CL-SOM-iMX8Plus NXP iMX8M-Plus Mender Setup Issues

General Discussions
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1

Hi all,

I’m facing some issues running the demo mender setup command on the CL-SOM-iMX8Plus NXP iMX8M-Plus. So firstly, I am following this guide to install Mender on the CL-SOM-iMX8Plus NXP iMX8M-Plus. In summary, these are the steps:

wget --directory-prefix .repo/local_manifests https://raw.githubusercontent.com/compulab-yokneam/meta-mender-compulab/kirkstone-nxp/scripts/mender-compulab-kirkstone.xml
repo sync
export MACHINE=som-imx8m-plus
source mender-setup-environment build-mender-${MACHINE}
# Build for production (remove demo layer)
bitbake-layers remove-layer meta-mender-demo
bitbake-layers show-layers
bitbake -k fsl-image-network-full-cmdline

After putting the image onto an SD card and booting up the CL-SOM-iMX8Plus NXP iMX8M-Plus, it boots up normally. When running mender setup and configuring it for Hosted Mender, everything works fine. However, when configuring it for a demo server, the device does not show up on the localhost Mender UI. These are the steps I did:

root@som-imx8m-plus:~# mender setup
Mender Client Setup
===================
Setting up the Mender client: The client will regularly poll the server to check for updates and report its inventory data.
Get started by first configuring the device type and settings for communicating with the server.
The device type property is used to determine which Mender Artifact are compatible with this device.
Enter a name for the device type (e.g. raspberrypi3): [som-imx8m-plus]
Are you connecting this device to hosted.mender.io? [Y/n] n
Demo server uses a self-signed certifcate for “docker.mender.io” and modifies device’s /etc/hosts with the server’s IP address (Required if using Mender demo server.)
Do you want to configure the client for a demo server? [Y/n] Y
Set the IP of the Mender Server: [127.0.0.1]
Demo intervals uses short poll and retry intervals (Recommended for testing.)
Do you want to run the client in demo mode? [Y/n] Y
WARN[0035] Unable to install Mender demo cert in local trust: Cannot open file “/usr/share/doc/mender-client/examples/demo.crt”: open /usr/share/doc/mender-client/examples/demo.crt: no such file or directory
Mender setup successfully.

Unlike the Hosted Mender, there seems to be some issues with the demo cert which I cannot seem to solve. I found some server.cert files somewhere and tried adding them but the device was insistent on looking for demo.cert.

These are the steps I did to get the demo server up and running, taken from this guide:

git clone -b v4.0.0-rc.2 https://github.com/mendersoftware/mender-server.git mender-server-docker
cd mender-server-docker
docker compose up -d
export MENDER_USERNAME=admin@docker.mender.io
export MENDER_PASSWORD=Password1
docker compose run --name create-user useradm create-user --username "$MENDER_USERNAME" --password "$MENDER_PASSWORD"

Would anyone have any ideas about why the devices won’t show up on the localhost Mender UI? Your help is greatly appreciated!

2

Hello, first : happy 2025 :slight_smile:
Trying to understand better :slight_smile:

  • I never used mender client and server on the same machine so i don’t know if this can be an issue, imo it should work at least until you try to write an update, then IDK .

  • You are trying to use the mender demo setup BUT you remove the meta-mender-demo layer with the command

bitbake-layers remove-layer meta-mender-demo

Have you checked the official mender docs ?

Maybe I’m wrong but seems to me that you mixed the mender demo installation procedure with a production procedure (the one on github).

3

Hi @leonardo-k, thank you for your response and happy new year to you too. I was slightly confused because I was trying to test the demo version first using the link that you gave. However, I wasn’t able to connect the Compulab device to the demo server I was running. I did try to remove the

bitbake-layers remove-layer meta-mender-demo

layer but it still did not connect to the server. I wonder if it is something wrong with the way I am running the servers? I am not that experienced in running servers so all I have to follow is the guide given by this. This still did not allow a connection though…

4

I think you can probably go here GitHub - mendersoftware/mender-server and use that procedure.
But as i was saying idk about server and client on the same machine .

Can you share more details? like the local.conf layer.conf ecc?

