F&S i.

MX6 Linux
First Steps
Version 4.4
(2024-03-28)

© F&S Elektronik Systeme GmbH

Untere Waldplätze 23
D-70569 Stuttgart
Germany
Phone: +49(0)711-123722-0
Fax: +49(0)711-123722-99
About This Document
This document shows how to bring up F&S boards and modules under Linux and how to use
the system and the devices. It is intended to help you get to know the board so that you can
take the first steps to try out and test all the peripherals.

Remark
The version number on the title page of this document is the version of the document. It is
not related to the version number of any software release! The latest version of this docu-
ment can always be found at http://www.fs-net.de.

How To Print This Document

This document is designed to be printed double-sided (front and back) on A4 paper. If you
want to read it with a PDF reader program, you should use a two-page layout where the title
page is an extra single page. The settings are correct if the page numbers are at the outside
of the pages, even pages on the left and odd pages on the right side. If it is reversed, then
the title page is handled wrongly and is part of the first double-page instead of a single page.

Titlepage

8 9

Typographical Conventions
We use different fonts and highlighting to emphasize the context of special terms:
File names
Menu entries
Board input/output
Program code
PC input/output
Listings
Generic input/output
Variables
History
Date V Platform A,M,R Chapter Description Au
2012-09-05 0.1 * A,M,R * Initial Version MK
2012-11-13 0.2 * A,M,R * Additional modifications. First public version MK
2012-11-12 0.3 * A,M,R * Buildroot description added. Rootfs and Kernel flashing de- MK
scribtion added.
2013-01-29 0.4 QBA9 M 8 Toolchain path corrected MK
2013-03-15 0,5 QBA9 A, M 5.2, 11 MTD partitions updated. Chapter about oading and saving MK
firmware added.
2013-03-20 0.6 QBA9 M 10 Kernel build command corrected. MK
2013-05-31 0.7 QBA9 A 7.9 Bluetooth initialization MK
2013-06-27 0.8 * A 5.3.1 Creating a new bootable SD card MK
2013-09-06 1.0 * A,M,R * armStoneA9 added MK
2013-12-06 1.1 * M 4.1.3 JG
2015-03-06 1.2 * M,R 1-4, 8-11 Updates in 1-4 and 8-11: improved introduction, explain archi- AD
tecture releases, new F&S Download Area, improve manual
installation procedure, introduce the new system for switching
boot strategies. Modified some names in U-Boot, Kernel and
Buildroot. Toolchain name changed to one of current versions.
2015-03-11 1.3 * M 8 Make sub directory “arm” added. Definition of “CROSS_COM- AD
PILE” environment added.
2015-04-14 1.4 * A,M,R 2,4,5,6,7 Added PicoMODA9, Infos for new NBoot, new UBoot. Boot AZ
strategies.
2015-04-23 2.0 M * Converted to new F&S document layout, large parts rewriten HK
2015-04-24 2.1 M 7.1 Fix typo in PATH for toolchain HK
2016-06-20 3.0 Add device tree info, Move generic explanations about the PH
Linux system from install instructions to general introduction,
update images, reduce similar/redundant explanations
2016-08-08 3.0 A, M 2.1.3, 2.3, Add armStoneA9r2 image, complete list of files, move erasing HK
3.3.2, 7.9 the flash to a separate sub-chapter, update gstreamer sup-
port, many small changes.
2016-08-10 3.1 M 8.4 Fix device tree name confusion HK
2016-08-19 3.1 * A,M,R * Address differences between multiple documents PH
2016-09-14 3.1 A, M 2.3, 3.3.1, Change NBoot upgrade info, formatting, add mkimage tool in- PH
3.3.6, 7.15, stallation
8.2, 8.5
2017-06-28 3.2 * A,M,R 7.*, 8 Add chapter 8 ‘Graphical Environment’ merge similar PH
subchpters and remove them
2017-11-14 3.2 * M 6.2.* Command should be nand erase.part PH
9.3 Explain new version of install-sources.sh with option --dry-run HK
2018-05-25 3.3 * M 1 Add NetDCU platform HK
M 2 Add reference to F&S development machine HK
M 2.1.5 Use same description type on PicoMODA9 as for other boards HK
A 2.1.6 Add NetDCUA9 HK
M 2.2, 2.3 Mention Yocto releases, add Yocto file names to content list HK
M 3.3 Change manual installation procedure to use file names from HK
sdcard directory; they are the same for Buildroot and Yocto
M 9.1 Collect Buildroot build process chapters under 9.1 HK
A 9.2 Add chapter 9.2 with Yocto build process HK
2018-05-30 3.4 * M 1 Add PicoCOM1.2 to available platforms; have nicer pagebreak HK
M 9 Fix typos, minor improvements HK
2018-09-11 3.4 QBlissA9/ A 5.4 Show workarounds for slow network connections on QBlissA9 HK
QBlissA9r2 and QBlissA9r2 due to SKIT not capable of Gigabit speeds
2019-03-22 3.4 fsimx6 M 1 Add PicoCoreMX6UL and PicoCoreMX6SX to platforms, drop HK
fss5pv210 and picocom4 architectures, add fsimx7ulp
A 1.1 – 1.3 Split into chapters, add chapter with links to F&S website HK
R 2.3 Remove hardware documents from list of contents HK

