U-Boot

Introduction

Das U-Boot is the boot loader used by Chromium OS on ARM. This page provide some basic information about our use of it. See the official U-Boot page for more information.

Variants

Chrome OS uses a single variant of U-Boot for all Tegra2 boards and all purposes. The same applies for Exynos, although this is a different image from Tegra2. This is a departure from the previous approach of having different variants for each purpose (stub, developer, recovery, normal, flasher) and each board (Seaboard, Aebl, Kaen). Both of these changes are enabled by run-time configuration in U-Boot. Traditionally, U-Boot's configuration has been set by CONFIG_ options. We still use CONFIG_ options to select which functionality / drivers is included in an image. However, we avoid using CONFIG_ options that simply configure that functionality. For example, CONFIG_USB_EHCI is used to include the EHCI functionality for USB, but we do not use CONFIG_TEGRA2_USB0to specify the physical address of the first USB port. We use flattened device tree (FDT) to hold this run-time configuration. FDT consists of a number of nodes each with a list of properties. It is easy to add new nodes and properties, and a libfdt library exists for reading and writing them. For more information about FDT, see the specification document before you continue reading here. You might also find the U-Boot doc/README.fdt-control file useful. Note: as of March 2012 we still use 'seaboard' (rather than 'generic') as the name of our generic Tegra2 board. This may change in the future.

FDTs

We have various types of nodes in the FDT and they can be categorized as follows:

• SOC peripherals - describe an SOC peripheral
  • includes its physical address and other properties needed by the driver.
  • For example, usb@0xc5000000 is a USB peripheral located at 0xc5000000, which includes a 'host-mode' property indicating that this port should be configured to run in host mode.
• Board peripherals - describe a chip on the board, in a similar way to an SOC peripheral
  • Normally, these are linked to an SOC peripheral using a phandle.
  • For example, the lcd node describes the LCD attached to the board (its resolution, pixel clock, timings, backlight GPIO, etc.) and then links to the display peripheral (e.g., display1).
• Aliases - assign a new name to a peripheral instance
  • Some peripherals have multiple instances. It is often useful to assign an order to the instances. This is done by numbering the nodes within the aliases section.
  • For example, usb0 and usb1 each point to a USB node - this tells U-Boot that usb0 (which might point to /usb@c5008000) is the first USB port, and usb1 is the second.
  • Another example is the console alias which points to the UART to be used as the U-Boot console.
• config - generic machine configuration information
  • For example, we use it to hold the Linux machine ID.
• chromeos-config - this is Chrome OS-specific configuration.
  • We store the start address of U-Boot (textbase) and the type of verified boot we are using (twostop).

FDT-based configuration is enabled with the CONFIG_OF_CONTROL option. FDT files are stored in board/nvidia/dts or board/samsung/dts. FDT can be packaged with U-Boot in two ways:

• CONFIG_OF_EMBED (only for debugging / development) - it is built as an object file and linked to U-Boot
• CONFIG_OF_SEPARATE - it is built separately and then appended to the U-boot binary (u-boot.bin) using cat or similar. U-Boot locates it at start-up.

We use the second approach for Chrome OS, since it allows cros_bundle_firmware to create an image for any board without needing to look around inside U-Boot to change the FDT.

fdtdec

Initially, we used a library called fdt_decode to decode FDT blobs on behalf of different classes of drivers. That approach may become partially useful in future, but we decided to drop it for upstream. There is a still an fdtdec library which helps a lot, but drivers must decode their own nodes.

Header Files

U-Boot uses header files for configuration. Since the FDT change this has become very simple. We have:

• chromeos_seaboard_config - top-level file for verified boot. It simply includes seaboard.h and chromeos.h.
• chromeos_daisy_config - equivalent to the above for exynos.
• seaboard.h - Seaboard-specific config, but, in fact, is used for all Tegra2 boards which use FDT for config. It includes tegra2-common.h. Most of this file is hidden behind '#ifdef CONFIG_OF_CONTROL' since it is not needed with FDT-based configuration.
• tegra2-common.h - options common to all Tegra2 boards.
• chromeos.h - options to enable verified boot. In particular CONFIG_CHROMEOS and CHROMEOS_BOOTARGS are defined here.

Profiles

TODO: Add description of cros_choose_profile to a more generic page when one is created. In order to simplify the handling of different boards and board variants, a cros_choose_profile tool is used:

cros_choose_profile --help
USAGE: /usr/bin/cros_choose_profile [flags] args
flags:
  --board:  The name of the board to set up. (default: 'tegra2_seaboard')
  --build_root:  The root location for board sysroots. (default: '/build')
  --board_overlay:  Location of the board overlay. (default: '')
  --variant:  Board variant. (default: '')
  --profile:  The portage configuration profile to use. (default: '')
  -h,--[no]help:  show this help (default: false)

The cros_choose_profile utility selects which board and profile we are using. It is normally run by the setup_board script.

