**** BEGIN LOGGING AT Thu Aug 09 03:00:00 2018 Aug 09 07:47:29 gm Aug 09 07:49:44 good moaning! Aug 09 07:54:27 that hot? Aug 09 09:40:55 luckily temperatures have dropped to mid twenties Aug 09 09:41:30 related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNVU5ZjlgA Aug 09 09:58:28 amazing how much time one can sink into such stuff Aug 09 10:43:33 i would like to build my own image for bbb from scratch. is there a framework to achieve this? i know yocto provides bbb repo..? Aug 09 10:44:37 microdevel: there are /many/ ways to build an image. depends on what you want. Aug 09 10:46:14 i want to build a small image with busybox and samba support. nothing fancy Aug 09 10:46:37 that rules out debian and ubuntu Aug 09 10:47:39 so you're looking at the classic embedded toolboxes: Buildroot, Yocto+OpenEmbedded, … Aug 09 10:48:34 how could you configure and build a debian image? is there a repo? Aug 09 10:54:20 I'd also rule out yocto ;) Aug 09 10:54:20 I thought you wanted busybox and not glibc? Aug 09 10:54:38 anyway, here are instructions https://eewiki.net/display/linuxonarm/BeagleBone+Black Aug 09 10:57:49 tbr: that is surprisingly complete Aug 09 10:58:19 thinkfat: well, it's RCN's thing and essentially explains his well honed process Aug 09 10:58:55 how minimal is the debian9-minimal rootfs? do you know the footprint? Aug 09 11:01:29 thinkfat, why would you rule out yocto? Aug 09 11:01:42 ok thanks tbr ill check the info in the wiki Aug 09 11:01:49 microdevel: because my definition of "minimal" is different, I think Aug 09 11:03:10 thinkfat: https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/eewiki/minfs/ - looks like 60-90M compressed - far from "fits in SPI-flash" or such :) Aug 09 11:03:39 tbr: Oh, ok Aug 09 11:03:53 there is a "barefs" folder with 17M, not sure what that is Aug 09 11:04:06 tbr: "minimal" is something like, busybox and nothing else Aug 09 11:04:49 thinkfat: something that fits into an initrd of an AV500 :) Aug 09 11:05:10 tbr: oh ye olde tymes Aug 09 11:05:55 https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2018-08-07/stretch-console/ - looks like the bb.org console images come in at 100M and partition layout is for 1G Aug 09 11:06:43 and yes, thyme flies. especially the dried one if its windy Aug 09 11:06:52 when i look at the wiki, there's no way to configure rootfs. so i guess there's no easy approach for including /excluding packages ? Aug 09 11:08:52 well, debian really isn't an embedded distro in the classic sense, which you are asking for Aug 09 11:09:01 I guess you could experiment with debootstrap Aug 09 11:10:36 something like buildroot is far easier to get to output what you ask for Aug 09 11:10:42 as that's what it's designed for Aug 09 11:10:47 indeed Aug 09 11:10:59 buildroot would be my prime candidate, too Aug 09 11:11:01 spit out a custom configured rootfs, no packages, no nothing Aug 09 11:11:13 and it supports lots of packages already, samba for sure Aug 09 11:15:32 ok thanks for the info, i'll try buildroot first Aug 09 11:15:45 why samba? Aug 09 11:17:10 if you only want to mount a samba share, I think the kernel's support suffices? Aug 09 11:17:55 ah it does need cifs-utils apparently Aug 09 11:24:03 yeah just for cifs support Aug 09 11:24:10 microdevel: given that your initramfs probably only needs busybox, mount.cifs (from cifs-utils), and a shell script, it might be less effort to just make the initramfs manually Aug 09 11:24:40 depending on how much effort it takes to get familiar with buildroot and get it to build what you want Aug 09 11:25:22 ok, creating initramfs manually sounds interesting! do you have info how to do it? Aug 09 11:27:48 isn't there a defconfig for bbb in br2? Aug 09 11:28:44 yes there is, so a first shot image can be generated witout effort Aug 09 11:29:27 so zmatt you would just cross compile busybox from scratch and put it to an initramfs? Aug 09 11:29:42 (togehter with the necessary files..) Aug 