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps v

 M 2.2, 2.3, Use generic <v> for versions in most places, explain old & HK
3.2, 9.1 new version numbers
M 2.3, 3.3, Several replacements: uImage → zImage, fs-toolchain-5.2.0 HK
5.1, 5.3, → fs-toolchain-7.4, u-boot-2014.07 → u-boot-2018.03, linux-
6.6, 9.1, 4.1.5 → linux-4.9.88, buildroot-2016.05 → buildroot-2019.02,
9.2 10800000 → 11000000, 11000000 → 12000000
2019-07-25 4.0 fsimx6 M * Move large parts to LinuxOnFSBoards. Reduce to startng the HK
board, automatic installation if software is not installed and us-
ing the peripherals. Use new board-logos on title page.
20.03.20 4.1 fsimx6 M 4.18 Add distinguish between Yocto and Buildroot PG

15.10.21 4.2 fsimx6 M 1.1 Add new architectures and boards PG

4.19 Add Infobox
01.02.22 4.3 fsimx6 M 1.1 Add efusA9r2 PJ
A 2.1.5 Add efusA9r2
28.03.24 4.4 fsimx6 M 1.1 Add armstoneA9r3/4 PG
R 4.0 Remove Chapter 4.0 Using the Standard System and Devices
Can be found in LinuxOnF&SBoards
R 4.0 Next Steps: Remove broken symlinks
V Version
A,M,R Added, Modified, Removed
Au Author

vi F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

Table of Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 F&S Board Families and CPU Architectures......................................................1
1.2 Scope of This Document....................................................................................2

2 Setting up the Board 3

2.1 Locating the Connectors on the Starterkit..........................................................3
2.1.1 QBlissA9/QBlissA9r2.........................................................................................3
2.1.2 armStoneA9(r3).................................................................................................5
2.1.3 armStoneA9r2(r4)..............................................................................................6
2.1.4 efusA9(r2)..........................................................................................................7
2.1.5 PicoMODA9.......................................................................................................9
2.1.6 NetDCUA9........................................................................................................11
2.2 Serial Connection.............................................................................................13
2.3 Start Board.......................................................................................................14

3 Software Installation 15
3.1 Download Images From F&S Website.............................................................15
3.2 Enter NBoot.....................................................................................................17
3.3 Erase Flash......................................................................................................17
3.4 Download and Save U-Boot.............................................................................17
3.5 Install Kernel, Device Tree And Root Filesystem..............................................19
3.6 Set MAC Address.............................................................................................19
3.7 Restart Board...................................................................................................20

4 Next Steps 21
4.1 F&S Workshops...............................................................................................21
4.2 Further Information..........................................................................................21

5 Special Hardware Notes 23

5.1 QBliss SKIT......................................................................................................23

6 Appendix 24
List of Figures................................................................................................................ 24

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps vii

 List of Tables.................................................................................................................. 24
Listings.......................................................................................................................... 24
Important Notice............................................................................................................ 25

viii F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Introduction

1 Introduction

1.1 F&S Board Families and CPU Architectures

F&S offers a whole variety of Systems on Module (SOM) and Single Board Computers
(SBC). There are different board families that are named NetDCU, PicoMOD, PicoCOM,
armStone, QBliss, efus and PicoCore (see Table 1).

