# DART-MX8M : NXP i.MX8M **URL:** \ **Category:** Yocto Project\ **Created:** [January 24, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/dart-mx8m-nxp-i-mx8m/1470 "2020-01-24T14:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewmoseley](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/hub.mender.io/drewmoseley/32/47_2.png) [@drewmoseley](https://hub.mender.io/u/drewmoseley)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/dart-mx8m-nxp-i-mx8m/1470/1 "2020-01-24T14:51:47Z")
# Board description The DART-MX8M offers an ideal solution for embedded systems that require high-end multimedia applications in a small form factor, as well as portable and battery operated products. This tiny 30mm x 55mm ARM SoM is based on NXP i.MX8M Quad 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A53 plus 266MHz Cortex-M4. The high multimedia performance spec encompasses 4K video HEVC/H265/H264/VP9 decode with HDR, high-quality audio, 4K display support, 2D/3D graphics acceleration, with a variety of interfaces and connectivity options: Certified dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n, BT 4.2/BLE, GbE, dual USB3, dual PCIe and UART. The DART-MX8M SoM provides a pin2pin scalable option to the [DART-MX8M-MINI](https://www.variscite.com/product/system-on-module-som/cortex-a53-krait/dart-mx8m-mini-nxp-i-mx8m-mini/) based on NXP’s i.MX8M Mini 1.8GHz Single/Quad-core Cortex-A53 plus 400MHz Cortex-M4 real-time processor with integrated video encode and decode acceleration, lower power consumption and higher CPU performance. The [evaluation kit](https://www.variscite.com/product/system-on-module-som/cortex-a53-krait/dart-mx8m-nxp-imx-8m/#evaluation-kit?target=_blank) comes with a [VAR-DT8MCustomBoard](https://www.variscite.com/product/single-board-computers/var-dt8mcustomboard?target=_blank) and a 7" Capacitive touch LCD. ![DART-MX8M](http://variwiki.com/images/thumb/7/75/DART-MX8M.png/366px-DART-MX8M.png) URL: - [Product Overview](https://www.variscite.com/product/system-on-module-som/cortex-a53-krait/dart-mx8m-nxp-imx-8m?target=_blank) - [Support Wiki](http://variwiki.com/index.php?title=DART-MX8M?target=_blank) # Test results The Yocto Project releases in the table below have been tested by the Mender community. Please update it if you have tested this integration on other [Yocto Project releases](https://wiki.yoctoproject.org/wiki/Releases?target=_blank): ## SD Card Root Filesystem | Yocto Project | Build | Runtime | | --- | --- | --- | | sumo (2.5) | :test_works: | :test_works: | ## eMMC Root Filesystem | Yocto Project | Build | Runtime | | --- | --- | --- | | sumo (2.5) | :test_works: | :test_works: | **Build** Means that the Yocto Project build using this Mender integration completes without errors and outputs images. **Runtime** Means that Mender has been verified to work on the board. For U-Boot-based boards, the [integration checklist](https://docs.mender.io/devices/integrating-with-u-boot/integration-checklist?target=_blank) has been verified. # Getting started ## Prerequisites - A supported Linux distribution and dependencies installed on your workstation/laptop as described in the [Yocto Mega Manual](https://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/current/mega-manual/mega-manual.html#detailed-supported-distros) - NOTE. Instructions depend on which Yocto version you intend to use. - Google repo tool [installed](https://hub.mender.io/t/google-repo/58/2) and in your `PATH`. ## Configuring the build ### Setup Yocto environment Set the Yocto Project branch you are building for: ```auto # set to your branch, make sure it is supported (see table above) export BRANCH="sumo" ``` Create a directory for your `mender-variscite` setup to live in and clone the meta information. ```auto mkdir mender-variscite && cd mender-variscite ``` Initialize repo manifest: ```auto repo init -u https://github.com/varigit/variscite-bsp-platform.git -b fsl-$BRANCH -m imx-4.14.78-1.0.0_ga-var01.xml mkdir .repo/local_manifests cd .repo/local_manifests/ wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mendersoftware/meta-mender-community/$BRANCH/scripts/mender-no-setup.xml cd - ``` Fetch layers in manifest: ```auto repo sync cd .repo/local_manifests/ ln -sf ../../sources/meta-mender-community/scripts/mender-no-setup.xml . cd - ``` ## Determine root filesystem media The Variscite DART-MX8M platform supports running U-Boot directly from the following media: - SD-Card - eMMC The root filesystem can be stored on any of the following media: - SD-Card - eMMC Note that eMMC has not been fully tested for the DART-M8XM. There are issues updating U-Boot on our test hardware. Set the shell variable for your desired root filesystem media: ```auto export MEDIA="sdcard" ``` ```auto export MEDIA="emmc" ``` ## Setup build environment Initialize the build environment: ```auto MACHINE=imx8m-var-dart DISTRO=fslc-xwayland . var-setup-release.sh build cat ../sources/meta-mender-community/meta-mender-variscite/templates/bblayers.conf.append >> conf/bblayers.conf cat ../sources/meta-mender-community/templates/local.conf.append >> conf/local.conf cat ../sources/meta-mender-community/meta-mender-variscite/templates/local.conf.append >> conf/local.conf cat ../sources/meta-mender-community/meta-mender-variscite/templates/local-${MEDIA}.conf.append >> conf/local.conf ``` ### Building the image You can now proceed with building an image: ```bash bitbake core-image-base ``` Replace `core-image-base` with your desired image target. ### Using the build output #### SD Card Provision an SD Card with the built above. **WARNING** , make sure you use the correct device node as the _of=_ parameter to avoid overwriting the wrong device: ```shell sudo dd if=tmp/deploy/images/imx8m-var-dart/core-image-base-imx8m-var-dart.sdimg of= ``` Remove the SD Card from your build host and insert it into the target. Configure your board to boot from SD Card by moving the _Boot Select_ switch (also labeled as _SW7_ ) to the _SD_ position. Now turn on power to the board and it will boot from the SDCard and Mender will connect to the server configured in your local.conf file. #### eMMC Using either the above built SDCard Yocto image or the [Variscite i.MX8M recovery SD card](http://variwiki.com/index.php?title=Yocto_Recovery_SD_card&release=RELEASE_SUMO_V2.1_DART-MX8M), boot your system off of SD. Transfer the following files from your build PC to the target board with a USB drive: - tmp/deploy/images/imx8m-var-dart/imx-boot-imx8m-var-dart-sd.bin - tmp/deploy/images/imx8m-var-dart/core-image-base-imx8m-var-dart.sdimg Assuming the USB drive is mounted on the target at _/mnt_, run the following commands: ```shell dd if=/mnt/core-image-base-imx8m-var-dart.sdimg of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=8M echo 0 > /sys/block/mmcblk0boot0/force_ro dd if=/mnt/imx-boot-imx8m-var-dart-sd.bin of=/dev/mmcblk0boot0 seek=66 halt ``` Then change the _Boot Select_ switch (also labeled as _SW7_ ) to the _eMMC_ position and power cycle your board. On the other hand, if you already have Mender running on your device and want to deploy a rootfs update using this build, you should use the [Mender Artifact](https://docs.mender.io/architecture/mender-artifacts?target=_blank) files, which have `.mender` suffix. You can either deploy this Artifact in managed mode with the Mender server (upload it under Releases in the server UI) or by using the Mender client only in [Standalone deployments](https://docs.mender.io/architecture/standalone-deployments?target=_blank). # References - The Variscite imx8m-var-dart template files can be found in [meta-mender-community](https://github.com/mendersoftware/meta-mender-community/tree/sumo/meta-mender-variscite). - The official [Mender documentation](https://docs.mender.io/) explains how Mender works. This is simply a board-specific complement to the official documentation. * * * _If this post was useful to you, please press like, or leave a thank you note to the contributor who put valuable time into this and made it available to you. It will be much appreciated!_