doc: put all the u-boot/serial stuff in one place to link from

pull/2/head
Daniel Barlow 2023-11-12 16:55:15 +00:00
parent 7cfb92e3ce
commit 262efaabe6
13 changed files with 100 additions and 72 deletions

2
ci.nix
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@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ let
src = ./.;
buildPhase = ''
cat ${json} | fennel --correlate doc/parse-options.fnl > doc/modules-generated.rst
cat ${json} | fennel --correlate doc/parse-options-outputs.fnl ${concatStringsSep " " installers} > doc/installers-generated.rst
cat ${json} | fennel --correlate doc/parse-options-outputs.fnl > doc/outputs-generated.rst
cp ${(import ./doc/hardware.nix)} doc/hardware.rst
make -C doc html
'';

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@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
rec {
{
description = ''
Belkin RT-3200 / Linksys E8450
******************************
@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ rec {
- b/g/n wireless using MediaTek MT7622BV (MT7615E driver)
- a/n/ac/ax wireless using MediaTek MT7915E
'';
installer = "ubimage";
system = {
crossSystem = {
@ -161,7 +160,7 @@ rec {
maxLEBcount = "1024"; # guessing
};
defaultOutput = installer;
defaultOutput = "ubimage";
# the kernel expects this to be on a 2MB boundary. U-Boot
# (I don't know why) has a default of 0x41080000, which isn't.
# We put it at the 32MB mark so that tftpboot can put its rootfs

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@ -1,11 +1,3 @@
# I like GL.iNet devices because they're relatively accessible to
# DIY users: the serial port connections have headers preinstalled
# and don't need soldering
# Mainline linux 5.19 doesn't have device-tree support for this device
# or even for the SoC, so we use the extensive OpenWrt kernel patches
rec {
system = {
crossSystem = {

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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
# GL.iNet GL-MT300A
rec {
{
system = {
crossSystem = {
config = "mipsel-unknown-linux-musl";
@ -13,34 +13,11 @@ rec {
description = ''
GL.iNet GL-MT300A
********************
*****************
The GL-MT300A is based on a MT7620 chipset.
The GL.iNet pocket router range makes nice cheap hardware for
playing with Liminix or similar projects. The manufacturers seem
open to the DIY market, and the devices have a reasonable amount
of RAM and are much easier to get serial connections than many
COTS routers.
Wire up the serial connection: this probably involves opening
the box, locating the serial header pins (TX, RX and GND) and
connecting a USB TTL converter - e.g. a PL2303 based device - to
it. The defunct OpenWRT wiki has a guide with some pictures. (If
you don't have a USB TTL converter to hand, other options are
available. For example, use the GPIO pins on a Raspberry Pi.)
Run a terminal emulator such as Minicom on whatever is on the
other end of the link. I use 115200 8N1 and find it also helps
to set "Line tx delay" to 1ms, "backspace sends DEL" and
"lineWrap on".
When you turn the router on you should be greeted with some
messages from U-Boot and a little bit of ASCII art, followed by
the instruction to hit SPACE to stop autoboot. Do this and you
will get a gl-mt300a> prompt.
For flashing from uboot, the firmware partition is from
For flashing from U-Boot, the firmware partition is from
0xbc050000 to 0xbcfd0000.
WiFi on this device is provided by the rt2800soc module. It
@ -54,7 +31,6 @@ rec {
OpenWrt web page: https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt300a
'';
installer = "flashimage";
module = { pkgs, config, lib, ...}:
let
@ -67,7 +43,7 @@ rec {
in {
imports = [ ../../modules/arch/mipsel.nix ];
hardware = {
defaultOutput = installer;
defaultOutput = "flashimage";
loadAddress = "0x80000000";
entryPoint = "0x80000000";

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@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
rec {
{
system = {
crossSystem = {
config = "mipsel-unknown-linux-musl";
@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ rec {
OpenWrt web page: https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt300n_v2
'';
installer = "flashimage";
module = { pkgs, config, lib, ...}:
let
@ -50,7 +49,7 @@ rec {
};
};
hardware = {
defaultOutput = installer;
defaultOutput = "flashimage";
loadAddress = "0x80000000";
entryPoint = "0x80000000";

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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
# emulator. The default output is a directory containing separate
# kernel ("Image" format) and root filesystem (squashfs or jffs2)
# images
rec {
{
system = {
crossSystem = {
config = "aarch64-unknown-linux-musl";
@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ rec {
klibBuild = config.system.outputs.kernel.modulesupport;
};
in {
defaultOutput = installer;
defaultOutput = "vmroot";
loadAddress = "0x0";
entryPoint = "0x0";
rootDevice = "/dev/mtdblock0";

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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
# emulator. The default output is a directory containing separate
# kernel ("Image" format) and root filesystem (squashfs or jffs2)
# images
rec {
{
system = {
crossSystem = {
config = "armv7l-unknown-linux-musleabihf";
@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ rec {
klibBuild = config.system.outputs.kernel.modulesupport;
};
in {
defaultOutput = installer;
defaultOutput = "vmroot";
loadAddress = "0x00010000";
entryPoint = "0x00010000";
rootDevice = "/dev/mtdblock0";