Family Type Size

NetDCU Single Board Computer 80 mm x 100 mm

PicoMOD System on Module 80 mm x 50 mm

PicoCOM System on Module 40 mm x 50 mm

armStone Single Board Computer 100 mm x 72 mm (PicoITX)

QBliss System on Module 70 mm x 70 mm (Qseven)

efus System on Module 62 mm x 47 mm

PicoCore System on Module 40 mm x 35 mm

Table 1: F&S Board Families

Linux is available for all of these platforms. F&S combines releases for platforms with the
same CPU – or rather SoC (System on Chip) – as so-called architecture releases. All the
boards of the same architecture can use the same sources, and the binaries can be used on
any board of this architecture. Please note the difference: board families are grouped by
form factor, architectures are grouped by CPU type, i.e. they usually contain boards of differ-
ent families.
Table 2 shows all the architectures that are currently supported by F&S.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 1

Introduction

Architecture CPU Platforms

fsvybrid NXP Vybrid VF6xx PicoCOMA5, NetDCUA5, armStoneA5, PicoMOD1.2

fsimx6 NXP i.MX6 efusA9, efusA9r2, QBlissA9, QBlissA9r2, armStoneA9, arm-

StoneA9r2, PicoMODA9, NetDCUA9

fsimx6sx NXP i.MX6-SoloX efusA9X, PicoCOMA9X, PicoCoreMX6SX

fsimx6ul NXP i.MX6-UL/ULL efusA7UL, PicoCOM1.2, PicoCoreMX6UL, Pico-

CoreMX6UL100

fsimx7ulp NXP i.MX7ULP PicoCoreMX7ULP

fsimx8mm NXP i.MX8M-Mini PicoCoreMX8MM

fsimx8mn NXP i.MX8M-Nano PicoCoreMX8MN

fsimx8mp NXP i.MX8M-Plus PicoCoreMX8MP

Table 2: F&S Architectures

Remark
In December 2015, the two companies Freescale and NXP merged and both companies are
now working under the brand name NXP. The name Freescale will disappear in the future,
which is why we only use “NXP” throughout this document now. However some programs
still output “Freescale” at some places. We have not touched this output to reflect the situ -
ation as it is.

1.2 Scope of This Document

This document describes the fsimx6 architecture. That means all F&S boards and modules
based on the NXP i.MX6 SoC (Solo, DualLite, Dual, Quad). The steps in this document will
help you getting to know your board and do some basic operations in Linux, so that you can
try out all the periphery and do some first tests and comparisons.
The additional document LinuxOnFSBoards_eng.pdf explains the more generic ideas
and concepts of Linux on F&S boards and modules. So after having become acquainted with
the board, you should continue reading this Linux document to get a more in-depth know-
ledge of the board and software.

2 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Setting up the Board

2 Setting up the Board

In this chapter we will show how to connect the board to the PC. For a first test of the board
functions, we only need a serial connection between PC and board. So as a first step, we will
introduce all the boards and Starterkits of the fsimx6 architecture and show the location of all
connectors, especially the debug port.

2.1 Locating the Connectors on the Starterkit

2.1.1 QBlissA9/QBlissA9r2

The Starterkit includes all components that are required for an initial setup. This includes:

● Cables (ethernet, serial, power, USB, …).

● Software (source, binaries, install scripts, examples).
● Starterkit carrier board that offers connectivity for most interfaces available in
QBlissA9.
● QBlissA9 module.

Figure 1: QBliss Starterkit top

For basic operation please make sure that power and COM1 debug port are connected cor-
rectly. Additionally it is advisable to add a battery in the designated holder.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 3

Setting up the Board

Figure 2: QBliss Starterkit bottom

More detailed information about connectors available on QBlissA9 can be found in the
“Hardware documentation for QBliss Startintf”.

4 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Setting up the Board

2.1.2 armStoneA9(r3)

The Starterkit includes all components that are required for an initial setup. This includes:
● Cables (ethernet, serial, power, USB, …).
● Software (source, binaries, install scripts, examples).
● armStoneA9(r3) module.
For basic operation please make sure that the Serial Debug Port and power are connected
correctly.

Power
microSD

66 pin feature connector Ethernet

GPIO/AIN, PWM, Audio,
CAN, COM(1,2,3), I2C/SPI

Audio

HDMI connector

LCD interface

USB 1/2

USB Device

SATA
LVDS
Touch (I2C)
Display Backlight
Figure 3: armStoneA9 (top view)

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 5

Setting up the Board

2.1.3 armStoneA9r2(r4)

The Starterkit includes all components that are required for an initial setup. This includes:
● Cables (ethernet, serial, power, USB, …).
● Software (source, binaries, install scripts, examples).
● armStoneA9r2(r4) module.
For basic operation please make sure that the Serial Debug Port and power are connected
correctly.

