Embedded Artists IMX6 SoloX COM Manuale utente

Working with Cortex-M4 on iMX6 SoloX COM

Working with Cortex-M4 on

i.MX6 SoloX COM Board

Working with Cortex-M4 on iMX6 SoloX COM Board

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Embedded Artists AB

Jörgen Ankersgatan 12

SE-211 45 Malmö

Sweden

http://www.EmbeddedArtists.com

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Working with Cortex-M4 on iMX6 SoloX COM Board 
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Copyright 2020 © Embedded Artists AB 
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Table of Contents 
1Document Revision History................................. 5 
2Introduction........................................................... 6 
1 Multi-Core........................................................................................ 6 
2 Additional Documentation............................................................. 6 
3 Conventions.................................................................................... 6 
3Hardware Related.................................................. 7 
1 Prerequisites................................................................................... 7 
2 UART Interfaces on COM Carrier board version 1 ...................... 7 
2.1 Applications for Freescale Sabre Board........................................ 8 
3 UART interfaces on COM Carrier board version 2 ...................... 8 
4 Terminal application ...................................................................... 9 
4Download and Start an Application................... 10 
1 Update boot partition with needed files ..................................... 10 
2 Change the device tree file.......................................................... 11 
3 Run from QSPI.............................................................................. 11 
4 Run from TCM............................................................................... 11 
5 Run from OCRAM......................................................................... 12 
6 Run from DDR RAM ..................................................................... 13 
5Remote communication applications (RPMsg) 14
1 Ping-pong application.................................................................. 14 
6FreeRTOS ............................................................ 15 
1 Installation .................................................................................... 15 
1.1 File Structure............................................................................... 15 
2 Board Support Package (BSP).................................................... 15 
2.1 UART........................................................................................... 15 
3 Build with ARM DS-5.................................................................... 16 
3.1 BSP files...................................................................................... 18 
4 Debug using DS-5 ........................................................................ 18 
4.1 Setup the hardware..................................................................... 18 
4.2 Import TCM version of “hello world” ............................................ 19 
4.3 Create a new Debug configuration.............................................. 19 
5 Build with ARM GCC.................................................................... 22 
5.1 Install ARM GCC......................................................................... 22 
5.2 Install MinGW.............................................................................. 22 
5.3 Install CMake............................................................................... 25 
5.4 Build Application.......................................................................... 26 
6 Build with Eclipse and ARM GCC ............................................... 26 
6.1 Install “GNU ARM Eclipse” plugins.............................................. 27 

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6.6.2 Create project: New..................................................................... 27

6.6.3 Create project: Linked folders...................................................... 28

6.6.4 Create project: Exclude from build .............................................. 30

6.6.5 Create project: “Include” paths .................................................... 31

6.6.6 Create project: Settings............................................................... 32

6.6.7 Build application .......................................................................... 36

6.7 Debug using Eclipse.................................................................... 36

6.7.1 LPC-Link 2 with J-Link firmware.................................................. 36

6.7.2 J-Link GDB Server ...................................................................... 36

6.7.3 J-Link script files.......................................................................... 36

6.7.4 Connect LPC-Link 2 to the board................................................ 36

6.7.5 Create a debug configuration...................................................... 38

6.7.6 Start a debug session.................................................................. 39

6.8 Build with IAR Embedded Workbench ....................................... 41

7Use DS-MDK for Application Development ...... 42

7.1 Installation .................................................................................... 42

7.2 Package Manager......................................................................... 42

7.3 UART Pin Muxing ......................................................................... 43

7.4 Debug the M4 Application ........................................................... 43

7.4.1 Build the application.................................................................... 43

7.4.2 Setup the debug adapter............................................................. 43

7.4.3 Create a debug configuration...................................................... 44

7.5 Debug the Linux Application....................................................... 47

7.5.1 Build the application.................................................................... 47

7.5.2 Setup Remote System Explorer (RSE) ....................................... 47

7.5.3 Create Debug Configuration........................................................ 49

7.6 Simultaneous Debugging............................................................ 52

8Troubleshooting.................................................. 53

8.1 JTAG connection problem when Linux has booted.................. 53

8.1.1 Description of problem................................................................. 53

8.1.2 Solution ....................................................................................... 53

8.2 Allow user “root” to use an SSH connection............................. 53

8.3 Linux (A9) terminal/console doesn’t accept input while

debugging M4 ........................................................................................ 54

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1 Document Revision History

Revision

Date

Description

2015-11-11

First release

2016-01-20

-Added description about how to build FreeRTOS: Chapter Error!

