The Python script "makersyoctoSDImage.py" allows to build with the Intel Embedded Development Suite (SoC EDS) the entire bootflow and generates a bootable image (.img) file with a flavor of rsyocto with your Intel Quartus Prime FPGA project.

Use your Intel Quartus Prime FPGA project to create your own rsyocto with your FPGA Configuration

Block diagram of the fully automated build system to design new releases

This Python build system was designed to automate the always identical, but complicated and time consuming, build flow for Intel SoC-FPGAs to reduce the possible sources of error during design.

It can use the information provided by the Intel Quartus Prime FPGA project to compile and configure the bootloader (u-boot) to boot up an Embedded Linux and to configure the FPGA Fabric with the Intel Quartus Prime FPGA project. The build system changes the rootfs of the Embedded Linux und uses XML-files for configuration to automate every essential step to achieve a good experience of a modern Linux Distribution.

The Image folder contains a sub-folder for any partition of the final SD-Card image. Files copied into these folders will automatically be pre-installed to the depending partition on the bootable SD-Card image. To achieve this internally my LinuxBootImageFileGenerator is used to generate an image file.

It can run on any modern Linux operating system, such as CentOS or Ubuntu Linux with the pre-installed Intel SoC-EDS.

Features

Automatically generate a bootable image file with configuration provided by a Intel Quartus Prime FPGA project
Cloning and compiling of the u-boot bootloader for Intel SoC-FPGAs
Allows menuconfig of denx u-boot
Installs and uses the Linaro cross-platform toolchain
HPS Memory- and HPS I/O- configuration based on the Intel Quartus Prime FPGA project settings
Allow to use a pre-build bootloader execuatable and default u-boot script
In case of the u-boot script is configured to load a FPGA configuration the depending FPGA configuration will be generated
Uses the default rsyocto Linux files for the boot image
Allows to pre-install any files or operating systems to the SD-Card image
Enables to copy board- and SoC-FPGA- specific files to the specific folders
Give every board a private MAC-Address by writing it to the device tree
Configures e.g. the SSH-Server and the Apache web servers
Boot image (.img) file generation for distributing Embedded Linux Distributions
Up to 4 freely configurable partitions
Configurable partition size in Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte or Gigabyte
File structure for each partition will be generated and user files can be added
Partition file size check
Dynamic mode: Partition size = Size of the files to add to the partition
An offset can be added to a dynamic size (e.g. for user space on the running Linux)
**Linux device tree (dts) -files inside a partition can be automatically compiled and replaced with the un-compiled file
An u-boot script with the name "boot.script" inside a partition can be automatically compiled and replaced with the un-compiled file
Compressed files (e.g. "tar.gz") containing for instance the Linux rootfs can be unzipped and automatically added to the partition
Image Sizes, Block Sizes, Start Sectors for every partition will be automatically generated for the depending configuration
The final image file can be compressed to a "zip"-archive file to reduce the image size
Supported File Systems
- ext2
- ext3
- ext4
- Linux
- vfat
- fat
- swap
- RAW
Supported archive file types, that can be unzipped automatically
- .tar -Archives
- .tar.gz -Archives
- .zip -Archives
Tested Development Environments
- Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
- Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
- CentOS 7.7
- CentOS 8.0
Supported Intel Embedded Development Suite (SoC EDS) Versions
- EDS 20.1 (Linux)
Supported Intel SoC-FPGAs
- Intel Cyclone V SoC-FPGA
- Intel Arria 10 SX SoC-FPGA

Getting started with the designing of a custom rsyocto version

For generating a bootable rsyocto image for Intel SoC-FPGAs by executing a single Linux command please follow this step-by-step guide:

Install the required development- and the build tools

Instal Intel Quartus Prime (18.1 or later) for Linux
- A step-by-step guide how to install Intel Quartus Prime on Linux is available here (NIOS II support is for this project not required)
Install the Intel Embedded Development Suite (SoC-EDS)
- Download Intel SoC EDS 20.1 Standard for Linux
- Install SoC EDS by executing the following Linux console commands
```
chmod +x SoCEDSSetup-20.1.0.711-linux.run && ./SoCEDSSetup-20.1.0.711-linux.run
```