Micro SD Card
Serial Debug Port Power Supply

Feature Connector
Ethernet

WLAN Antenna
CAN

HDMI Display

USB Host (2x)

Camera
USB Host (1x)
SATA
Display USB Device
Backlight

Touch (I2C)
Figure 4: armStoneA9r2 (top view)

6 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Setting up the Board

2.1.4 efusA9(r2)

The Starterkit includes all components that are required for an initial setup. This includes:
● Cables (Ethernet, serial, power, USB, …).
● Software (source, binaries, install scripts, examples).
● Starterkit carrier board that offers connectivity for most interfaces available in efusA9.
● efusA9 module.
For basic operation please make sure that power and Serial A debug port are connected cor-
rectly.

Audio (In/Out/Mic)
Ethernet B 2x USB Host
Micro-SD-Card
Power DVI/HDMI Ethernet A USB Device

Reset-
Button
Analog
Power Camera
SATA
Feature
Connector

CAN A Digital
RGB
Serial C
MIPI
Camera
Serial B
Digital
Camera
Serial A
Status LEDs LCD Backlight
efus Connector
Figure 5: efusA9 StarterKit top

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 7

Setting up the Board

RTC
Battery

Resistive
Touch

Capacitive
Touch (I2C)

Write-Protect Mini PCI Express

SD-Card Switch Mini PCIe
Figure 6: efusA9 StarterKit bottom

efus Connector
LVDS-Display

JTAG
Figure 7: efusA9 module

More detailed information about connectors available on efusA9 can be found in the “Hard-
ware documentation for efus Startinterface”.

8 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Setting up the Board

2.1.5 PicoMODA9

The Starterkit includes all components that are required for an initial setup. This includes:
● Cables (ethernet, serial, power, USB, …).
● Software (source, binaries, install scripts, examples).
● Starterkit carrier board that offers connectivity for most interfaces available in
PicoMODA9.
● PicoMODA9 module.
For basic operation please make sure that power and Serial Debug Port (UART_A) are con-
nected correctly.

USB Host (2x)

USB Device SD Card Ethernet

Power Supply

Display Module
Expansion Port
(UART_B, I2C,
SPI, USB, etc.) SD Card
Voltage

RTC Battery
(Coin Cell) Backlight
Power

Audio UART_A UART_C

USB Host (1x) CAN (Debug Port)
Figure 8: PicoMODA9 Starterkit, top side

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 9

Setting up the Board

Micro SD Card
LVDS Display

Figure 9: PicoMODA9 Starterkit, bottom side, with PicoMODA9 module

More detailed information about connectors available on PicoMODA9 can be found in the
“Hardware documentation for PicoMOD Startinterface”.

10 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Setting up the Board

2.1.6 NetDCUA9

The Starterkit includes all components that are required for an initial setup. This includes:
● Cables (ethernet, serial, power, USB, …).
● Software (source, binaries, install scripts, examples).
● Starterkit carrier board that offers connectivity for most interfaces available in
NetDCUA9.
● NetDCUA9 module.

For basic operation please make sure that power and Serial Debug Port are connected cor-
rectly.

Status LEDs
LVDS Display

SD Card
Touch

Figure 10: NetDCUA9

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 11

 Setting up the Board

I/O
A/D-Input
Touch
CAN_B
CAN_A
Power Supply

LCD

ETH_B
ETH_A
UART_A
UART_B
Audio
RTC Battery
(Coin Cell)
UART_C

USB Host
USB Device
Figure 11: Starterkit with NetDCU

More detailed information about connectors available on NetDCUA9 can be found in the
“Hardware documentation for NetDCU-SINTF-14”.

12 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Setting up the Board

2.2 Serial Connection

To work with the board, you need a serial connection with your PC. Use a Null-Modem cable
and connect the debug port of the board (or Starterkit baseboard) with the serial port of a
PC. Please refer to chapter 2.1 for the location of the COM ports. A serial port is mandatory
on your PC, because we control the whole board via the serial port. If your PC does not
provide a serial port, you have to either use a USB-to-serial adapter or you need to install a
PCIe extension card with a serial port.

