# Variscite VAR-SOM-SOLO **URL:** \ **Category:** Yocto Project\ **Tags:** yocto, sumo, rocko, nxp, thud\ **Created:** [April 9, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/variscite-var-som-solo/467 "2019-04-09T17:52:44Z")\ **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:** [April 9, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/variscite-var-som-solo/467/1 "2019-04-09T17:52:44Z")
# Board description Staying on-trend with the market’s shift towards a cost-effective highly integrated off-the-shelf solution, the VAR-SOM-SOLO from Variscite level the playing ground for a broad spectrum of embedded products. Bringing all the benefits of the widely successful VAR-SOM-MX6, the VAR-SOM-SOLO/DUAL from Variscite carries much smaller dimensions and a slim-lined price-point. Features include NXP/Freescale’s iMX6 Solo/Dual Lite core, 1GHz Cortex-A9, SLC NAND, eMMC, dual-band certified Wi-Fi/BT with MIMO, USB, Gigabit Ethernet, A/V interfaces and industrial operating temperatures. The [Variscite VAR-SOM-SOLO platform](https://www.variscite.com/product/system-on-module-som/cortex-a9/var-som-solo-cpu-nxp-imx6/?target=_blank) is a System on Module (SoM) based on the NXP/Freescale iMX6 chip. The [evaluation kit](https://www.variscite.com/product/evaluation-kits/var-som-solo-kits/?target=_blank) comes with a [VAR-SOLOCustomBoard](https://www.variscite.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/VAR-SOLOCustomBoard-Datasheet.pdf?target=_blank) and a 7" Capacitive touch LCD. ![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/mender/original/1X/72bdbb42ec02d1eecff9c38f74ea51b076bdbb4d.png) URL: - [Product Overview](https://www.variscite.com/product/system-on-module-som/cortex-a9/var-som-solo-cpu-nxp-imx6/?target=_blank) - [Support Wiki](http://variwiki.com/index.php?title=VAR-SOM-SOLO/DUAL&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 | | --- | --- | --- | | rocko (2.4) | :test_works: | :test_works: | | sumo (2.5) | :test_works: | :test_works: | | thud (2.6) | :test_works: | :test_works: | ## eMMC Root Filesystem | Yocto Project | Build | Runtime | | --- | --- | --- | | sumo (2.5) | :test_works: | :test_works: | | thud (2.6) | :test_works: | :test_works: | ## NAND Root Filesystem | Yocto Project | Build | Runtime | | --- | --- | --- | | sumo (2.5) | :test_works: | :test_works: | | thud (2.6) | :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="rocko" ``` 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 $BRANCH mkdir .repo/local_manifests cd .repo/local_manifests/ wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mendersoftware/meta-mender-community/$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 VAR-SOM-SOLO platform supports running U-Boot directly from the following media: - SD-Card - NAND flash Note that running U-Boot from eMMC is specifically not supported. The root filesystem can be stored on any of the following media: - SD-Card - NAND flash - eMMC When configuring the system to use eMMC for the root filesystem, we will use NAND flash for storing U-Boot. Set the shell variable for your desired root filesystem media: ```auto export MEDIA="sdcard" ``` ```auto export MEDIA="nand" ``` ```auto export MEDIA="emmc" ``` ## Setup build environment Initialize the build environment: ```auto MACHINE=var-som-mx6 DISTRO=fslc-x11 . setup-environment 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: ```shell bitbake core-image-base ``` Replace `core-image-base` with your desired image target. ### Using the build output The mechanism for provisioning your device with the build will vary depending on the storage media you have selected above. #### 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/var-som-mx6/core-image-base-var-som-mx6.sdimg of= conv=fdatasync bs=8M ``` 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 _SW6_) to the _MMC_ 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 To be able to provision images to the eMMC, we need to boot a prebuilt image from Variscite using an SDCard. Download the image and write it to an SDCard. **WARNING** , make sure you use the correct device node as the _of=_ parameter to avoid overwriting the wrong device: ```shell gunzip sumo-fslc-4.9.88-mx6-v1.2.img.gz sudo dd if=sumo-fslc-4.9.88-mx6-v1.2.img of= conv=fdatasync bs=8M ``` Now remove and reinsert the SD Card to have your system automount it (or just issue a manual mount command). Copy the necessary files from your build tree to the SD Card. ```shell sudo cp -f tmp/deploy/images/var-som-mx6/core-image-base-var-som-mx6.sdimg \ tmp/deploy/images/var-som-mx6/SPL \ tmp/deploy/images/var-som-mx6/u-boot.img-nand \ ``` 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 _SW6_) to the _MMC_ position. Now turn on power to the board and it will boot from the SDCard. Login as user _root_ with no password and execute the following commands to provision the binaries: ```shell dd if=/core-image-base-var-som-mx6.sdimg of=/dev/mmcblk0 conv=fdatasync bs=8M flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 0 kobs-ng init -x /SPL --search_exponent=1 -v flash_erase /dev/mtd1 0 0 nandwrite -p /dev/mtd1 /u-boot.img-nand halt ``` Remove the SDCard, configure your board to boot from eMMC by moving the _Boot Select_ switch (also labeled as _SW6_) to the _NAND_ position and power cycle your board. Finally, press a key to interrupt the autoboot and enter the following commands at the UBoot prompt. ```shell env default -a -f saveenv reset ``` #### NAND To be able to provision images to the NAND, we need to boot a prebuilt image from Variscite using an SDCard. Download the image and write it to an SDCard. **WARNING** , make sure you use the correct device node as the _of=_ parameter to avoid overwriting the wrong device: ```shell gunzip sumo-fslc-4.9.88-mx6-v1.2.img.gz sudo dd if=sumo-fslc-4.9.88-mx6-v1.2.img of= conv=fdatasync bs=8M ``` Now remove and reinsert the SD Card to have your system automount it (or just issue a manual mount command). Copy the necessary files from your build tree to the SD Card. ```shell sudo cp -f tmp/deploy/images/var-som-mx6/core-image-base-var-som-mx6.ubimg \ tmp/deploy/images/var-som-mx6/SPL \ tmp/deploy/images/var-som-mx6/u-boot.img-nand \ ``` 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 _SW6_) to the _MMC_ position. Now turn on power to the board and it will boot from the SDCard. Login as user _root_ with no password and execute the following commands to provision the binaries: ```shell flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 0 kobs-ng init -x /SPL --search_exponent=1 -v flash_erase /dev/mtd1 0 0 nandwrite -p /dev/mtd1 /u-boot.img-nand flash_erase /dev/mtd3 0 0 nandwrite -k /dev/mtd3 /core-image-base-var-som-mx6.ubimg halt ``` Remove the SDCard, configure your board to boot from NAND by moving the _Boot Select_ switch (also labeled as _SW6_) to the _NAND_ position and power cycle your board. #### Updating with Mender Artifacts 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 var-som-mx6 template files can be found in [meta-mender-community](https://github.com/mendersoftware/meta-mender-community/tree/rocko/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!_