Installing PetaLinux SDK
We will follow the procedure described in the document PetaLinux SDK Installation Guide.
Downloading the software
As promised I received three emails from PetaLogix with download links for the following items:
- The license file
- PetaLinux SDK
- BSP file for Avnet Spartan-6 LX9 MicroBoard
Here are the files after downloading.
Extract the PetaLinux package
Move the tar file to the installation directory.
--> cd /opt/home/svan/PetaLinux
--> mv ../Downloads/PetaLinux/petalinux-v2.1-final-full.tar.gz .
Extract the compressed PetaLinux package by running the following command:
-> tar zxf petalinux-v2.1-final-full.tar.gz
Install license file
Copy the license file (PetaLogix.lic) to the directory: $HOME/.PetaLogix
Setup PetaLinux working environment
Goto to the PetaLinux root directory:
--> cd $HOME/PetaLinux/petalinux-v2.1-final-full
Source the PetaLinux setup script to complete the installation and accept the license agreements:
--> source settings.sh
Missing packages
In Debian 6.03 the following packages were missing and had to be installed:
- libghz6-zlib-dev
- lib32ncurses5-dev
- dos2unix
Verify the environment
PetaLinux BSP installation procedure
PetaLinux includes reference designs for us to to start working with and customise for our own projects. These are provided in the form of installable BSP (Board Support Package) files, and include all necessary design and configuration files, including pre- built and tested hardware and software images, ready for download to our board or for booting in the QEMU system simulation environment.
Goto to the PetaLinux root directory:
--> cd $HOME/PetaLinux/petalinux-v2.1-final-full
Run the following script:
--> petalinux-install-bsp ../BSP/Avnet-LX9-Microboard-v2.1-final.bsp
Here is the final result:
Congratulations! We have completed the PetaLinux SDK installation.
Getting started with PetaLinux SDK
We will follow the procedures in the document Getting Started with PetaLinux SDK.
Test a pre-built PetaLinux image on hardware
PetaLinux BSPs include pre-built FPGA bitstreams for each reference design, allowing us to quickly boot PetaLinux on our hardware. Here are the steps to test a pre-built PetaLinux image with hardware:
- Choose the correct board for the reference design (Avnet-LX9-Microboard-MMU-tiny-13.1)
- Connect the JTAG port on the board with JTAG cable to our workstation.
- Connect the UART USB port to our workstation
- Connect the ethernet port on the board to the local network via a network switch
- Open a console (GTKterm) on our workstation with the baud rate set to 115200
- Source the Xilinx settings file
- Source the PetaLinux settings file
- Run the petalinux-boot-prebuilt command
Be patient, it can take more than five minutes to complete. Wait until we see the shell prompt again on the command console.
MicroBoard console display
If everything works we will first see the following display on the console:
And then this one.
Logging in
Type user name root and password root to log into the PetaLinux system.
Directory structure
This is what the first directory layer looks like.
/tmp is a writable temporary file system where we can create and edit files.
The /dev contains entries for various devices in the system. /dev/console is the main console. We can try to copy a file to /dev/console to see what happens. The file content will be displayed on the console screen.
Some useful commands
The file /proc/cpuinfo contains details about the CPU.
--> cat /proc/cpuinfo
The file /proc/interrupts gives interrupt information.
--> cat /proc/interrupts
Accessing the web server
Open a web browser and type http://192.168.1.120
Use this command to find the IP address: ifconfig
Here is the web browser display. We are connected to the web server running on our MicroBoard. Magical!
Using the web server
The web server is not there only for fun. It can be used to control and administrate the embedded system from a standard web browser. Here are some examples:
It can be used for upgrading the firmware in the system.
It can be used for displaying the system log.
The web server is built using a tool from WorkWare Systems called µWeb.
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