Install the required packages

For Ubuntu Linux

 sudo apt-get update -y && sudo apt-get install -y bison flex libncurses-dev \
 git device-tree-compiler  u-boot-tools gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf g++-arm-linux-gnueabihf

For CentOS Linux

 sudo yum -y install git dtc uboot-tools
 git device-tree-compiler  u-boot-tools

Download the "rsyocto_SDxx-Folder" from the "releases Part" of this Github repository
Unzip the folder and copy the internal folder "socfpgaPlatformGenerator" and copy it into your Intel Quartus Prime FPGA project
- The project configuration will then be automatically used to build the bootable image
- You can also use the default Quartus Prime project as shown in the previous guide
- Note: The project compilation must be successfully done
The Quartus Project folder should now look like this:
Navigate with the Linux terminal into this folder inside your Quartus Project
```
cd socfpgaPlatformGenerator
```
Start the Python script and follow the instructions
```
python3 makersyoctoSDImage.py
```
- Note: The execution with root ("sudo") privileges is not allowed

Understand the internal folder structure

The following table shows the internal folder structure of the in the last step downloaded "SD-Folder":

File/Folder Name	Description	Origin
"Board_DE0NANOSOC"	Contains board specific files for the Terasic DE0-Nano SoC (Cyclone V) development board	SD-Folder
"Board_DE10NANO"	Contains board specific files for the Terasic DE10-Nano (Cyclone V) development board	SD-Folder
"Board_DE10STD"	Contains board specific files for the Terasic DE10-Standard (Cyclone V*) development board	SD-Folder
"Board_HAN"	Contains board specific files for the Terasic HAN Pilot (Arria 10) development board	SD-Folder
"SoCFPGA_A10"	Contains SoC-FPGA specific files for the Intel Arria 10 SX SoC-FPGA	SD-Folder
"SoCFPGA_CY5"	Contains SoC-FPGA specific files for the Intel Cyclone V SoC-FPGA	SD-Folder
"ubootDefaultSFP"	Contains the default pre-compiled u-bootloader (Can be used instead to re-build one)	socfpgaPlatformGenerator
"ubootScript"	Contains the default u-boot script	socfpgaPlatformGenerator
"LinuxBootImageFileGenerator"	Contains the boot image file generator	LinuxBootImageFileGenerator
"makersyoctoSDImage.py"	The Python build script	SD-Folder
"rootfsChange.py"	A Python help script to change the rootfs with super user privileges	SD-Folder
"rsyoctoConf.xml"	A XML file to configure the MAC-Address for each board and to add a description	SD-Folder
"SocFPGABlueprint.xml"	A XML file that describes the partition table for the final image	socfpgaPlatformGenerator

Every Board- or SoC-FPGA specific folder contains the following file structure:

Folder name	Kind	Location on the rootfs
"my_homepage"	Homepages and web interfaces	`/usr/share/apache2/default-site/htdocs`
"my_includes"	C++ libraries	`/usr/include`
"my_rootdir"	Home directory	`/home/root`
"my_startUpScripts"	*Linux Shell start up scripts

Script name	Execution position
"my_startUpScripts/start_script.sh"	Before the NIC has started
"my_startUpScripts/run_script.sh"	After the network connection with SSH is established (run level 5)

For example the content of the pre-installed "run_script.sh" is attached here, that shows how it is possible to interact in an easy way with the FPGA Fabric

  #!/bin/sh
  # Run script
  # This script will be called when the system has booted
  echo "*********************************"
  echo "rsyocto run script: started!"

  echo " Synchronization of the system time with an HTTP Server"
  htpdate -d -t -b -s www.linux.org
  echo "Time sync. done"

  # NW Up? => Turn HPS LED ON
  if grep -qF "up" /sys/class/net/eth0/operstate; then
     echo 100 > /sys/class/leds/hps_led0/brightness
     FPGA-writeBridge -lw 20 -h 01 -b
  fi