Serial Connection

PC F&S Starterkit
Figure 12: Serial connection from board to PC

For a first test, a Linux PC is not necessarily required. You can also use a Windows PC. But
later for development, you definitely need a Linux PC. However it is completely sufficient to
have a Virtual Linux Machine. So you still can have a Windows based PC and use a Virtual
Machine (VM) software like VirtualBox. This combination allows to use software from both
worlds, for example have the serial connection done in Windows and only compile the soft-
ware in the Linux VM.
On your PC, start a terminal program and open a serial connection to the board. Use
115200 baud, 1 start, 1 stop bit, no flow control. We recommend a terminal program that
supports a 1:1 binary download and also supports ANSI Escape Sequences for colour and
text highlighting. Examples are:

● TeraTerm (Windows)
● PuTTY (Windows/Linux, does not support 1:1 download)
● minicom (Linux, does not support 1:1 download, but not needed in Linux)

F&S also provides a small terminal program for Windows called DCUTerm. You can find
DCUTerm in the Tools-Section of the Download Area (in My F&S). However DCUTerm does
not support ANSI Escape Sequences, which means the output of a Linux command like ls
is nearly unreadable. Instead of different colours for different file types, you will see a mixture
of file names and verbatim escape sequences. Also accessing the command history with the
up and down arrow keys is not possible in DCUTerm. So DCUTerm is not suited very well for
Linux. However it supports a 1:1 binary download. So DCUTerm is actually a good compan-
ion for PuTTY. Use DCUTerm for serial downloads and PuTTY for everything else.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 13

Setting up the Board

2.3 Start Board

Connect a power supply to the board. Please refer to chapter 2.1 for the location of the
power supply pins. You need to supply +5V.
Now switch on the power supply. Quite immediately the terminal program should show boot
messages from the booting Linux system. This will go on for a few seconds and then a login
prompt should appear.
Welcome to F+S i.MX6
fsimx6 login:
Enter root to log in. In the default configuration, no password is required.
If everything went well, you can skip the next chapter and proceed with entering Linux com-
mands.

14 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Software Installation

3 Software Installation
When you get a Starterkit from F&S, the Linux system is usually pre-installed and boots to
the Linux login prompt right away. In this case you can skip this chapter. But if you are
switching over from a different operating system, if you are upgrading from a previous re-
lease, or if your board is empty for some other reason, the following sections describe how
to install some standard software on your platform.
Here we will only show a very simple automatic installation procedure using an SD card or
USB stick and some pre-compiled images from the F&S website. This is the easiest way to
get to a running system. Of course, there are other ways to install software, for example via
network (TFTP). However, this would go beyond the scope of this document.

3.1 Download Images From F&S Website

To download any software, go to the F&S main website
https://www.fs-net.de

Figure 13: Register with F&S website

To download any software, you first have to register with the website. Click on Login right at
the top of the window and on the text “I am not registered, yet. Register now” (13).
In the screen appearing now, fill in all fields and then click on Register. You are now re-
gistered and can use the personal features of the website, like the Support Forum and down-
loading software.
After logging in, you are at your personal page, called “My F&S”. You can always reach this
place by selecting Support → My F&S from the top menu. Here you can find all software
downloads that are available for you. In the top sections there are private downloads for you
or your company (may be empty) and in the bottom section you will find generic downloads
for all registered customers.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 15

Software Installation

Figure 14: Unlock software with the serial number

To get access to the software of a specific board in the bottom section, you have to enter the
serial number of one of these boards (see 14). Click on “Where can I find the serial number”
to get pictures of examples where to find this number on your product. Enter the number in
the white field and press Submit serial number. This enables the software section for this
board type for you. You will find Linux, Windows CE, and all other software and tools avail-
able for this platform like DCUTerm or NetDCUUsbLoader.
First click on the type of your board, e.g. armStoneA9, then on Linux. Now you have the
choice of Buildroot or Yocto. For the first steps here, we will use the newest Buildroot re-
lease, because this is the software that is also installed on our Starterkits. So click on Build-
root. This will bring up a list of all our Buildroot releases. Old releases up to 2018 had
V<x>.<y> as version identifier, new releases use B<year>.<month>. We will abbreviate
this as <v> from now on. Select the newest version, for example fsimx6-B2019.07. This will
finally show two archives that can be downloaded.
fsimx6-<v>.tar.bz2................This is the main release itself containing all sources, the
binary images, the documentation and the toolchain.
sdcard-fsimx6-<v>.tar.bz2 Files that can be stored on an SD Card or USB stick to al-
low for easy installation.
For now we will only need the SD card archive. This archive contains some pre-compiled im-
ages of bootloaders, Linux kernel, device trees and root filesystem. It is compressed with
bzip2. To see the files, you first have to unpack the archive, for example in Linux with
tar xvf sdcard-fsimx6-<v>.tar.bz2

