Debian: Getting Started with the BeagleBone

RobertCNelson · March 24, 2021, 9:28pm

This is a page about TI's Cortex-A8 based; BeagleBone.

Availability

Boards:

BeagleBone at DigiKey

Basic Requirements

Running a recent supported release of Debian, Fedora or Ubuntu on a x86 64bit based PC; without OS Virtualization Software.
Many of the listed commands assume /bin/bash as the default shell.
ARM Cross Compiler – Linaro: https://www.linaro.org
- Linaro Toolchain Binaries: https://www.linaro.org/downloads/
Bootloader
- Das U-Boot – the Universal Boot Loader: http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot
- Source: https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/
Linux Kernel
- Linus’s Mainline tree: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git
ARM based rootfs
- Debian: https://www.debian.org
- Ubuntu: https://www.ubuntu.com

ARM Cross Compiler: GCC

This is a pre-built (64bit) version of GCC that runs on generic linux, sorry (32bit) x86 users, it’s time to upgrade…
Download/Extract:

#user@localhost:~$
wget -c https://releases.linaro.org/components/toolchain/binaries/6.5-2018.12/arm-linux-gnueabihf/gcc-linaro-6.5.0-2018.12-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
tar xf gcc-linaro-6.5.0-2018.12-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
export CC=`pwd`/gcc-linaro-6.5.0-2018.12-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-

Test Cross Compiler:

#user@localhost:~$
${CC}gcc --version

#Test Output:
arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc (Linaro GCC 6.5-2018.12) 6.5.0
Copyright (C) 2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Bootloader: U-Boot

Das U-Boot – the Universal Boot Loader: http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot
eewiki.net patch archive: https://github.com/eewiki/u-boot-patches
Download:

#user@localhost:~$
git clone -b v2019.04 https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot --depth=1
cd u-boot/

Patches:

#user@localhost:~/u-boot$
wget -c https://github.com/eewiki/u-boot-patches/raw/master/v2019.04/0001-am335x_evm-uEnv.txt-bootz-n-fixes.patch
wget -c https://github.com/eewiki/u-boot-patches/raw/master/v2019.04/0002-U-Boot-BeagleBone-Cape-Manager.patch
 
patch -p1 < 0001-am335x_evm-uEnv.txt-bootz-n-fixes.patch
patch -p1 < 0002-U-Boot-BeagleBone-Cape-Manager.patch

Configure and Build:

#user@localhost:~/u-boot$
make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=${CC} distclean
make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=${CC} am335x_evm_defconfig
make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=${CC}

Linux Kernel

This script will build the kernel, modules, device tree binaries and copy them to the deploy directory.

Mainline

Download:

#~/
git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/bb-kernel
cd bb-kernel/

For am33x-v4.14 (Longterm 4.14.x):

#user@localhost:~/bb-kernel$
git checkout origin/am33x-v4.14 -b tmp

For am33x-rt-v4.14 (Longterm 4.14.x + Real-Time Linux):

#user@localhost:~/bb-kernel$
git checkout origin/am33x-rt-v4.14 -b tmp

For am33x-v4.19 (Longterm 4.19.x):

#user@localhost:~/bb-kernel$
git checkout origin/am33x-v4.19 -b tmp

For am33x-rt-v4.19 (Longterm 4.19.x + Real-Time Linux):

#user@localhost:~/bb-kernel$
git checkout origin/am33x-rt-v4.19 -b tmp

For am33x-v5.4 (Longterm 5.4.x):

#user@localhost:~/bb-kernel$
git checkout origin/am33x-v5.4 -b tmp

For am33x-rt-v5.4 (Longterm 5.4.x + Real-Time Linux):

#user@localhost:~/bb-kernel$
git checkout origin/am33x-rt-v5.4 -b tmp

Build:

#user@localhost:~/bb-kernel$
./build_kernel.sh

TI BSP

Download:

#~/
git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/ti-linux-kernel-dev.git
cd ti-linux-kernel-dev/

For TI v4.14.x:

#~/ti-linux-kernel-dev/
git checkout origin/ti-linux-4.14.y -b tmp

For TI v4.14.x: Real-Time

#~/ti-linux-kernel-dev/
git checkout origin/ti-linux-rt-4.14.y -b tmp

For TI v4.19.x:

#~/ti-linux-kernel-dev/
git checkout origin/ti-linux-4.19.y -b tmp

For TI v4.19.x: Real-Time

#~/ti-linux-kernel-dev/
git checkout origin/ti-linux-rt-4.19.y -b tmp

For TI v5.4.x:

#~/ti-linux-kernel-dev/
git checkout origin/ti-linux-5.4.y -b tmp

For TI v5.4.x: Real-Time

#~/ti-linux-kernel-dev/
git checkout origin/ti-linux-rt-5.4.y -b tmp

Build:

#user@localhost:~/ti-linux-kernel-dev$
./build_kernel.sh

Root File System

Debian 10

User	Password
debian	temppwd
root	root

Download:

#user@localhost:~$
wget -c https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/eewiki/minfs/debian-10.4-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

Verify:

#user@localhost:~$
sha256sum debian-10.4-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

#sha256sum output:
cd598e42850cbef87602bf15ee343abfbf0d8c6ba81028c741672b5f24263534  debian-10.4-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

Extract:

#user@localhost:~$
tar xf debian-10.4-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

User	Password
ubuntu	temppwd

Download:

#user@localhost:~$
wget -c https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/eewiki/minfs/ubuntu-20.04-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

Verify:

#user@localhost:~$
sha256sum ubuntu-20.04-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

#sha256sum output:
de0177ac9259fdbcc626ee239f4258b64070c0921dbc38c45fab6925a5becaa1  ubuntu-20.04-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

Extract:

#user@localhost:~$
tar xf ubuntu-20.04-minimal-armhf-2020-05-10.tar.xz

Setup microSD card

We need to access the External Drive to be utilized by the target device. Run lsblk to help figure out what linux device has been reserved for your External Drive.

#Example: for DISK=/dev/sdX
lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0 465.8G  0 disk
├─sda1   8:1    0   512M  0 part /boot/efi
└─sda2   8:2    0 465.3G  0 part /                <- Development Machine Root Partition
sdb      8:16   1   962M  0 disk                  <- microSD/USB Storage Device
└─sdb1   8:17   1   961M  0 part                  <- microSD/USB Storage Partition

#Thus you would use:
export DISK=/dev/sdb

#Example: for DISK=/dev/mmcblkX
lsblk
NAME      MAJ:MIN   RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda         8:0      0 465.8G  0 disk
├─sda1      8:1      0   512M  0 part /boot/efi
└─sda2      8:2      0 465.3G  0 part /                <- Development Machine Root Partition
mmcblk0     179:0    0   962M  0 disk                  <- microSD/USB Storage Device
└─mmcblk0p1 179:1    0   961M  0 part                  <- microSD/USB Storage Partition

#Thus you would use:
export DISK=/dev/mmcblk0

Erase partition table/labels on microSD card:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=${DISK} bs=1M count=10

Install Bootloader:

#user@localhost:~$
sudo dd if=./u-boot/MLO of=${DISK} count=1 seek=1 bs=128k
sudo dd if=./u-boot/u-boot.img of=${DISK} count=2 seek=1 bs=384k

Create Partition Layout:
With util-linux v2.26, sfdisk was rewritten and is now based on libfdisk.

#Check the version of sfdisk installed on your pc
sudo sfdisk --version

#Example Output
sfdisk from util-linux 2.27.1

#sfdisk >= 2.26.x
sudo sfdisk ${DISK} <<-__EOF__
4M,,L,*
__EOF__

#sfdisk <= 2.25.x
sudo sfdisk --unit M ${DISK} <<-__EOF__
4,,L,*
__EOF__

Format Partition:

for: DISK=/dev/mmcblkX
sudo mkfs.ext4 -L rootfs ${DISK}p1
 
for: DISK=/dev/sdX
sudo mkfs.ext4 -L rootfs ${DISK}1

Mount Partition:
On most systems these partitions may be auto-mounted…

sudo mkdir -p /media/rootfs/
 
for: DISK=/dev/mmcblkX
sudo mount ${DISK}p1 /media/rootfs/
 
for: DISK=/dev/sdX
sudo mount ${DISK}1 /media/rootfs/

Install Kernel and Root File System

To help new users, since the kernel version can change on a daily basis. The kernel building scripts listed on this page will now give you a hint of what kernel version was built.