5

This is my local.conf:

MACHINE ??= 'som-imx8m-plus'
DISTRO ?= 'fsl-imx-xwayland'
PACKAGE_CLASSES ?= 'package_rpm'
EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES ?= "debug-tweaks"
USER_CLASSES ?= "buildstats"
PATCHRESOLVE = "noop"
BB_DISKMON_DIRS ??= "\
    STOPTASKS,${TMPDIR},1G,100K \
    STOPTASKS,${DL_DIR},1G,100K \
    STOPTASKS,${SSTATE_DIR},1G,100K \
    STOPTASKS,/tmp,100M,100K \
    HALT,${TMPDIR},100M,1K \
    HALT,${DL_DIR},100M,1K \
    HALT,${SSTATE_DIR},100M,1K \
    HALT,/tmp,10M,1K"
PACKAGECONFIG:append:pn-qemu-system-native = " sdl"
CONF_VERSION = "2"

DL_DIR ?= "${BSPDIR}/downloads/"
ACCEPT_FSL_EULA = "1"

# Switch to Debian packaging and include package-management in the image
PACKAGE_CLASSES = "package_deb"
EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES += "package-management"
LICENSE_FLAGS_ACCEPTED = "commercial"

CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += " cl-uboot cl-deploy cl-stest cl-camera cl-audio cl-growfs-rootfs "
CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += " libubootenv-bin u-boot-compulab-env "
CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += " memtester htop iotop tmux iperf3 "
CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += " libgpiod-tools bluez5 can-utils minicom eeprom-util usbutils i2c-tools "
CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += " wireless-tools dhcpcd ifupdown wpa-supplicant ntp ntpdate "

BB_SRCREV_POLICY = "clear"

# Appended fragment from meta-mender-community/templates

# This really saves a lot of disk space!
INHERIT += "rm_work"

# The name of the disk image and Artifact that will be built.
# This is what the device will report that it is running, and different updates
# must have different names because Mender will skip installation of an Artifact
# if it is already installed.
MENDER_ARTIFACT_NAME = "production-release"

INHERIT += "mender-full"

DISTRO_FEATURES:append = " systemd"
VIRTUAL-RUNTIME_init_manager = "systemd"
DISTRO_FEATURES_BACKFILL_CONSIDERED = "sysvinit"
VIRTUAL-RUNTIME_initscripts = ""

# Build for Hosted Mender
#
# To get your tenant token:
#    - log in to https://hosted.mender.io
#    - click your email at the top right and then "My organization"
#    - press the "COPY TO CLIPBOARD"
#    - assign content of clipboard to MENDER_TENANT_TOKEN
#
MENDER_SERVER_URL = "https://hosted.mender.io"
MENDER_TENANT_TOKEN = "[my-tenant-token]"

# Build for Mender demo server
#
# https://docs.mender.io/getting-started/create-a-test-environment
#
# Uncomment below and update IP address to match the machine running the
# Mender demo server
MENDER_DEMO_HOST_IP_ADDRESS = "127.0.0.1"

# Build for Mender production setup (on-prem)
#
# https://docs.mender.io/artifacts/building-for-production
#
# Uncomment below and update the URL to match your configured domain
# name and provide the path to the generated server.crt file.
#
# NOTE! It is recommend that you provide below information in your custom
# Yocto layer and this is only for demo purposes. See linked documentation
# for additional information.
MENDER_SERVER_URL = "http://mender.example.com"
FILESEXTRAPATHS:prepend:pn-mender := "</usr/share/doc/mender-client/examples/>:"
SRC_URI:append:pn-mender = " file://server.crt"

# Mender storage configuration
#
# More details on these variables is available at
#    https://docs.mender.io/devices/yocto-project/partition-configuration#configuring-storage
#
# Also, please be sure to check other config files as other
# layers, config fragments, etc may attempt to set values
# for specific platforms.  Using "bitbake -e <image-name>"
# can help determine which files are setting these values
# in a given configuration.
#
# MENDER_STORAGE_TOTAL_SIZE_MB = "2048"
# MENDER_BOOT_PART_SIZE_MB = "16"
# MENDER_DATA_PART_SIZE_MB = "1024"
# MENDER_STORAGE_DEVICE = "/dev/mmcblk0"
# MENDER_BOOT_PART = "${MENDER_STORAGE_DEVICE_BASE}1"
# MENDER_DATA_PART = "${MENDER_STORAGE_DEVICE_BASE}4"
# MENDER_ROOTFS_PART_A = "${MENDER_STORAGE_DEVICE_BASE}2"
# MENDER_ROOTFS_PART_B = "${MENDER_STORAGE_DEVICE_BASE}3"
# Mender extra conf
CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += " mr-deploy "
CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += " mender-artifact "

PACKAGE_CLASSES = "package_deb"

BBMASK += "meta-mender-core/recipes-bsp/grub/grub_%.bbappend"

CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL:append:mx8mm-nxp-bsp = " u-boot-script u-boot-mender-script u-boot-update-script "
IMAGE_BOOT_FILES:append:mx8mm-nxp-bsp = " boot.scr boot.mender.scr boot.update.scr "
# CL_DEPLOY_AUTO = "1"
CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL:append:mx8mm-nxp-bsp = "${@bb.utils.contains('CL_DEPLOY_AUTO', '1', 'u-boot-ai-script' , '', d)}"
IMAGE_BOOT_FILES:append:mx8mm-nxp-bsp = "${@bb.utils.contains('CL_DEPLOY_AUTO', '1', 'boot.ai.scr' , '', d)}"

# Uncoment the next lane if the read-only file system is requiered
# IMAGE_FEATURES += "read-only-rootfs"

# Append fragment from meta-mender-compulab
# CompuLab imx8m[m,q,p] modules

MENDER_IMAGE_BOOTLOADER_FILE = "imx-boot"
MENDER_IMAGE_BOOTLOADER_BOOTSECTOR_OFFSET:mx8mq-nxp-bsp = "66"
MENDER_IMAGE_BOOTLOADER_BOOTSECTOR_OFFSET:mx8mm-nxp-bsp = "66"
MENDER_IMAGE_BOOTLOADER_BOOTSECTOR_OFFSET:mx8mp-nxp-bsp = "64"

MENDER_BOOT_PART_SIZE_MB = "64"
#
# Cleanup image types generated
IMAGE_FSTYPES:remove = "tar.gz ext4 wic.gz wic.bmap multiubi mender.bmap"

# Build sdimg file rather than uefiimg
MENDER_FEATURES_ENABLE:append = " mender-image-sd mender-partuuid "
MENDER_FEATURES_DISABLE:append = " mender-image-uefi "

# Make sure we don't include u-boot-fw-utils; we are using grub-mender-grubenv instead
MACHINE_EXTRA_RDEPENDS:remove = "u-boot-fw-utils"

MENDER_STORAGE_TOTAL_SIZE_MB = "4096"
MENDER_STORAGE_DEVICE = ""

MENDER_BOOT_PART = "09501fb1-01"
MENDER_DATA_PART = "09501fb1-04"
MENDER_ROOTFS_PART_A = "09501fb1-02"
MENDER_ROOTFS_PART_B = "09501fb1-03"
DRAM_CONF = "d2d4"

Some issues I can see is that I do not have a server.crt file. But since I am trying to run it on a local server using Traefik I dont think this should be a problem?

Also this is my bblayers.conf:

LCONF_VERSION = "7"

BBPATH = "${TOPDIR}"
BSPDIR := "${@os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(d.getVar('FILE', True)) + '/../..')}"

BBFILES ?= ""
BBLAYERS = " \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/poky/meta \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/poky/meta-poky \
  \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-openembedded/meta-oe \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-openembedded/meta-multimedia \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-openembedded/meta-python \
  \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-freescale \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-freescale-3rdparty \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-freescale-distro \
"

# i.MX Yocto Project Release layers
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-imx/meta-bsp"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-imx/meta-sdk"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-imx/meta-ml"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-imx/meta-v2x"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-nxp-demo-experience"

BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-browser/meta-chromium"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-clang"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-openembedded/meta-gnome"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-openembedded/meta-networking"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-openembedded/meta-filesystems"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-qt6"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-virtualization"
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-bsp-imx8mp"
BBLAYERS += " \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-compulab \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-compulab-bsp/meta-desktop \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-compulab-bsp/meta-multimedia \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-compulab-bsp/meta-graphics \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-compulab-bsp/meta-utils \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-compulab-bsp/meta-bsp \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-compulab-bsp/meta-devtool \
  "
BBLAYERS += "${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-mender-compulab"
BBLAYERS += " \
  ${BSPDIR}/sources/meta-mender/meta-mender-core \
  "
6

seems to me that you are trying to build both for hosted and self-hosted servers at the same time.From what i see you are pointing your mender client to hosted mender

MENDER_SERVER_URL = "https://hosted.mender.io"
MENDER_TENANT_TOKEN = "[my-tenant-token]"

but after that you also set the server address to localhost.
Also as i said idk about having server and client on the same machine, i suggest you to restart with a simpler environment that you know should work correctly.
For example, you can try the hosted version to see if the machine works correctly with mender.
After change and create a mender server running on your pc (or just not the same machine as the client ) and a client that points to that server,(not the hosted one).

https://docs.mender.io/3.1/server-installation/installation-with-docker-compose

Also, if you follow the procedure to use the local server you have to generate the certificates and use it, like having to use the token for the hosted one.