Files copied into these folders will automatically be written on the depending rootfs locations. Files with the same name will always overwritten by the file of the board specific folder. These folders can also contain the rootfs-, Linux Device Tree, or zImage-file for the Linux distribution. These files must have the following syntax:

File name	Description	Final partition location	Final Name inside the partition
"socfpga_XXX.dts"	Linux Device Tree	Pat.1 (vfat)	Complied by the build script to: CY5: "socfpga_cyclone5_socdk.dtb" A10: "socfpga_arria10_socdk_sdmmc.dtb"
"socfpga_XXX.rbf"	Default FPGA configuration file	Pat.1 (vfat)	"Name of selected inside the u-boot script"
"socfpga_rollback_XXX.rbf"	Rollback FPGA configuration (Can be written by Linux)	Pat.2 (ext3): `/usr/rsyocto/running_bootloader_fpgaconfig.rbf`	"running_bootloader_fpgaconfig.rbf"
"rootfs_XXX.tar.gz"	Linux compressed rootfs	Pat.2 (ext3)	"unzipped by the build system"
"zImage_XXX"	Compressed Linux Kernel	Pat.1 (vfat)	"zImage"
"network_interfaces_XXX.txt"	Linux Network interface configuration file	Pat.2 (ext3): `/etc/network/interfaces`	"interfaces"

Note: XXX represents the board specific- or SoC-FPGA specific- suffix

Inside board specific folders replace "XXX" with the following:

Suffix	Description	Example
"nano"	Identified the Terasic DE10-Nano (Cyclone V) development board	"socfpga_nano.dts"
"std"	Identified the Terasic DE10-Nano (Cyclone V) development board	"socfpga_std.dts"
"de0"	Identified the Terasic DE0-Nano SoC (Cyclone V) development board	"socfpga_de0.dts"
"han"	Identified the Terasic HAN Pilot (Arria 10) development board	"socfpga_han.dts"

Inside SoC-FPGA specific folders replace "XXX" with following:

Suffix	Description	Example
"cy5"	Identified the Intel Cyclone V SoC-FPGA	"socfpga_cy5.dts"
"a10"	Identified the Intel Arria 10 SX SoC-FPGA	"socfpga_a10.dts"

During further execution the Python build system will create new folders inside the socfpgaPlatformGenerator directory:

File/Folder Name	Description
"toolchain"	Contains the automatically installed limaro cross-platform toolchain
"Image_partitions"	Contains a sup folder for every disk image partition. Files copied here will be pre-installed onto the depending partition

The "rsyoctoConf.xml" XML file is used to assign the MAC-Address to each development board. This address will then be written to the Linux Device tree. In the following paragraph the content of the "rsyoctoConf.xml" file is added. Change it for your requirements!

<?xml version="1.0" encoding = "UTF-8" ?>
<!-- rsyocto Linux configuration file -->
<!-- Used by the Python script "makersyoctoSDImage.py" -->
<rsyocto>
<!-- For the assignment of the MAC Address for each board -->
<board folder_name="Board_DE10NANO"   mac_addrs="d6:7d:ae:b3:0e:ba"/> 
<board folder_name="Board_DE10STD"    mac_addrs="d6:7d:ae:b3:0e:bb"/> 
<board folder_name="Board_HAN"        mac_addrs="d6:7d:ae:b3:0e:bc"/> 
<board folder_name="Board_DE0NANOSOC" mac_addrs="d6:7d:ae:b3:0e:bd"/> 

<!-- For documentation with the Linux Kernel Version, Build date -->
<!-- and a feature description -->
<distro yocto_build="21-06-20" kernel_name ="linux-socfpga 5.5" description_txt="-- MAIN FEATURES: \n
	  python3, pip3, django 3.01, adminLTE, sqlite, openSSH Server, apache2, \n
	  php, gcc, gcc++, make, cmake, wget, curl, gdb server, gatord, time, nano, \n
	  minicom, i2c-tools, spi-tools, usbutils, ethtool, iputils, git, can-tools, \n
	  rstools, opkg, update-rc.d, crontab, devmem, iproute2, devmem, iproute2, iw \n
      -- FPGA: \n
	  Sys_ID, LEDs, Switches, ADC, Seven Segment Display, Display ... \n
      -- INCLUDE: \n
	 Intel hwlib \n
      -- WEBITERFACE: \n
	 Pinout- and Info-Page \n"/>
</rsyocto>