This will create a directory sdcard that contains all necessary files. Now copy these files to
an SD card or USB stick. We will call this the installation media. It has to be formatted with
the FAT filesystem. Do not create any subdirectories, the files have to reside directly in the
top directory of the media.

16 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Software Installation

3.2 Enter NBoot

NBoot is a small first-level bootloader that is running before the main bootloader. It is the
same for Linux and Windows CE and always remains on the board, even if the whole flash
memory is erased. As long as NBoot is available on the board, it is always possible to bring
up the whole system again without the need for any special hardware or software tools.

Normally, NBoot is completely invisible and just loads and starts the main bootloader. Then
the first output on the serial port is from the main bootloader itself. But now we will use
NBoot to erase any old content and download the correct U-Boot image. This means we
have to stop the boot process right at the beginning and enter NBoot.

This requires the serial setup as explained in Chapter 2.2. And we need a 1:1 download op-
tion, which means PuTTY is not suited for this. So use one of the other terminal programs.
Open the serial connection, then press and hold key s (lower case S). While holding this key,
switch on power of the board (or press the reset button). This should bring you into NBoot.
You should see something like this (output is taken from armStoneA9, the real messages
may vary slightly depending on the software version):

F&S Nand Loader VN29 built Jul 16 2016 16:17:44

armStoneA9 Rev. 1.10
...
Please select action
'd' -> Serial download of bootloader
'E' -> Erase flash
'B' -> Show bad blocks
Use NetDCUUsbLoader for USB download

3.3 Erase Flash

To erase any old content, simply press E (upper-case e). This removes everything that was
on the board before. Don't be afraid, this won't erase NBoot itself.

3.4 Download and Save U-Boot

Unfortunately NBoot for fsimx6 is not capable of accessing files on an SD card or USB stick.
Which means you have to download the U-Boot image via the serial line. This is the part
where the 1:1 download comes in. While still in NBoot, press d (lower-case D). This will
show some message similar to this:
Waiting for bootloader...
Now the steps are different, depending on the terminal program that you use.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 17

Software Installation

● In DCUTerm, go to File → Transmit Binary File... and open the file ubotmx6.nb0
from the sdcard directory. This starts the serial download.
● In TeraTerm, go to File → Send File... and activate the Binary option checkbox. This
is important! Then open the file ubotmx6.nb0 from the sdcard directory. This starts
the serial download.
● In Linux, you can copy the U-Boot image ubotmx6.nb0 from the sdcard subdir-
ectoy directly to the serial port device. This is possible even if the terminal program
does not support a 1:1 download function. For example if /dev/ttyS0 is your serial
port, just use a separate shell and enter:
dd if=ubotmx6.nb0 of=/dev/ttyS0.
Just note that you must not enter any characters in the terminal program while down-
load is in progress. The character would also be sent to the serial port and would be
inserted at an arbitrary position in the sequence of bytes. This would shift the remain-
ing file content and would result in a damaged and unusable download.

Note
After pressing d, you have exactly 60 seconds to start the download. Then the download
command times out and the menu is shown again. This means if you start to send the file
too late, every byte of the file is interpreted as an own NBoot command, which is definitely
not what you want.

During download, progress is shown by an increasing number of dots and the number of
transmitted bytes from time to time.
................................................................ 65536 Bytes
................................................................ 131072 Bytes
................................................................ 196608 Bytes
................................................................ 262144 Bytes
................................................................ 327680 Bytes
................................................................ 393216 Bytes
................................................................ 458752 Bytes
................................................................ 524288 Bytes
Success, checksum: 0xaa7d

>>> U-Boot image loaded (524288 bytes) <<<

Please select action
'f' -> Save image to flash
'x' -> Execute image
'd' -> Serial download of bootloader
'E' -> Erase flash
'B' -> Show bad blocks
Use NetDCUUsbLoader for USB download

