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NixOS on ARM: Difference between revisions

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== Supported devices ==
== Supported devices ==


The installation images have been tested on the following devices:
The installation images should work on the following devices:


{|
{|
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| ARMv6
| ARMv6
| 1x ARM1176 @ 700 MHz
| 1x ARM1176 @ 700 MHz
| 256/512 MB
| 256 MB / 512 MB
| SD/microSD
| SD/microSD
|-
|-
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| ARMv7
| ARMv7
| 1x/2x/4x Cortex-A9 @ 1000 MHz
| 1x/2x/4x Cortex-A9 @ 1000 MHz
| 512 M / 1 GB / 2 GB
| 512 MB / 1 GB / 2 GB
| microSD, SATA
| microSD, SATA
|}
|}
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The installation images come in two flavors: <code>sd-image-armv6l-linux.img</code> is built for the ARMv6 architecture and it comes with the Raspberry Pi kernel. sd-image-armv7l-linux.img is built for the ARMv7 architecture and comes with the mainline multiplatform ARMv7 kernel (multi_v7_defconfig). Make sure you download the correct image for your board!
The installation images come in two flavors: <code>sd-image-armv6l-linux.img</code> is built for the ARMv6 architecture and it comes with the Raspberry Pi kernel. sd-image-armv7l-linux.img is built for the ARMv7 architecture and comes with the mainline multiplatform ARMv7 kernel (multi_v7_defconfig). Make sure you download the correct image for your board!


The .img files can be directly written to a microSD/SD card (minimal recommended size: 4 GB) using dd. For example, if your SD card shows up as <code>/dev/sdc</code>:
The .img files can be directly written to a microSD/SD card (minimal recommended size: 4 GB) using dd.


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sudo dd if=sd-image-armv7l-linux.img of=/dev/sdc</syntaxhighlight>
<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sudo dd if=sd-image-armv7l-linux.img of=/dev/sdX</syntaxhighlight>
(As always, be careful when using dd so you don't wipe your hard drive!)
Replace <code>/dev/sdX</code> with the path to your SD card device.


== Board-specific installation notes ==
== Board-specific installation notes ==
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=== pcDuino 3 Nano ===
=== pcDuino 3 Nano ===


U-Boot needs to be copied to the microSD card with dd, with parameters bs=1024 seek=8. Download U-Boot for the board (uboot-Linksprite_pcDuino3_Nano_defconfig-2015.07_u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin), and copy it to the correct location with (replace /dev/sdX with the correct path to the SD card device):
U-Boot needs to be copied to specific sectors on the microSD card with dd. Download U-Boot for the board (<code>uboot-Linksprite_pcDuino3_Nano_defconfig-2015.07_u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin</code>), and copy it to the correct location with (again, replace <code>/dev/sdX</code> with the correct path to the SD card device):


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sudo dd if=uboot-Linksprite_pcDuino3_Nano_defconfig-2015.07_u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin of=/dev/sdX bs=1024 seek=8</syntaxhighlight>
<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sudo dd if=uboot-Linksprite_pcDuino3_Nano_defconfig-2015.07_u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin of=/dev/sdX bs=1024 seek=8</syntaxhighlight>
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=== Wandboard ===
=== Wandboard ===


U-Boot and its SPL need to be copied to the microSD card with dd. Download U-Boot + SPL for the board (uboot-wandboard_defconfig-2017.03_u-boot.img, uboot-wandboard_defconfig-2017.03_SPL), and copy it to the correct location with (replace /dev/sdX with the correct path to the SD card device):
U-Boot and its SPL need to be copied to specific sectors on the microSD card with dd. Download U-Boot & SPL for the board (<code>uboot-wandboard_defconfig-2017.03_u-boot.img</code>, <code>uboot-wandboard_defconfig-2017.03_SPL</code>), and copy them to the correct location with (again, replace /dev/sdX with the correct path to the SD card device):


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
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== Details about the boot process ==
== Details about the boot process ==


On NixOS, all ARM boards use the popular U-Boot as the bootloader and U-Boot's Generic Distro Configuration Concept as the mechanism to communicate boot information (such as path to kernel zImage, initrd, DTB, command line arguments). For a quick TL;DR about the generic distro configuration support: U-Boot is scripted to scan all attached storage devices & partitions and look for a file named <code>/extlinux/extlinux.conf</code> or <code>/boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf</code> (which will be generated by NixOS, just like <code>/boot/grub/grub.cfg</code> is generated on PCs).
On NixOS, all ARM boards use the popular U-Boot as the bootloader and [https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/blob/master/doc/README.distro U-Boot's Generic Distro Configuration Concept] as the mechanism to communicate boot information (such as path to kernel zImage, initrd, DTB, command line arguments). For a quick TL;DR about the generic distro configuration support: U-Boot is scripted to scan all attached storage devices & partitions and look for a file named <code>/extlinux/extlinux.conf</code> or <code>/boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf</code> (which will be generated by NixOS, just like <code>/boot/grub/grub.cfg</code> is generated on PCs).


U-Boot also provides an interactive shell and the generation selection menu (just like GRUB). However, support for input or display devices varies greatly, depending on the board:
U-Boot also provides an interactive shell and the generation selection menu (just like GRUB). However, support for input or display devices varies greatly, depending on the board:
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=== Raspberry Pi (all versions) ===
=== Raspberry Pi (all versions) ===


USB keyboards and HDMI displays work perfectly.
USB keyboards and HDMI displays work perfectly. Using the 3.3v serial port via the pin headers (exact location depends on hardware version) should also work.
 
Using the 3.3v serial port via the pin headers (exact location depends on hardware version) should also work.


=== Wandboard ===
=== Wandboard ===
Retrieved from "https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/NixOS_on_ARM"