Ebuilds

The main U-Boot-related ebuilds are in src/third_party/chromiumos-overlay/sys-boot:

• chromeos-u-boot
  • Builds all the variants of U-Boot by default. If you only want one you can build with a USE flag, such as USE='developer emerge-tegra2_seaboard' chromeos-u-boot.
  • Each variant is built into its own subdirectory in the temporary build directory: developer, recovery, etc.
  • The variants are then installed into the chroot/build/${BOARD}/firmware directory, named u-boot-normal.bin, u-boot-developer.bin, etc. For Seaboard this directory is chroot/build/tegra2_seaboard/firmware.
  • Also installed is U-Boot's include/autoconf.mk and System.map, but only for the first variant built. These are used by chromeos-bios (see later).
  • (note that virtual/u-boot pulls this ebuild in)
• tegra-bct-${BOARD}
  • (This is for Tegra only. We would prefer to build these files in cros_bundle_firmware instead, as is now done for FDTs.)
  • There is one of these for each board and they provide the vritual/tegra-bct package. This ebuild selects configuration files for Flash (SPI or NAND) and SDRAM timings as required.
  • Since this ebuild inherits tegra-bct, these functions will be used for building. See src/overlays/overlay-tegra2/eclass/tegra-bct.eclass
  • The eclass functions set up a single configuration file consisting of the flash and SDRAM settings, then call cbootimage to turn these into a bct file.
  • This bct file is installed into chroot/build/${BOARD}/u-boot/bct as board.bct and board.cfg.
• chromeos-bootimage
  • Run cros_bundle_firmware to create two firmware images for the board. This consists of U-Boot, FDT settings, recovery-mode screens and the required keys for performing a verified boot.

Add New Boards to Ebuilds

The variables U_BOOT_CONFIG_USE and U_BOOT_FDT_USE are currently used to specific the FDT file for U-Boot. These variables are set in the make.defaults file for the board. For example, for tegra2 boards this is in src/overlays/overlay-tegra2/profiles/base/make.defaults.

There is now no need to figure out the FDT or config in the ebuild - you can just use these variables directly.

To check the settings for your board:

emerge-tegra2_seaboard --info |tr ' ' '\n' |grep U_BOOT

Building U-Boot

There are two main U-Boot repositories on the server: the stable u-boot.git and the unstable u-boot-next.git. Normally you will use the stable repo.

From ebuild

U-Boot is built from an ebuild like this:

emerge-${BOARD} chromeos-u-boot

For example for the Seaboard:

emerge-tegra2_seaboard  chromeos-u-boot

This builds it from scratch which takes about 40s on a fast machine.

Incremental build

If you have run cros_workon start chromeos-u-boot (followed by repo sync u-boot) then you can use the incremental build option which takes perhaps 12s.

bin/cros_workon_make chromeos-u-boot

This is the recommended approach since it sets up the options for your board automatically. If you look in the output of this command you should see the make command it is using. If you really want to, you can use this command, which takes the build time down to around 6s.

Build script

NOTE: Advanced U-Boot coders only! This can reduce an incremental build to about 1s on a fast machine (16 core). If you are working in u-boot and constantly flashing U-Boot for different Tegra2 boards then you might find this script useful. Run it within your U-Boot source tree. Beware this is not for beginners. Before you use this script, read it through and compare it with the U-Boot ebuild. You can select an FDT to use to change the board. Note: this script could be enhanced to output the resulting u-boot binary to a subdirectory with make ...O=<target_dir>.