Reference source not found. and Chapter 6

- Updated Chapter 4 to describe how to load an application to TCM,

OCRAM, and DDR memory.

2016-09-02

Added chapter 8 (troubleshooting)

2017-03-06

- Added section 6.6 describing how to build using Eclipse

- Added section 6.7 describing how to debug using Eclipse

2017-04-25

- Added chapter 7 describing how to use DS-MDK

2017-09-22

- Removed chapter about MQX. FreeRTOS is recommended to use.

- Minor updates and clarifications to other sections.

- Added section 8.3

2020-11-05

- Updated instructions with regard to the COM Carrier board V2.

- Major updates to chapter 4

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2 Introduction

This document provides you with step-by-step instructions for how to work with the Cortex-M4

microcontroller on the iMX6 SoloX COM Board (EAC00244). The iMX6 SoloX Developer’s Kit

(EAK00245) has been used when writing these instructions.

2.1 Multi-Core

The i.MX6 SoloX processor has two cores; one ARM Cortex-A9 core and one ARM Cortex-M4 core.

This is also known as heterogeneous multiprocessing (HMP). When developing and application that

will utilize both these cores there are a number of things you need to be aware of.

-Both cores might have access to peripheral blocks in the processor. For your application you

have to decide which core that is responsible for a peripheral. This decision can affect, for

example, the device tree (dtb) file used by Linux when initializing device drivers.

oIn the instructions a specific dtb file will be used that disable some peripherals

conflicting with Cortex-M4

-Cortex-A9 is always the primary core that is the first to boot and responsible for starting

Cortex-M4. This is done by the u-boot in our examples

-The Cortex-M4 application must be stored on the QSPI flash. In the examples the u-boot will

write the application image to QSPI flash

-There are ways to communication between the cores. Chapter Error! Reference source not

found.describes how to run an application that utilizes Multi-Core Communication (MCC).

2.2 Additional Documentation

Additional recommended documentation:

•Getting Started with the i.MX6 SoloX Developer’s Kit –shows you how to get started with the

hardware.

2.3 Conventions

A number of conventions have been used throughout to help the reader better understand the content

of the document.

Constant width text –is used for file system paths and command, utility and tool names.

$ This field illustrates user input in a terminal running on the

development workstation, i.e., on the workstation where you edit,

configure and build Linux

# This field illustrates user input on the target hardware, i.e.,

input given to the terminal attached to the COM Board

This field is used to highlight important information

Working with Cortex-M4 on iMX6 SoloX COM Board

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3 Hardware Related

3.1 Prerequisites

To be able to follow all the instructions in this document the following is required.

•One iMX6 SoloX Developer’s Kit (EAK00331, EAK00245)

•If using the Developer’s Kit version 1 (V1) you need two FTDI cables for console output/input

from both the Cortex-A9 and the Cortex-M4. Please note that only one cable is included with

the Developer’s Kit V1. If you are using a Developer’s Kit version 2 (V2) you don’t need any

FTDI cables.

•One Debug interface board with 10-pos FPC cable (included with Developer’s Kit). Only

needed when debugging with ARM DS-5 as described in section 6.4

•Keil ULINK-Pro. Only needed when debugging with ARM DS-5 as described in section 6.4

•ARM DS-5 commercial license. Only needed when debugging with ARM DS-5 as described in

section 6.4

3.2 UART Interfaces on COM Carrier board version 1

Two consoles are needed when working with both the Cortex-A9 (running Linux) and the Cortex-M4

microcontroller. Connector J35 is used by Cortex-A9 and connector J15 is used by Cortex-M4 as

shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 –COM Carrier board V1, UART connectors

Cortex-A9

Cortex-M4

Working with Cortex-M4 on iMX6 SoloX COM Board

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3.2.1 Applications for Freescale Sabre Board

If you are testing pre-compiled applications developed for the Freescale Sabre board then console

output will be available on different pins, that is, not on J15 connector. UART2 is used, but on pins that

are available on the XBee connector (J17), see Figure 2.

