book

Building Embedded Linux Systems

Name: Building Embedded Linux Systems
Author: Karim Yaghmour
ISBN: 9780596002220

by Karim Yaghmour

April 2003

Intermediate to advanced

416 pages

13h 38m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Dedication
Preface
Audience of This BookScope and Background InformationOrganization of the MaterialHardware Used in This BookSoftware VersionsBook Web SiteTypographical ConventionsContact InformationAcknowledgments
1. Introduction
1.1. Definitions1.1.1. What Is Linux?1.1.2. What Is Embedded Linux?1.1.3. What Is Real-Time Linux?1.2. Real Life and Embedded Linux Systems1.2.1. Types of Embedded Linux Systems1.2.1.1. Size1.2.1.2. Time constraints1.2.1.3. Networkability1.2.1.4. User interaction1.2.2. Examples1.2.2.1. Accelerator control1.2.2.2. Computer-aided training system1.2.2.3. Ericsson “blip”1.2.2.4. SCADA protocol converter1.2.2.5. Sharp Zaurus1.2.2.6. Space vehicle control1.2.3. Survey Findings1.2.4. Reasons for Choosing Linux1.2.4.1. Quality and reliability of code1.2.4.2. Availability of code1.2.4.3. Hardware support1.2.4.4. Communication protocol and software standards1.2.4.5. Available tools1.2.4.6. Community support1.2.4.7. Licensing1.2.4.8. Vendor independence1.2.4.9. Cost1.2.5. Players of the Embedded Linux Scene1.2.5.1. Free software and open source community1.2.5.2. Industry1.2.5.3. Organizations1.2.5.4. Resources1.2.6. Copyright and Patent Issues1.2.6.1. Textbook GPL1.2.6.2. Pending issues1.2.6.3. RTLinux patent1.2.7. Using Distributions1.2.7.1. To use or not to use1.2.7.2. How to choose a distribution1.2.7.3. What to avoid doing with a distribution1.3. Example Multicomponent System1.3.1. General Architecture1.3.2. Requirements of Each Component1.3.2.1. Data acquisition module1.3.2.2. Control module1.3.2.3. System management module1.3.2.4. User interface modules1.3.3. Variations in Requirements1.4. Design and Implementation Methodology1.4.1. Creating a Target Linux System1.4.2. Setting Up and Using Development Tools1.4.3. Developing for the Embedded1.4.4. Networking
2. Basic Concepts
2.1. Types of Hosts2.1.1. Linux Workstation2.1.2. Unix Workstation2.1.3. Windows (2000, NT, 98, etc.) Workstation2.2. Types of Host/Target Development Setups2.2.1. Linked Setup2.2.2. Removable Storage Setup2.2.3. Standalone Setup2.3. Types of Host/Target Debug Setups2.4. Generic Architecture of an Embedded Linux System2.5. System Startup2.6. Types of Boot Configurations2.6.1. Solid State Storage Media2.6.2. Disk2.6.3. Network2.7. System Memory Layout
3. Hardware Support
3.1. Processor Architectures3.1.1. x863.1.2. ARM3.1.3. IBM/Motorola PowerPC3.1.4. MIPS3.1.5. Hitachi SuperH3.1.6. Motorola 680003.2. Buses and Interfaces3.2.1. ISA3.2.2. PCI3.2.3. PCMCIA3.2.4. PC/1043.2.5. VME3.2.6. CompactPCI3.2.7. Parallel Port3.2.8. SCSI3.2.9. USB3.2.10. IEEE1394 (FireWire)3.2.11. GPIB3.2.12. I2C3.3. I/O3.3.1. Serial Port3.3.2. Parallel Port3.3.3. Modem3.3.4. Data Acquisition3.3.5. Process Control3.3.6. Home Automation3.3.7. Keyboard3.3.8. Mouse3.3.9. Display3.3.10. Sound3.3.11. Printer3.4. Storage3.4.1. Memory Technology Devices3.4.2. ATA-ATAPI (IDE)3.4.3. SCSI3.5. General Purpose Networking3.5.1. Ethernet3.5.2. IrDA3.5.3. IEEE 802.11 (Wireless)3.5.4. Bluetooth3.6. Industrial Grade Networking3.6.1. CAN3.6.2. ARCnet3.6.3. Modbus3.6.4. A Word on the Other Industrial Networks3.7. System Monitoring