When download is complete, you see the menu again, which now has additional entries.
Save U-Boot by pressing f (lower case F). This should show
Saving U-Boot...Success

18 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Software Installation

3.5 Install Kernel, Device Tree And Root Filesystem

Now insert the installation device into the board or Starterkit baseboard. The remaining in-
stallation is fully automatic and is done by U-Boot. As U-Boot is still available in RAM from
the previous step, you can directly start it by pressing x (lower-case X). This will show some-
thing like this:
U-Boot 2018.03 (Mar 22 2019 - 18:57:38) for F&S
CPU: Freescale i.MX6SOLO rev1.2 at 792 MHz
Reset: POR
Board: armStoneA9 Rev 1.10 (4x DRAM, 1x LAN, 1x CAN)
DRAM: 1 GiB
NAND: 128 MiB
MMC: FSL_SDHC: 0
In: serial
Out: serial
Err: serial
Net: FEC [PRIME]
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 3
The number in the last line will count down to zero, then the installation procedure will start.
The files are loaded from the installation media and are stored in NAND flash on the board.
When the installation is over, you will see the following line
Installation complete
Please set/verify ethernet address(es) now and call saveenv

3.6 Set MAC Address

When we erased the flash content in Chapter 3.3, we also erased the U-Boot environment
including the MAC address for the ethernet chip. We have to set it again now and save it
permanently.
The MAC address is a unique identifier for a network device. Each network device has its
own address that should be unique across the whole world. So each network port on each
board needs a unique MAC address.
A MAC address consists of twelve hexadecimal digits (0 to 9 and A to F), that
are often grouped in pairs and separated by colons. The first six digits for
F&S boards are always the same: 00:05:51, which is the official MAC ad-
dress code for the F&S company. The remaining six digits can be found on
the bar-code sticker directly on your board (see 15).
The full MAC address for this example would be 00:05:51:07:93:4B.
Figure 15: Bar-
The following two commands will set the MAC address and stores the cur- code sticker
rent environment (including the newly set MAC address) in NAND flash. Of
course you have to replace xx:yy:zz with the six hex digits from the bar-code sticker on
your board.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 19

Software Installation

setenv ethaddr 00:05:51:xx:yy:zz

saveenv

Warning
If you do not set this unique address, a default address is used that is the same for all
boards of this type. This will definitely lead to problems in real networking scenarios.

3.7 Restart Board

Installation is complete. To check if everything was done correctly, restart the board. You can
either enter U-Boot command
reset
or press the reset button or simply switch the power off and on again. Like in chapter 2.3, the
terminal program should show boot messages from the booting Linux system. This will go on
for a few seconds and then a login prompt should appear.
Welcome to F+S i.MX6
fsimx6 login:
Enter root to log in. In the default configuration, no password is required.
If this is still not working, you should repeat the steps from the whole chapter.

20 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Next Steps

4 Next Steps
This document only showed a very basic usage of the board and the Linux system. The next
logical step is the generic Linux documentation LinuxOnFSBoards_eng.pdf. It will show
you the ideas and concepts behind the F&S Linux environment and how you can work effi-
ciently with these boards.

4.1 F&S Workshops

F&S also offers several workshops. Especially if you are new to working with embedded
boards or even new to Linux, we recommend visiting the workshop “Linux on F&S Modules”.
Working with an embedded system is quite different to working with a desktop Linux. This
workshop will show you a basic introduction to Linux, how to use NBoot, U-Boot and Linux
on an F&S board, how to compile the system software, how to download files to the board,
and how to write your own programs. The workshop lasts four hours and takes place in
Stuttgart at the F&S company building. It may save you many hours of reading, trying, and
even frustration.
Additional workshops are available for working with Buildroot, Asymmetric Multiprocessing,
Secure Boot, Working with GIT. Please look at our website for any additional offerings.

4.2 Further Information

Many additional resources of information are available on the F&S website.

Document Description

AdvicesForLinuxOnPC.pdf Explains how to install server software and

tools on a Linux development PC that is used
with F&S Linux boards.

*-GPIO-Reference-Card_eng.pdf Lists all pins of the board and which GPIO

number needs to be used in Linux

*_Hardware_eng Hardware documentation; there are separate

documents for each board and also for the
Starterkit baseboards. F&S also offers Eagle
layout files for some of our Starterkits.