-----------------------------
Script Complete
eewiki.net: [user@localhost:~$ export kernel_version=5.X.Y-Z]
-----------------------------

Copy and paste that “export kernel_version=5.X.Y-Z” exactly as shown in your own build/desktop environment and hit enter to create an environment variable to be used later.

export kernel_version=5.X.Y-Z

Copy Root File System

#Debian; Root File System: user@localhost:~$
sudo tar xfvp ./debian-*-*-armhf-*/armhf-rootfs-*.tar -C /media/rootfs/
sync
sudo chown root:root /media/rootfs/
sudo chmod 755 /media/rootfs/

#Ubuntu; Root File System: user@localhost:~$
sudo tar xfvp ./ubuntu-*-*-armhf-*/armhf-rootfs-*.tar -C /media/rootfs/
sync
sudo chown root:root /media/rootfs/
sudo chmod 755 /media/rootfs/

Set uname_r in /boot/uEnv.txt

#user@localhost:~$
sudo sh -c "echo 'uname_r=${kernel_version}' >> /media/rootfs/boot/uEnv.txt"

Copy Kernel Image

Kernel Image:

#user@localhost:~$
sudo cp -v ./bb-kernel/deploy/${kernel_version}.zImage /media/rootfs/boot/vmlinuz-${kernel_version}

Copy Kernel Device Tree Binaries

#user@localhost:~$
sudo mkdir -p /media/rootfs/boot/dtbs/${kernel_version}/
sudo tar xfv ./bb-kernel/deploy/${kernel_version}-dtbs.tar.gz -C /media/rootfs/boot/dtbs/${kernel_version}/

Copy Kernel Modules

#user@localhost:~$
sudo tar xfv ./bb-kernel/deploy/${kernel_version}-modules.tar.gz -C /media/rootfs/

File Systems Table (/etc/fstab)

#user@localhost:~/$
sudo sh -c "echo '/dev/mmcblk0p1  /  auto  errors=remount-ro  0  1' >> /media/rootfs/etc/fstab"

Networking: Using a shared SD card with Multiple BeagleBone

To always enable the Ethernet interface as eth0.
Edit: /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

sudo nano /media/rootfs/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

Add:

#/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
# BeagleBone: net device ()
SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="eth*", NAME="eth0"

Remove microSD/SD card

sync
sudo umount /media/rootfs

U-Boot Overlays

Full Documentation: [readme|https://elinux.org/Beagleboard:BeagleBoneBlack_Debian#U-Boot_Overlays]
Any issues:

#Any issues run:
sudo /opt/scripts/tools/version.sh

Enable:

#/boot/uEnv.txt
enable_uboot_overlays=1

To Disable: BB-ADC:

#/boot/uEnv.txt
disable_uboot_overlay_adc=1

U-Boot: override detected capes

#/boot/uEnv.txt
uboot_overlay_addr0=<file0>.dtbo
uboot_overlay_addr1=<file1>.dtbo
uboot_overlay_addr2=<file2>.dtbo
uboot_overlay_addr3=<file3>.dtbo

U-Boot: disable auto-loading of detected capes

#/boot/uEnv.txt
disable_uboot_overlay_addr0=1
disable_uboot_overlay_addr1=1
disable_uboot_overlay_addr2=1
disable_uboot_overlay_addr3=1

U-Boot: load 4 more un-detected capes

#/boot/uEnv.txt
uboot_overlay_addr4=<file4>.dtbo
uboot_overlay_addr5=<file5>.dtbo
uboot_overlay_addr6=<file6>.dtbo
uboot_overlay_addr7=<file7>.dtbo

U-Boot: PRU Options (v4.14.x-ti)

#/boot/uEnv.txt
uboot_overlay_pru=/lib/firmware/AM335X-PRU-RPROC-4-14-TI-00A0.dtbo

U-Boot: PRU Options (v4.19.x-ti)

#/boot/uEnv.txt
uboot_overlay_pru=/lib/firmware/AM335X-PRU-RPROC-4-19-TI-00A0.dtbo

U-Boot: PRU Options

#/boot/uEnv.txt
uboot_overlay_pru=/lib/firmware/AM335X-PRU-UIO-00A0.dtbo

U-Boot: Cape Universal

#/boot/uEnv.txt
enable_uboot_cape_universal=1

Comments

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Debian: Getting Started with the BeagleBone

Availability

Basic Requirements

ARM Cross Compiler: GCC

Bootloader: U-Boot

Linux Kernel

Mainline

TI BSP

Root File System

Debian 10

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Setup microSD card

Install Kernel and Root File System

Copy Root File System

Set uname_r in /boot/uEnv.txt

Copy Kernel Image

Copy Kernel Device Tree Binaries

Copy Kernel Modules

File Systems Table (/etc/fstab)

Networking: Using a shared SD card with Multiple BeagleBone

Remove microSD/SD card

U-Boot Overlays

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