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@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
rec {
# This "device" generates images that can be used with the QEMU
# emulator. The default output is a directory containing separate
# kernel (uncompressed vmlinux) and initrd (squashfs) images
{
system = {
crossSystem = {
config = "mips-unknown-linux-musl";
@ -33,8 +36,6 @@ rec {
in the Development manual.
'';
installer = "vmroot";
module = {pkgs, config, ... }: {
imports = [ ../../modules/arch/mipseb.nix ];
kernel = {
@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ rec {
klibBuild = config.system.outputs.kernel.modulesupport;
};
in {
defaultOutput = installer;
defaultOutput = "vmroot";
rootDevice = "/dev/mtdblock0";
flash.eraseBlockSize = "65536"; # c.f. pkgs/run-liminix-vm/run-liminix-vm.sh
networkInterfaces =

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@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ If you are prepared to open the device and have a TTL serial adaptor
of some kind to connect it to, you can probably use U-Boot and a TFTP
server to download and flash the image. This is quite
hardware-specific, and sometimes involves soldering: please refer
to the :ref:`development manual <tftp server>`.
to :ref:`serial`.
Flashing from OpenWrt

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@ -88,6 +88,68 @@ time with configurations for RP-PPPoE and/or Accel PPP.`
Hardware devices
****************
.. _serial:
U-Boot and serial shenanigans
=============================
Every device that we have so far encountered in Liminix uses `U-Boot,
the "Universal Boot Loader" <https://docs.u-boot.org/en/latest/>`_ so
it's worth knowing a bit about it. "Universal" is in this context a
bit of a misnomer, though: encountering *mainline* U-Boot is very rare
and often you'll find it is a fork from some version last updated
in 2008. Upgrading U-Boot is more or less complicated depending on the
device and is outside scope for Liminix.
To speak to U-Boot on your device you'll usually need a serial
connection to it. This is device-specific. Usually it involves
opening the box, locating the serial header pins (TX, RX and GND) and
connecting a USB TTL converter to them.
The Rolls Royce of USB/UART cables is the `FTDI cable
<https://cpc.farnell.com/ftdi/ttl-232r-rpi/cable-debug-ttl-232-usb-rpi/dp/SC12825?st=usb%20to%20uart%20cable>`_,
but there are cheaper alternatives based on the PL2303 and CP2102 chipsets. Or
get creative and use the `UART GPIO pins <https://pinout.xyz/>`_ on a Raspberry Pi. Whatever you do, make sure
that the voltages are compatible: if your device is 3.3V (this is
typical but not universal), you don't want to be sending it 5v or
(even worse) 12v.
Run a terminal emulator such as Minicom on the computer at other end
of the link. 115200 8N1 is the typical speed.
.. NOTE::
TTL serial connections typically have no form of flow control and
so don't always like having massive chunks of text pasted into
them - and U-Boot may drop characters while it's busy. So don't
necessarily expect to copy-paste large chunks of text into the
terminal emulator and have it work just like that.
If using Minicom, you may find it helps to bring up the "Termimal
settings" dialog (C^A T), then configure "Newline tx delay" to
some small but non-zero value.
When you turn the router on you should be greeted with some messages
from U-Boot, followed by the instruction to hit some key to stop
autoboot. Do this and you will get to the prompt. If you didn't see
anything, the strong likelihood is that TX and RX are the wrong way
around. If you see garbage, try a different speed.
Interesting commands to try first in U-Boot are :command:`help` and
:command:`printenv`.
To do anything useful with U-Boot you will probably need a way to get
large binary files onto the device, and the usual way to do this is by
adding a network connection and using TFTP to download them. It's
quite common that the device's U-Boot doesn't speak DHCP so it will
need a static LAN address. You might also want to keep it away from
your "real" LAN: see :ref:`bng` for some potentially useful tooling
to use it on an isolated network.
TFTP
====
.. _tftp server:
How you get your image onto hardware will vary according to the
@ -151,6 +213,8 @@ U-Boot to transfer the kernel and filesystem over TFTP and boot the
kernel from RAM.
.. _bng:
Networking
==========

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@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
Installers
##########
There are a number of different routes to getting
Liminix onto devices, and which one you should use
(or are able to use) varies according to the device.
.. include:: installers-generated.rst

13
doc/outputs.rst Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
Outputs
#######
Liminix *outputs* are artefacts that can be installed or run somehow
on a target device, or "installers" which run on a target device
to perform the installation.
There are different outputs because different target devices need
different artefacts or have different ways to get that artefact
installed. The options available for a particular device are described in
the section for that device.
.. include:: outputs-generated.rst

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@ -137,20 +137,12 @@ unbrick if necessary.
work here, but you accept the slightly greater bricking
risk if it doesn't.
You may want to acquire a `USB TTL serial cable
<https://cpc.farnell.com/ftdi/ttl-232r-rpi/cable-debug-ttl-232-usb-rpi/dp/SC12825?st=usb%20to%20uart%20cable>`_
when you start working with Liminix on real hardware. You
won't *need* it for this example, assuming it works, but it
You may want to read and inwardly digest the Develoment Manual section
:ref:`serial` when you start working with Liminix on real hardware. You
won't *need* serial access for this example, assuming it works, but it
allows you
to see the boot monitor and kernel messages, and to login directly to
the device if for some reason it doesn't bring its network up. You have options
here: the FTDI-based cables are the Rolls Royce of serial cables,
whereas the ones based on PL2303 and CP2102 chipsets are cheaper but
also fussier - or you could even get creative and use e.g. a
`Raspberry Pi <https://pinout.xyz/#>`_ or other SBC with a UART and
TX/RX/GND header pins. Make sure that the voltages are compatible:
this is a 3.3v device and you don't want to be sending it 5v or (even
worse) 12v.
the device if for some reason it doesn't bring its network up.
Now we can build Liminix. Although we could use the same example
configuration as we did for Qemu, you might not want to plug a DHCP