-Pin 4 –RX on board, TX on FTDI cable (yellow)

-Pin 9 –TX on board, RX on FTDI cable (orange)

-Pin 10 –Ground (black)

Figure 2 - UART2 on XBee connector

3.3 UART interfaces on COM Carrier board version 2

The COM Carrier board version 2 has a dual channel UART-to-USB bridge, meaning that you will get

two UART interfaces via one USB cable connected between the micro-B USB connector (J16) on the

carrier board and your PC.

There are jumpers on the carrier board that lets you select which UART interface that is connected to

the UART-to-USB bridge, see Figure 3. Jumpers J19/J20 let you select between using UART-A or

UART-C as console for the Cortex-A side. By default, these jumpers select the UART-A interface, that

is, jumpers are in upper position. This is the position they should have for the iMX6 SoloX.

Jumpers J17/18 lets you select between using UART-B or UART-C as console for the Cortex-M side.

By default, these jumpers are not inserted, but they should be in upper position for the iMX6 SoloX.

Working with Cortex-M4 on iMX6 SoloX COM Board

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Figure 3 - COM Carrier board V2, UART interface connectors

3.4 Terminal application

You need a terminal application (two instances of it to connect both to the Cortex-A side and the

Cortex-M side). We recommend Tera Term, but you can use the terminal application of your choice.

Connect to the virtual COM ports using 115200 as baud rate, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity.

J18, J17, J19, J20

Left to right

J19, J20

Upper position: connect UART-A to Cortex-A console

Lower position: connect UART-C to Cortex-A console

J18, J17

Upper position: connect UART-B to Cortex-M console

Lower position: connect UART-C to Cortex-M console

J16

micro-B USB

connector

Working with Cortex-M4 on iMX6 SoloX COM Board

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4 Download and Start an Application

This section describes how to download and start a pre-compiled application.

4.1 Update boot partition with needed files

The remaining parts of this chapter assumes that the first partition of the eMMC contains the pre-

compile applications. If you have programmed your board using a UUU bundle from 2020-11-06 or

later the files will already have been copied to the eMMC flash. If you have programmed using an older

version and don’t want to update you can follow these instructions.

Note: It is not necessary to have the M4 applications on the eMMC, but for simplicity the

following instructions in this chapter assumes they are.

Download pre-compile applications

Go to http://imx.embeddedartists.com and download the file compiled_cortex_m4_apps.zip.

Direct link: http://imx.embeddedartists.com/imx6sx/compiled_cortex_m4_apps.zip

Copy via USB memory stick

There are several ways to copy these pre-compiled files to the eMMC, but here we will use a USB

memory stick.

1. Unpack the file compiled_cortex_m4_apps.zip file and copy the unpacked files to

the USB memory stick. This is something you do on your computer.

2. Boot into Linux and insert the USB memory stick into the USB host port on the carrier board.

You will see output like below in the console when inserting the USB memory stick. The most

important part is the last line that lists the device name (sda1).

[ 23.104504] usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 4 using ci_hdrc

[ 23.165591] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0781, idProduct=5406,

bcdDevice= 0.10

[ 23.173972] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3

[ 23.194511] usb 1-1.2: Product: U3 Cruzer Micro

[ 23.199055] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: SanDisk Corporation

[ 23.204371] usb 1-1.2: SerialNumber: 0000185A49619848

[ 23.225447] usb-storage 1-1.2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected

[ 23.264533] scsi host0: usb-storage 1-1.2:1.0

[ 24.315418] scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro 2.18 PQ:

0 ANSI: 2

[ 24.334542] scsi 0:0:0:1: CD-ROM SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro 2.18 PQ:

0 ANSI: 2

[ 24.345768] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 8015505 512-byte logical blocks: (4.10 GB/3.82

GiB)

[ 24.364543] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off

[ 24.373248] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found

[ 24.378630] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through

[ 24.443649] sda: sda1

3. Mount the USB memory stick and eMMC partition. The USB memory stick has in this

example the device name sda1 as can be seen in the output in step 2 above. The partition

on the eMMC that we will use is available at /dev/mmcblk2p1.

# mkdir /mnt/usb

# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

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