The following table summarizes the required file locations for Intel SoC-FPGAs:

Partition Number	File System Type	Required Files	Note
1	vfat	Linux compressed Kernel file (zImage)
1	vfat	Linux Device Tree File (.dts)	Will be compiled by the script
1	vfat	u-boot boot script (.script)	Will be compiled by the script
1	vfat	FPGA configuration file (.rbf)	Will be created with the Intel Quartus Project
2	ext3	compressed root file system (.tar.gz)	Will be unzipped by the script
3	RAW	executable of the bootloader (.sfp)	Will be generated by the script

The other XML file is called "SocFPGABlueprint.xml". It is used by the LinuxBootImageFileGenerator to define the partition table of the final bootable image.

Here it is posibile to change or to add new partitions to the image. However, the default configuration already allows to boot an Embedded Linux on an Intel SoC-FPGA. The "*" is used to select the dynamic size mode. That means the script will calculate the required file size for inserting the selected files for the partition.

The offset value defines additional space. Change the offset value of the partition with the type "ext3" (Id. 2) to increase the free available disk space on the rootfs.

The following lines show the XML file of a partition configuration for Intel SoC-FPGAs.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding = "UTF-8" ?>
<!-- Linux Distribution Blueprint XML file -->
<!-- Used by the Python script "LinuxDistro2Image.py" -->
<!-- to create a custom Linux boot image file -->
<!-- Description: -->
<!-- item "partition" describes a partition on the final image file-->
<!-- L "id"        => Partition number on the final image (1 is the lowest number) -->
<!-- L "type"      => Filesystem type of partition  -->
<!--   L       => ext[2-4], Linux, xfs, vfat, fat, none, raw, swap -->
<!-- L "size"      => Partition size -->
<!-- 	L	    => <no>: Byte, <no>K: Kilobyte, <no>M: Megabyte or <no>G: Gigabyte -->
<!-- 	L	    => "*" dynamic file size => Size of the files2copy + offset  -->
<!-- L "offset"    => in case a dynamic size is used the offset value is added to file size-->
<!-- L "devicetree"=> compile the Linux Device (.dts) inside the partition if available (Top folder only)-->
<!-- 	L 	    => Yes: Y or No: N -->
<!-- L "unzip"     => Unzip a compressed file if available (Top folder only) -->
<!-- 	L 	    => Yes: Y or No: N -->
<!-- L "ubootscript"  => Compile the u-boot script file ("boot.script") -->
<!-- 	L 	    => Yes, for the ARMv7A (32-bit) architecture ="arm" -->
<!-- 	L 	    => Yes, for the ARMv8A (64-bit) architecture ="arm64" -->
<!-- 	L 	    => No ="" -->
<LinuxDistroBlueprint>
<partition id="1" type="vfat" size="*" offset="1M" devicetree="Y" unzip="N" ubootscript="arm" />
<partition id="2" type="ext3" size="*" offset="500M" devicetree="N" unzip="Y" ubootscript="" />
<partition id="3" type="RAW" size="*" offset="20M"  devicetree="N" unzip="N" ubootscript="" />
</LinuxDistroBlueprint>

Execution steps of the Python build script

The Python script will go through the following major steps that specific user inputs requires and allows.

