# SolidRun HummingBoard and Cubox-i

**URL:** <https://hub.mender.io/t/solidrun-hummingboard-and-cubox-i/5671>\
**Category:** Board Integrations\
**Tags:** yocto, freescale-imx6, nxp, freescale, kirkstone, hummingboard, cubox-i, solidrun\
**Created:** [March 13, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/solidrun-hummingboard-and-cubox-i/5671 "2023-03-13T13:18:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leon-anavi](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/hub.mender.io/leon-anavi/32/1638_2.png) [@leon-anavi](https://hub.mender.io/u/leon-anavi)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/solidrun-hummingboard-and-cubox-i/5671/1 "2023-03-13T13:18:46Z")

</div>

The official [Mender documentation](https://docs.mender.io/) explains how Mender works. This is a board-specific complement to the official documentation.

# Device description

[HummingBoard](https://www.solid-run.com/embedded-industrial-iot/nxp-i-mx6-family/hummingboard/) is an ARM development board with [NXP i.MX6](https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/arm-processors/i-mx-applications-processors/i-mx-6-processors:IMX6X_SERIES) (ARMv7 architecture) manufactured by [SolidRun](http://www.solid-run.com/). Its technical specifications are similar to SolidRun series of small computers [Cubox-i](https://www.solid-run.com/fanless-computers/cubox/#cubox-i). Both HummingBoard and Cubox-i share the same machine name **cubox-i** from the Yocto/OpenEmbedded BSP layer **meta-freescale-3rdparty**.

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/mender/original/2X/e/e4b0e1e71425bb9587571d62d9a9b78b63f2bccd.jpeg)

# Support level

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):

| Yocto Project | Build | Runtime |
| --- | --- | --- |
| kirkstone (4.0) | :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/yocto-project/bootloader-support/u-boot/integration-checklistt?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="kirkstone"

```

Create a directory for your `mender-nxp` setup to live in and clone the  
meta information.

```auto
mkdir mender-nxp && cd mender-nxp

```

Initialize repo manifest:

```auto
repo init -u https://github.com/mendersoftware/meta-mender-community \
           -m meta-mender-nxp/scripts/manifest-nxp.xml \
           -b ${BRANCH}

```

Download mender manifest:

```auto
wget --directory-prefix .repo/local_manifests \
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mendersoftware/meta-mender-community/${BRANCH}/scripts/mender-no-setup-layers.xml

```

Fetch layers in manifest:

```auto
repo sync -j$(nproc)

```

## Setup build environment

- Initialize the build environment:

```auto
source setup-environment nxp

```

- **NOTE!** You need to accept the Freescale EULA at ‘…/sources/meta-freescale/EULA’. Please read it and in case you accept it, add to your `conf/local.conf`:

```auto
ACCEPT_FSL_EULA = "1" 

```

### Configure Mender server URL (optional)

This section is not required for a successful build but images that are generated by default are only suitable for usage with the Mender client in [Standalone deployments](https://docs.mender.io/artifact-creation/standalone-deployment?target=_blank), due to lack of server configuration.

You can edit the `conf/local.conf` file to provide your Mender server configuration, ensuring the generated images and Mender Artifacts are connecting to the Mender server that you are using. There should already be a commented section in the generated `conf/local.conf` file and you can simply uncomment the relevant configuration options and assign appropriate values to them.

Build for Hosted Mender:

```auto
# 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 = "<copy token here>"

```

### Building the image

You can now proceed with building an image:

```auto
MACHINE=cubox-i bitbake core-image-base

```

Replace `core-image-base` with your desired image target.

### Using the build output

After a successful build, the images and build artifacts are:

- `deploy/images/cubox-i/core-image-base-cubox-i.mender`
- `deploy/images/cubox-i/core-image-base-cubox-i.sdimg`

The disk image (with `.sdimg` suffix) is used to provision the device storage for devices without Mender running already.

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 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.

#### Flash instructions

Based on the output artifacts described above we need to flash the core-image-base-cubox-i.sdimg separately to fully provision an device and for it to work with Mender.

Required software on the host PC:

- bmaptool

```auto
sudo apt install bmap-tools

```

Load image to sd card

```auto
sudo bmaptool copy core-image-base-cubox-i.sdimg /dev/sdX

```

# References

[HummingBoard i.MX6 SBC](https://www.solid-run.com/embedded-industrial-iot/nxp-i-mx6-family/hummingboard/)  
[HummingBoard](https://elinux.org/HummingBoard)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TheYoctoJester](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/hub.mender.io/theyoctojester/32/1444_2.png) [@TheYoctoJester](https://hub.mender.io/u/TheYoctoJester)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 8:58am UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/solidrun-hummingboard-and-cubox-i/5671/2 "2023-04-05T08:58:05Z")

</div>

Hi @leon-anavi,

giving it a test spin I run into an issue with the `u-boot` - `SPL` combination snippet. It errs out with

```auto
--- Error summary ---
ERROR: u-boot-fslc-2022.10+gitAUTOINC+cbd7eb17ac-r0 do_deploy: ExecutionError('/__w/meta-mender-community/meta-mender-community/gh/cubox-i/build/tmp/work/cubox_i-fslc-linux-gnueabi/u-boot-fslc/2022.10+gitAUTOINC+cbd7eb17ac-r0/temp/run.do_deploy.169345', 1, None, None)
ERROR: Logfile of failure stored in: /__w/meta-mender-community/meta-mender-community/gh/cubox-i/build/tmp/work/cubox_i-fslc-linux-gnueabi/u-boot-fslc/2022.10+gitAUTOINC+cbd7eb17ac-r0/temp/log.do_deploy.169345
ERROR: Task (/__w/meta-mender-community/meta-mender-community/gh/cubox-i/build/../meta-freescale/recipes-bsp/u-boot/u-boot-fslc_2022.10.bb:do_deploy) failed with exit code '1'

```

which I traced back to the line

```auto
install -m 644 ${D}/boot/${SPL_BINARY} ${DEPLOYDIR}/${MENDER_IMAGE_BOOTLOADER_FILE}

```

So I have to guess there is either something from your environment missing or changed in the mean time.

Greetz,  
Josef

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leon-anavi](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/hub.mender.io/leon-anavi/32/1638_2.png) [@leon-anavi](https://hub.mender.io/u/leon-anavi)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 9:40am UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/solidrun-hummingboard-and-cubox-i/5671/3 "2023-04-07T09:40:46Z")

</div>

Hi @TheYoctoJester,

> [@TheYoctoJester](#):
>
> So I have to guess there is either something from your environment missing or changed in the mean time.

Sorry for the inconvenience. I was quite busy so I asked @atanas to have a look and he notified me about a couple of issues in the instructions: `bitbake` was missing from the command and an older mender manifest was used. I fixed the instructions. The step for downloading the manifest uses `${BRANCH}` to avoid such issues in future.

Best regards, Leon