09 11:29:44 or just grab the one from a debian system Aug 09 11:30:07 and initram fs creation is the same as for other linux systems? Aug 09 11:30:21 havent done that for years :D Aug 09 11:30:35 if you want to see what's in an initramfs, here's how you can extract it: zcat /boot/initrd.img-$(uname -r) | cpio -i -D initramfs Aug 09 11:30:50 (for a gzip-compressed one) Aug 09 11:31:01 oh, first do: mkdir initramfs Aug 09 11:31:21 yeah ok so i could just customize the debian initramfs? Aug 09 11:31:38 yeah you can probably just delete crap you don't need and replace the init script Aug 09 11:32:33 this is a dirty but quick way i guess. would be enough to create my flasher image Aug 09 11:32:48 ahh no, support for eMMC is missing then Aug 09 11:32:49 it's not going to win a prize for elegance Aug 09 11:33:06 what do you mean? Aug 09 11:33:12 eMMC support is baked into the kernel Aug 09 11:33:22 ahh i thought it would be a module Aug 09 11:33:49 nope, everything required to boot a beaglebone is compiled-in Aug 09 11:34:08 it boots fine without an initramfs (and in fact we don't use an initramfs on any beaglebone here) Aug 09 11:34:09 ok and the init script would have to configure the network interface Aug 09 11:38:11 and then mount the fileshare, and do the flashing Aug 09 11:39:08 but one could als use a busybox only rootfs instead of initramfs Aug 09 11:40:15 that sentence doesn't make sense Aug 09 11:41:27 an initramfs is a rootfs image provided in the form of a cpio archive that's passed from bootloader to kernel Aug 09 11:41:59 busybox is a convenient program to populate a small rootfs (whether it's an initramfs or not) with a shell and basic utilities Aug 09 11:42:29 yeah what i wanted to say ist it doesn't necessarily have to be initramfs to work Aug 09 11:43:36 correct, although in your application it obviously does need to be (unless you want to try using nfsroot instead :P ) Aug 09 11:44:00 yes because i have empty eMMC ;) Aug 09 11:44:14 nfsroot would be nice as well Aug 09 11:44:32 initramfs is probably less hassle Aug 09 11:44:50 is it still possible to cat the initramfs to the end of the kernel image? Aug 09 11:45:05 that sounds disgusting Aug 09 11:45:19 anyway, aren't you using a FIT ? Aug 09 11:45:25 i remember in 2.6x kernel times we did that Aug 09 11:45:47 that's what I've always used anyway for netbooting a beaglebone Aug 09 11:46:06 (kernel + devicetree + initramfs + kernel parameters packed into a single file) Aug 09 11:46:47 thats even better than my cat idea Aug 09 11:47:02 I thought I shared that with you? Aug 09 11:47:11 unless I'm confusing you with someone else Aug 09 11:47:11 when? Aug 09 11:47:59 ok maybe i am confused but what you did was patching u-boot spl to properly initialize ethernet and load u-boot Aug 09 11:49:07 I guess I've probably discussed netboot with multiple people... Aug 09 11:49:12 hehe Aug 09 11:49:28 ok so i would be happy to receive the info Aug 09 11:50:07 I do seem to have referenced it to you Aug 09 11:51:00 hold on, let me invoke the power of grep Aug 09 11:54:16 okay I did show you my dnsmasq.conf: https://pastebin.com/BuRDr26P Aug 09 11:54:29 yes, still got it here Aug 09 11:54:31 but it seems you didn't ask "what's that linux.itb file you're serving?" Aug 09 11:57:23 https://pastebin.com/raw/YC5E6tw4 Aug 09 11:57:25 yeah, my fault Aug 09 12:01:10 so u-boot can deal with itb file Aug 09 12:01:25 and contains everything that is necessary to boot properly Aug 09 12:02:40 yes Aug 09 12:02:53 very cool :) Aug 09 12:03:43 with the itb prepared like this, and the dnsmasq.conf I use, I could successfully netboot by executing 'dhcp && bootm' on the u-boot commandline Aug 09 12:04:13 is there a way to tell u-boot to do this automatically? Aug 09 12:04:21 of course Aug 09 12:04:54 i know i have to set boot command, but do i confgure that i u-boot sources? Aug 09 12:05:01 you can patch u-boot to change its default environment variables, which