Table 3: Important documents, available on the F&S website

We do not include all these documents in the release to make sure that you always get the
newest version when you start. The following sections give direct links to important places
like documentation and add-ons.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 21

Next Steps

A good source for information is also our internet forum. If you have any questions or specific
problems, please feel free to go to: https://forum.fs-net.de/.

Hardware documentation for the modulse itself, Starterkit baseboard, including schematics,
available accessories, adapters and extensions can be found at:
https://www.fs-net.de

22 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Special Hardware Notes

5 Special Hardware Notes

This chapter lists some supplementary notes that only apply to special hardware configura-
tions based on fsimx6.

5.1 QBliss SKIT

The F&S Qseven boards QBlissA9 and QBlissA9r2 have Gigabit ethernet. Therefore the
software is also configured for Gigabit Ethernet. However the QBliss SKIT baseboard is not
capable of Gigabit Ethernet. This means that it may take some while until the Ethernet auto-
negotiation detects that it can not use a Gigabit connection. which in turn may result in
timeouts when booting over network. In this case you can either connect the board to a
100 Mbit/s Ethernet switch or add a command to the boot sequence in U-Boot that disables
Gigabit auto-negotiation.
setenv preboot mdio write FEC 9 0
saveenv
In the same manner you may need to limit the link speed in Linux. This can be done by
adding the line
max-speed = <100>;
to the ethphy0 node of the device tree (qblissa9qdl.dtsi or qblissa9r2qdl.dtsi
respectively).
Please note that all this is no problem at all if your final baseboard is compatible to Gigabit
Ethernet.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 23

Appendix

6 Appendix

List of Figures
Figure 1: QBliss Starterkit top.................................................................................................3
Figure 2: QBliss Starterkit bottom...........................................................................................4
Figure 3: armStoneA9 (top view).............................................................................................5
Figure 4: armStoneA9r2 (top view).........................................................................................6
Figure 5: efusA9 StarterKit top................................................................................................7
Figure 6: efusA9 StarterKit bottom..........................................................................................8
Figure 7: efusA9 module.........................................................................................................8
Figure 8: efusA9r2 module......................................................................................................9
Figure 9: PicoMODA9 Starterkit, top side.............................................................................10
Figure 10: PicoMODA9 Starterkit, bottom side, with PicoMODA9 module............................11
Figure 11: NetDCUA9............................................................................................................ 12
Figure 12: Starterkit with NetDCU.........................................................................................13
Figure 13: Serial connection from board to PC.....................................................................14
Figure 14: Register with F&S website...................................................................................16
Figure 15: Unlock software with the serial number................................................................17
Figure 16: Bar-code sticker...................................................................................................20

List of Tables
Table 1: F&S Board Families...................................................................................................1
Table 2: F&S Architectures......................................................................................................2
Table 3: VPU based GStreamer plugins................................................................................25
Table 4: Important documents, available on the F&S website...............................................32

Listings

24 F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps

 Appendix

Important Notice
The information in this publication has been carefully checked and is believed to be entirely
accurate at the time of publication. F&S Elektronik Systeme assumes no responsibility, how-
ever, for possible errors or omissions, or for any consequences resulting from the use of the
information contained in this documentation.
F&S Elektronik Systeme reserves the right to make changes in its products or product spe-
cifications or product documentation with the intent to improve function or design at any time
and without notice and is not required to update this documentation to reflect such changes.
F&S Elektronik Systeme makes no warranty or guarantee regarding the suitability of its
products for any particular purpose, nor does F&S Elektronik Systeme assume any liability
arising out of the documentation or use of any product and specifically disclaims any and all
liability, including without limitation any consequential or incidental damages.
Products are not designed, intended, or authorised for use as components in systems inten-
ded for applications intended to support or sustain life, or for any other application in which
the failure of the product from F&S Elektronik Systeme could create a situation where per-
sonal injury or death may occur. Should the Buyer purchase or use a F&S Elektronik
Systeme product for any such unintended or unauthorised application, the Buyer shall in-
demnify and hold F&S Elektronik Systeme and its officers, employees, subsidiaries, affili-
ates, and distributors harmless against all claims, costs, damages, expenses, and reason-
able attorney fees arising out of, either directly or indirectly, any claim of personal injury or
death that may be associated with such unintended or unauthorised use, even if such claim
alleges that F&S Elektronik Systeme was negligent regarding the design or manufacture of
said product.

F&S i.MX6 Linux First Steps 25