Difference between revisions of "Category:How to - verdex"

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An experimental version of the OpenEmbedded (OE) repository is available for the Verdex.  This repository brings a more recent Linux kernel (2.6.31) to Verdex compared with those available in the older Subversion (SVN) repository.  As well, the most recent code from the OE repository is now available for Verdex-Pro COMs and the building process reflects that used on the Overo boards.
 
  
'''Disclaimers''':
 
# This repository is unstable and the kernel may be missing features--use at your own risk.
 
# U-boot has not yet been updated and the default kernels are larger than 1MB so flashing them to memory won't work.  You'll need to run off a microSD card.
 
 
==The Straight Dope==
 
Follow the basic instructions for setting up an [http://www.gumstix.net/Setup-and-Programming/view/Overo-Setup-and-Programming/Setting-up-a-build-environment/111.html OE repository for Overo] but replace this instruction:
 
$ git checkout --track -b overo origin/overo
 
$ git checkout --track -b verdex origin/verdex
 
 
Your repository will now be tracking the Verdex branch of the Gumstix OE Git repository.
 
Your machine type should be <tt>gumstix-verdex</tt> set in ''build/conf/auto.conf''
 
 
Four images are available:
 
* verdex-console-image
 
* verdex-palmtop-image
 
* verdex-desktop-image
 
* verdex-gnome-image
 
 
==Step by Step==
 
These instructions assume you are using a recent release of Ubuntu on which your have 'sudo' permissions.  For information about installing OpenEmbedded on other distributions, see [http://wiki.openembedded.net/index.php/OEandYourDistro here].
 
 
# Configure your system and get required and recommended software packages.
 
sudo apt-get update
 
sudo apt-get install -y git-core subversion build-essential help2man diffstat texi2html texinfo libncurses5-dev cvs gawk python-dev python-pysqlite2 unzip python-psyco
 
sudo ln -sf bash /bin/sh
 
sudo sh -c 'echo -e "vm.vdso_enabled=0\nvm.mmap_min_addr=0" >> /etc/sysctl.conf'
 
sudo sysctl -p
 
# Download the Verdex repository and the bitbake tool into a ''verdex-oe'' directory in your home folder.
 
mkdir -p ~/overo-oe
 
cd ~/verdex-oe
 
git clone git://gitorious.org/gumstix-oe/mainline.git org.openembedded.dev
 
cd org.openembedded.dev
 
git checkout --track -b verdex origin/verdex
 
cd ~/verdex-oe
 
git clone git://git.openembedded.net/bitbake bitbake
 
cd bitbake
 
git checkout 1.8.18
 
cd ~/verdex-oe
 
cp -r org.openembedded.dev/contrib/gumstix/build .
 
# Set up the environment variables.  You can do this manually each time you open a terminal:
 
$ source ~/verdex-oe/build/profile
 
Or set your .bashrc to load them automatically every time you open a console.
 
# cat ~/verdex-oe/build/profile >> ~/.bash_profile
 
 
#(Optional) Some tweaks...
 
## If you are building on a multi-core machine, uncomment the <tt>PARALLEL_MAKE</tt> and <tt>BB_NUMBER_THREADS</tt> variables in the ''~/verdex-oe/build/conf/site.conf'' file.  Some people recommend setting these variables to <tt>n-1</tt> where <tt>n</tt> is the number of threads contexts or cores you have.
 
## Get rid of a warning about a missing user.collection directory.  Either make a user.collections/recipes directory
 
$ mkdir -p ~/verdex-oe/user.collection/recipes
 
Or, untar the Open Embedded 'helloworld' tutorial [http://TODO code package] which may be useful if you want to learn more about OE.  See [http://docs.openembedded.org/usermanual/usermanual.html#recipes_helloworld_example this page] for more details.
 
$ tar -xzf helloworld.tar.gz -C ~/verdex-oe
 
## Create a symbolic link into the directory where the verdex images will be built for easy access.
 
$ ln -sf ~/verdex-oe/tmp/ ~/verdex-oe/images
 
## If you have already downloaded much of the required source code for OE (i.e. you use OpenEmbedded already for another machine like Overo or via the older SVN repository), point bitbake to your old sources directory by editing the <tt>DL_DIR</tt> in the ''~/verdex-oe/build/conf/site.conf''
 
# Now you are set to build a new kernel and root file system. Note, this step may take up to 6 hours depending on your internet connection and your machine.
 
$ bitbake -k verdex-console-image
 
# Create a microSD card with a small (20MB) FAT partition and an Ext3 partition large enough to hold your untarred root file system.
 
# Copy your kernel to the VFAT partition of the microSD and untar your rootfs to the Ext3 partition.  We've assumed that the FAT partition is mounted at ''/media/card_fat'' and the Ext3 partition is mounted at ''/media/card_ext'' however run <tt>mount</tt> to check where they are mounted on your system.
 
$ sudo cp ~/verdex-oe
 
* Boot your Verdex!
 
 
==Future Plans==
 
Once this repository has become more stable, it will supersede the older SVN repository as the main source of code for the Verdex COMs.  This should include updated kernels and U-Boot as well as updated OE code pulled from (and eventually merged into) the Overo branch. Documentation will be refined based on this wiki page.
 
 
==Problems? Improvements?==
 
* bug reports and, better yet, bug fixes are always welcome.  Send mail to the Gumstix users mailing list and copy Ash (ash (at) gumstix (dot) com).
 
* make changes to this wiki page to highlight known issues and suggest improvements
 

Latest revision as of 14:53, 2 March 2010

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