includes the boot command (I think it's called "bootcmd", i.e. "bootcmd=dhcp && bootm") Aug 09 12:05:14 lemme check Aug 09 12:05:17 ok thats what i was thinking Aug 09 12:10:30 https://github.com/dutchanddutch/u-boot/blob/am335x-v2017.11-netboot/include/configs/am335x_evm.h#L89-L96 Aug 09 12:18:31 thanks! have another question. let's imagine the created flasher image is supposed to flash the current debian image including X11 to the eMMC. The image size is approx 780MB. will it be possible to do it via ethernet? do we have to copy the image to RAM (too small) before writing it to eMMC? Aug 09 12:20:39 you can just dd straight from the fileshare to the device Aug 09 12:20:55 (or cat) Aug 09 12:26:04 so there will never be a size limitation except the size of the eMMC. Aug 09 12:26:12 correct Aug 09 12:26:21 glad to hear that Aug 09 12:30:13 thanks again, as always zmatt Aug 09 12:31:18 np Aug 09 12:53:31 microdevel: tip: if you decide to use systemd-nspawn on your (unpacked) initramfs for testing purposes, and you get the "-sh: can't access tty; job control turned off" error message, the workaround for that is: exec sh <$TTY Aug 09 12:55:32 (it's caused by: https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=22145 ) Aug 09 12:57:53 thanks :) Aug 09 16:25:50 ayjay_t: wtf? there is a BBB facebook group? Aug 09 16:26:20 ayjay_t: why, in the name of all that is chocolaty, would anyone want to have a technical discussion on facebook? Aug 09 16:34:24 for the gif comments and ads, i suppose? Aug 09 16:38:41 come for the gif comments, get the dumbest insults? Aug 09 16:43:29 that only works for the bbb since unlike the RPi it has sockets, not nipples, right ? Aug 09 16:49:26 for that great feeling when you post a nice crisp png of a screenshot and facebook helpfully converts it into a blurry jpeg (whose filesize is larger than the original png) Aug 09 16:56:34 why would anyone want to do *anything* on Facebook? Aug 09 19:41:34 tbr: this hotair station is really quite nice. not only for blowing stuff off a board but also for putting stuff onto it Aug 09 19:42:09 I'm just trying with some spare board, really convenient for soldering SOIC packages Aug 09 19:42:42 just tin the pads a bit, put some (lots of) flux on, place the chip, reflow it Aug 09 19:43:09 all in all quite a good investment for 50€ Aug 09 19:43:57 next purchase should be a fume extractor, though Aug 09 19:55:59 KotH lol, the world is a big place man. all kinds of people. Aug 09 19:56:51 besides i'm a big fish there Aug 09 19:57:01 its not like IRC where i'll forever be entry level Aug 09 19:57:29 eh Aug 09 19:57:57 ayjay_t: no need to be a big fish.... if you have enough chocolate :) Aug 09 20:49:13 * KotH throws some dark chocolate at alan_o Aug 09 22:13:25 mmm chocolate .. Aug 09 23:13:24 okay so just out of curiosity Aug 09 23:13:42 who needs 2 A15s, 2 M4s, 2 C66s, and 4 PRUs? What is that for? Aug 09 23:24:48 #becausewhynot #becausewecan :p Aug 10 00:44:04 LiPo! Aug 10 00:44:33 I really need a procurement specialist on this BBBlue/ArduPilot mixture. Aug 10 00:45:37 I got another LiPo (let me tell you, they are not cheap) but this one has an enormous size to it. I ordered LiPo, not a banana. Aug 10 00:45:38 ... Aug 10 00:45:39 Sorry. Aug 10 00:45:43 I am over it now. Aug 10 00:45:57 I really apologize. I had to vent. Aug 10 00:46:27 So...off to test this enormous LiPo. Have faith. Aug 10 00:56:05 So...me again. How much mAh can the 2 cell LiPo battery connector handle on the BBBlue? Aug 10 00:56:34 <<<< chicken and cannot find the info. I am on this page: https://github.com/beagleboard/beaglebone-blue/blob/master/docs/BeagleBone_Blue_ShortSpec.pdf. Aug 10 00:57:52 ... Aug 10 01:13:59 Otay! Goin' all in! Aug 10 01:44:41 LiPo! Aug 10 01:57:35 Okay, so? The board turns on, my service runs, and nothing happens. Powerboard and not the LiPo! Aug 10 01:57:45 or those damn ESCs. **** ENDING LOGGING AT Fri Aug 10 03:00:01 2018