Winter 2010 Posters/SheevaPlug Configuration

Project Name

SheevaPlug Configuration

Names

Alex Vlahopoulos

The SheevaPlug Hardware Specifications

Sheeva CPU Core

1.2 GHz operation

L1 Cache: 16K Instruction + 16K Data

L2 Cache: 256KB

Memory

DDR2 400MHz, 16-bit bus

512MB DDR2: 1Gb x8, 4 devices

Power efficient Samsung devices

NAND FLASH Controller, 8-bit bus

512MB NAND FLASH: 4Gb x8, direct boot

128-bit eFuse Memory

Power

Power input: 100-240VAC/50-60Hz 19W DC Consumption: 5V/3.0A High efficiency POL DC-DC converters

Development Interface

System Development Board JTAG and Console Interface via USB SDIO expansion JTAG OpenOCD support via USB

High Speed I/O & Peripherals

GE, USB 2.0 Host RTC w/ Battery

The Goal

The goal of this project was to successfully run Fedora 12 on the SheevaPlug. The operating system that came loaded on the device is Debian. The purpose behind installing Fedora 12 on this device is to test the operating system's performance on the ARM architecture.

Challenges

1. 512MB NAND is too small to install a regular installation of Fedora 12 on (The plug has no disk)

2. The plug does not have a BIOS

Solutions

1. In order to run Fedora 12 on the SheevaPlug I had to install the operating system on an SD card (although it can also be installed on a USB drive).

2. Since there is no BIOS to select which device gets booted, the SheevaPlug has a bootloader called U-boot. However, U-boot needed to be upgraded and configured for the SD card to be selected during the boot up process.

Results

1. Fedora 12 was successfully installed on an SD card and booted from the SheevaPlug. The boot up time was quick as well, with minimal extra configuration required once booted it up (i.e. networking)

2. Following the HOW-TO page for upgrading U-boot was pretty simple, however making sure the uboot.bin file copies over to the USB drive is important for the device to actually read it and copy it over. To configure U-boot, about 7 configuration commands were required, as soon as this was done and the device rebooted, the device selected the SD card and booted Fedora 12.

Acknowledgements

Chris Tyler

Links

• Fedora Project - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Architectures/ARM/PlatformSheevaplug

• Instructables (HOW-TO-PAGE) - http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-install-Fedora-on-a-SheevaPlug-and-boot-off/

• GlobalScale - http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/p-22-sheevaplug-dev-kit-us.aspx

• U-Boot Upgrading (HOW-TO-PAGE)- http://www.cyrius.com/debian/kirkwood/sheevaplug/uboot-upgrade.html

Logos

• Fedora
• Seneca