#! /bin/sh
# Script to build U-Boot without an ebuild and with upstream config files,
# then write it to SPI on your board.
#
# It builds for seaboard by default - use -b to change the board.
# For an incremental board, run with no arguments. To clean out and reconfig,
# pass the -c flag.
compiler=armv7a-cros-linux-gnueabi-
if grep -sq Gentoo /etc/lsb-release; then
    chroot=y
    # location of src within chroot
    SRC_ROOT=~/trunk/src
    gcc=gcc
else
    # Change this to point to your source dir
    SRC_ROOT=/c/cosarm/src
    BIN=${SRC_ROOT}/../chroot/usr/bin
    compiler=${BIN}/${compiler}
    export PATH=${BIN}:${PATH}
    gcc=$BIN/gcc
    echo $PATH
fi
. "${SRC_ROOT}/scripts/lib/shflags/shflags"
DEFINE_boolean config "${FLAGS_FALSE}" "Reconfigure and clean" c
DEFINE_boolean good "${FLAGS_FALSE}" "Use known-good U-Boot" g
DEFINE_string board "seaboard" \
    "Select config: chromeos_tegra2_<board>_<config>_config" b
DEFINE_boolean separate "${FLAGS_TRUE}" "Separate device tree" s
DEFINE_boolean verified "${FLAGS_FALSE}" "Enable verified boot" V
DEFINE_string dt "seaboard" \
    "Select device tree: seaboard, kaen, aebl" d
DEFINE_boolean build "${FLAGS_TRUE}" "Build U-Boot" B
# Parse command line
FLAGS "$@" || exit 1
eval set -- "${FLAGS_ARGV}"
if [ "$FLAGS_build" -eq "${FLAGS_FALSE}" ]; then
    if [ "$FLAGS_config" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
        FLAGS_config=${FLAGS_FALSE}
        echo "Warning: disabled -c since -B was given"
    fi
fi
cd $SRC_ROOT/third_party/u-boot/files
target=all
if [ -n "${FLAGS_ARGV}" ]; then
  target=${FLAGS_ARGV}
fi
if [ "$FLAGS_config" -eq "${FLAGS_FALSE}" ]; then
    # Get the correct board for cros_write_firmware
    board=$(grep BOARD include/config.mk | awk '{print $3}')
    if [ -z "${FLAGS_board}" -a "$board" != "${FLAGS_board}" ]; then
        echo "Warning: U-Boot is configured for $board, " \
            "forcing reconfigure"
        FLAGS_config=${FLAGS_TRUE}
    fi
    FLAGS_board=${board}
fi
BASE+="-s "
BASE+="-j15 "
BASE+="ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=${compiler} USE_PRIVATE_LIBGCC=yes "
BASE+="--no-print-directory "
BASE+="HOSTCC=$gcc HOSTSTRIP=true VBOOT=/build/tegra2_${FLAGS_board}/usr "
#BASE+="VBOOT_DEBUG=1 "
if  [ "$FLAGS_separate" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
    BASE+="DEV_TREE_SEPARATE=true "
fi
BASE+="DEV_TREE_SRC=tegra2-${FLAGS_dt} "
board=${FLAGS_board}
if [ "${FLAGS_verified}" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
        FLAGS_board=chromeos_tegra2_twostop
fi
# echo $BASE
if [ "$FLAGS_config" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
    make $BASE distclean
    make $BASE ${FLAGS_board}_config || { echo "Make failed"; exit 1; }
    make $BASE dep
fi
if [ "$FLAGS_good" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
    IMAGE=/build/tegra2_${FLAGS_board}/u-boot/u-boot-developer.bin
else
    if [ "$FLAGS_build" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
        make $BASE $target || { echo "Make failed"; exit 1; }
    fi
    IMAGE=u-boot.bin
fi
if  [ "$FLAGS_separate" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
    cat $IMAGE u-boot.dtb >u-boot.bin.dtb
    IMAGE=u-boot.bin.dtb
fi
bmp="/home/$USER/trunk/src/third_party/chromiumos-overlay/sys-boot/"
bmp+="chromeos-bootimage/files/default.bmpblk"
cros_bundle_firmware -w -u u-boot.bin -s -b tegra2_aebl --bootsecure \
    --bootcmd vboot_twostop --bmpblk ${bmp}
#--add-config-int silent_console 1

Flashing U-Boot

The method here depends on the platform you are using. Please see the documentation on cros_bundle_firmware also.

NVidia Tegra2x

There is a firmware writing utility available which can reflash U-Boot on your board. For example, for Seaboard you can write the recovery U-Boot with:

# Connect USB A-A cable to top USB port, reset with recovery button held down
If you have a T20-seaboard (no camera attachment on top), please build/flash your firmware with:
USE=tegra20-bct emerge-tegra2_seaboard tegra-bct chromeos-bootimage
cros_write_firmware -b tegra2_seaboard \
                    -i /build/tegra2_seaboard/u-boot/legacy_image.bin
If you have a T25-seaboard (black camera box above the screen), please build/flash your firmware with:
emerge-tegra2_seaboard tegra-bct chromeos-bootimage
cros_write_firmware -b tegra2_seaboard \
                    -i /build/tegra2_seaboard/u-boot/legacy_image.bin

The BCT controls early memory initialization on Tegra2 CPUs. It is something that is customized for every variant of every board.

We need a different BCT for T20 and T25 Seaboards. Up until this point we have just used an old version of the T20 BCT for both products. This is not such a great thing for various reasons, one of which is problems with DVFS. Since we are planning to enable DVFS realsoonnow(TM), you will need this change.

One thing to note: you probably shouldn't put "official" builds onto your T20 Seaboard, since they will (I think) clobber the firmware with the T25 version (the default). You've been warned.

Configuring U-Boot Environment

U-boot accepts user commands to set up its execution environment. The problem with the current implementation is that at the default console baud rate of 115200 u-boot is not running fast enough and the UART gets easily overrun in case a user tries pasting text through terminal connected to the console.

The attached expect script allows to work around the problem. The script is just an example, which can be used it as follows. Start its execution on the workstation which has a USB port connected to the target console

./ttyusb <file with u-boot script>

and then hit reset on the target (if it is not already in u-boot console mode). <file with u-boot script> is a text file including a set of u-boot commands, one per line. Lines starting with # are ignored. ttyusb will send the commands to the console, character by character, making sure that all characters are echoed and the CrOS> prompt is returned after each command. Once all commands are executed, the terminal session becomes the console terminal for the target. To exit the console session type ^a. The serial port device is hardcoded in the script to /dev/ttyUSB1, edit your copy of to get a different tty device used, if necessary.

Memory Map

Tegra 2x

Current (as of 2011-09-13):

We have 0x4000 0000 (1GB) of memory in our machines. RAM starts at physical address 0x0.