NixOS on ARM/PINE64 ROCKPro64: Difference between revisions

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== Status ==

~~It is possible to run NixOS on this~~ board ~~using a downstream~~ U-Boot and kernel. ~~This~~ can be ~~done with~~ manual partitioning and <code>nixos-install</code> or ~~possibly~~ by ~~building an SD~~ image ~~with the correct kernel and bootloader, but~~ the ~~latter has not been tested~~.

This board has upstream U-Boot and kernel support, although the mainline kernel may still be missing some features. NixOS can be installed using manual partitioning and <code>nixos-install</code> or by modifying the aarch64 installation image as described in the next section.

U-Boot for this board is packaged in nixpkgs, and Hydra builds can be found here: https://hydra.nixos.org/job/nixpkgs/trunk/ubootRockPro64.aarch64-linux

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== Board-specific installation notes ==

U-Boot needs to be copied to ~~sector 64~~ on the microSD card or ~~eMMC~~ with <code>dd</code>. Download/build U-Boot for the board, and ~~copy~~ <code>idbloader.img</code> to the correct ~~location~~ with (replace <code>/dev/mmcblkX</code> with the correct path to the SD card ~~device~~):

U-Boot needs to be copied to specific sectors on the microSD card, eMMC or image with <code>dd</code>. Download/build U-Boot for the board, and write <code>idbloader.img</code> and <code>u-boot.itb</code> to the correct locations with (replace <code>/dev/mmcblkX</code> with the correct path to the card or image):

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">~~sudo~~ dd if=idbloader.img of=/dev/mmcblkX bs=512 seek=64</syntaxhighlight>

dd if=idbloader.img of=/dev/mmcblkX conv=fsync,notrunc bs=512 seek=64

dd if=u-boot.itb of=/dev/mmcblkX conv=fsync,notrunc bs=512 seek=16384

</syntaxhighlight>

{{note|Prior to NixOS 20.03, a downstream version of U-Boot 2017.09 was packaged, which placed U-Boot in a single <code>idbloader.img</code> file. If that version is used, simply disregard the second command above.}}

== Serial console==

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* [https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-kernel ayufan-rock64/linux-kernel] 4.4 based on Rockchip BSP

* [https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel] mainline based, with potentially fewer hardware features supported. This kernel is not based on a kernel stable branch, so it may have more bugs (unrelated to the hardware). {{note|The ~~kernel image built from ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel is too large to fit into the default memory layout defined in the ROCKPro64 u~~-~~boot~~. ~~This means that, when unpacked,~~ the kernel ~~will~~ overwrite the beginning of the initrd ~~in memory, rendering the initrd unusable and causing the boot to fail~~. This can be fixed by ~~setting the u-boot environment variable,~~ <code>ramdisk_addr_r</code> ~~to a larger value, either by interrupting u~~-~~boot~~, or ~~by patching the ubootRockPro64 sources to change the default~~.}}

* [https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel] mainline based, with potentially fewer hardware features supported. This kernel is not based on a kernel stable branch, so it may have more bugs (unrelated to the hardware).

{{note|The old vendor U-Boot 2017.09 did not leave enough room between the kernel and initrd, causing recent kernels to overwrite the beginning of the initrd. This can be fixed by increasing <code>ramdisk_addr_r</code> in the U-Boot console, or using upstream U-Boot. }}

== Custom NixOS Installer ==

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 == Status ==
-It is possible to run NixOS on this board using a downstream U-Boot and kernel. This can be done with manual partitioning  and <code>nixos-install</code> or possibly by building an SD image with the correct kernel and bootloader, but the latter has not been tested.
+This board has upstream U-Boot and kernel support, although the mainline kernel may still be missing some features. NixOS can be installed using manual partitioning and <code>nixos-install</code> or by modifying the aarch64 installation image as described in the next section.
 U-Boot for this board is packaged in nixpkgs, and Hydra builds can be found here: https://hydra.nixos.org/job/nixpkgs/trunk/ubootRockPro64.aarch64-linux
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 == Board-specific installation notes ==
-U-Boot needs to be copied to sector 64 on the microSD card or eMMC with <code>dd</code>. Download/build U-Boot for the board, and copy <code>idbloader.img</code> to the correct location with (replace <code>/dev/mmcblkX</code> with the correct path to the SD card device):
+U-Boot needs to be copied to specific sectors on the microSD card, eMMC or image with <code>dd</code>. Download/build U-Boot for the board, and write <code>idbloader.img</code> and <code>u-boot.itb</code> to the correct locations with (replace <code>/dev/mmcblkX</code> with the correct path to the card or image):
-<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sudo dd if=idbloader.img of=/dev/mmcblkX bs=512 seek=64</syntaxhighlight>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
+dd if=idbloader.img of=/dev/mmcblkX conv=fsync,notrunc bs=512 seek=64
+dd if=u-boot.itb of=/dev/mmcblkX conv=fsync,notrunc bs=512 seek=16384
+</syntaxhighlight>
+{{note|Prior to NixOS 20.03, a downstream version of U-Boot 2017.09 was packaged, which placed U-Boot in a single <code>idbloader.img</code> file. If that version is used, simply disregard the second command above.}}
 == Serial console==
@@ Line 66: / Line 71: @@
 * [https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-kernel ayufan-rock64/linux-kernel] 4.4 based on Rockchip BSP
-* [https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel] mainline based, with potentially fewer hardware features supported. This kernel is not based on a kernel stable branch, so it may have more bugs (unrelated to the hardware). {{note|The kernel image built from ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel is too large to fit into the default memory layout defined in the ROCKPro64 u-boot. This means that, when unpacked, the kernel will overwrite the beginning of the initrd in memory, rendering the initrd unusable and causing the boot to fail. This can be fixed by setting the u-boot environment variable, <code>ramdisk_addr_r</code> to a larger value, either by interrupting u-boot, or by patching the ubootRockPro64 sources to change the default.}}
+* [https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel ayufan-rock64/linux-mainline-kernel] mainline based, with potentially fewer hardware features supported. This kernel is not based on a kernel stable branch, so it may have more bugs (unrelated to the hardware).
+{{note|The old vendor U-Boot 2017.09 did not leave enough room between the kernel and initrd, causing recent kernels to overwrite the beginning of the initrd. This can be fixed by increasing <code>ramdisk_addr_r</code> in the U-Boot console, or using upstream U-Boot. }}
 == Custom NixOS Installer ==