Development Board selection
- Choose the development board for the final image
Image Version selection
- Give the ouput image file a name with a version number (Syntax: "rsyocto_X_XX.img")
- The Version number will be written for instance to the rootfs location ("/usr/rsyocto/version.txt")
- By pressing ENTER a date code will be used instead (e.g. "rsYocto_20200830_1825_D10NANO.img")
Check that the Quartus Prime Project is compatible to the selection
- In case the required SoC-FPGA device for the board is not the same as that on the Quartus Prime Project a warning will appear
- Then a generation of a new FPGA configuration and the bootloader are not possible, the default files will be used
Check that the Quartus Prime Project contains no non-licend IP
- In case a non-licend IP, for instance for an Intel NIOS II Soft-Core processor, a warning message will appear
- Then a generation of a new FPGA configuration is not possible, the default ".rbf"-file will be used instead
Selection how the bootloader should be generated
- The following question box will appear
- Choose the way how to build the bootloader (It is recommented to use the default one)
In case the entire bootloader should be generated the script will do the following tasks
- Download the Limaro cross-platform toolchain
- Generate the Board Support Package (BSP) with the Intel Embedded Development Suite (SoC EDS)
- Clone the u-boot-socfpga from Github
- Run the Intel SoC EDS filter script
- Allow deeper u-boot configuration with menuconfig
- Make the u-boot bootloader for the Intel SoC-FPGA device
- The generated executable will be copied to the RAW partition folder
In case the default bootloader should be used
- A pre-built bootloader with a default configuration will be copied to the RAW partition folder
Give the script super user privileges
- During the unzipping of the rootfs the script will ask for the super user (sudo) admin password
Change the rootfs or add files to the Board- or SoC-FPGA specfic folders manually
- At this point the script will show the following message box:
- Now it is enabled to copy or change files inside the partition folders ("socfpgaPlatformGenerator/Image_partitions") by hand
The script will generate for each selected partition a depending folder. At this point it is enabled to drag&drop files and folders to the partition folder. This content will then be included in the final image file.

Linux device tree- and archive-files, copied to the partition folder, will be automatically processed by the script in case these features were enabled for the partition inside the XML-file. Of cause, archive files or un-compiled device tree files will not be added to the final image.

It is also possible to add the content of the Board- or SoC-FPGA specfic folders as previously shown.

The following illustration shows the generated folder structure with the previous XML-configuration file.

Files copied to a partition folder will then be pre-installed onto the depending partition. Note: On RAW partitions are only files allowed! Note: The u-boot script and the Linux device tree will be compiled in the next step!
- The following manual steps are for instance now allowed:
  - Change the u-boot boot script (boot.script)
  - Change the Linux Device Tree
  - Change files inside the Linux rootfs or copy one to it
  - Change or add files to the other partitions
Choose if the output image should be compressed

The Python script allows to compress the generated bootable image files as a ".zip" archive files. This can strongly reduce the image size. Tools, like "rufus" can process this ".zip" file directly and can bring it onto a SD-Card.
Callculation of all sizes of the partition table

The script will progress the data inside the Partition folders by compiling the Linux device tree, the u-boot script and will display the partition sizes for the entire image partition of the bootable image file.

In case the u-boot is configured to write the FPGA configuration the script will generate the depending FPGA configuration file. This is only possible if no unlicensed IP is available inside the Quartus Prime Project. For instance Quartus Prime projects containing an Intel NIOS II Soft-Core processor can not be generated. The following inlustration shows the callculated partition table for a custom rsyocto build:
Generation of the bootable image file with custom configuration

Please, use my Build your own custom Linux Distro for Intel SoC-FPGAs with the Yocto Project guide to show you can use my Python build system with custom Yocto Project designs and how you can generate a Linux Device Tree.

In connection the Python script will use the LinuxBootImageFileGenerator to build the finale bootable image file. The file will be located inside the "socfpgaPlatformGenerator" folder. This image file can be distributed and flashed to a bootable SD-Card as shown in the first Guide.

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7_customVersions.md

7_customVersions.md

Features

Getting started with the designing of a custom rsyocto version

Install the required development- and the build tools

Understand the internal folder structure

Execution steps of the Python build script

Files

7_customVersions.md

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7_customVersions.md

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Features

Getting started with the designing of a custom rsyocto version

Install the required development- and the build tools

Understand the internal folder structure

Execution steps of the Python build script