  • xenomai architecture
    • co-kernel
    • skins
    • RTDM drivers
  • install
    • installing xenomai
    • cross-compiling a xenomai application
Exercise:  installing Xenomai 3.x
Exercise:  measuring latencies
Exercise:  cross-compiling a xenomai application
The U-Boot BSP
  • Building and installing U-Boot
  • Porting U-Boot
    • U-Boot source structure
    • Adding a new board to U-Boot sources
    • U-Boot drivers (RS232, network, flash, SD/MMC)
    • U-Boot startup and board initialization
Exercise:  Creating a board support package in U-Boot and setup of initialization code
Exercise:  Looking at a first-load program