4. Development Tools
4.1. Using a Practical Project Workspace4.2. GNU Cross-Platform Development Toolchain4.2.1. GNU Toolchain Basics4.2.1.1. Component versions4.2.1.2. Build requirements4.2.1.3. Build overview4.2.1.4. Workspace setup4.2.1.5. Preparing the build-tools directory4.2.1.6. Resources4.2.1.7. A word on prebuilt cross-platform toolchains4.2.2. Kernel Headers Setup4.2.3. Binutils Setup4.2.4. Bootstrap Compiler Setup4.2.5. C Library Setup4.2.6. Full Compiler Setup4.2.7. Finalizing the Toolchain Setup4.2.8. Using the Toolchain4.3. C Library Alternatives4.3.1. uClibc4.3.1.1. Library setup4.3.1.2. Usage4.3.2. Diet libc4.3.2.1. Library setup4.3.2.2. Usage4.4. Java4.4.1. The Blackdown Project4.4.2. Open Source Virtual Machines4.4.3. The GNU Java Compiler4.5. Perl4.5.1. Microperl4.5.2. Miniperl4.6. Python4.7. Ada4.8. Other Programming Languages4.9. Integrated Development Environments4.10. Terminal Emulators4.10.1. Accessing the Serial Port4.10.2. Minicom4.10.3. UUCP cu4.10.4. C-Kermit
5. Kernel Considerations
5.1. Selecting a Kernel5.2. Configuring the Kernel5.2.1. Configuration Options5.2.2. Configuration Methods5.2.3. Managing Multiple Configurations5.2.4. Using the EXTRAVERSION Variable5.3. Compiling the Kernel5.3.1. Building Dependencies5.3.2. Building the Kernel5.3.3. Building the Modules5.4. Installing the Kernel5.4.1. Managing Multiple Kernel Images5.4.2. Installing Kernel Modules5.5. In the Field5.5.1. Dealing with Kernel Failure
6. Root Filesystem Content
6.1. Basic Root Filesystem Structure6.2. Libraries6.2.1. glibc6.2.2. uClibc6.3. Kernel Modules6.4. Kernel Images6.5. Device Files6.6. Main System Applications6.6.1. Complete Standard Applications6.6.2. BusyBox6.6.2.1. Setup6.6.2.2. Usage6.6.3. TinyLogin6.6.3.1. Setup6.6.3.2. Usage6.6.4. embutils6.6.4.1. Setup6.6.4.2. Usage6.7. Custom Applications6.8. System Initialization6.8.1. Standard System V init6.8.2. BusyBox init6.8.3. Minit
7. Storage Device Manipulation
7.1. MTD-Supported Devices7.1.1. MTD Usage Basics7.1.1.1. MTD /dev entries7.1.1.2. Configuring the kernel7.1.1.3. The MTD utilities7.1.1.4. Installing the MTD utilities for the host7.1.1.5. Installing the MTD utilities for the target7.1.2. Native CFI Flash7.1.2.1. Kernel configuration7.1.2.2. Partitioning7.1.2.3. Required /dev entries7.1.2.4. Erasing7.1.2.5. Writing and reading7.1.3. DiskOnChip7.1.3.1. Preliminary manipulations7.1.3.2. Kernel configuration7.1.3.3. Required /dev entries7.1.3.4. Erasing7.1.3.5. Installing bootloader image7.1.3.6. NFTL formatting7.1.3.7. Partitioning7.2. Disk Devices7.2.1. CompactFlash7.2.2. Floppy Disk7.2.3. Hard Disk7.3. To Swap or Not to Swap
8. Root Filesystem Setup
8.1. Selecting a Filesystem8.1.1. Characterizing Filesystems8.1.2. Guidelines for Filesystem Selection8.1.3. Filesystems for Disk Devices8.2. Using an NFS-Mounted Root Filesystem to Write a Filesystem Image to Flash8.3. CRAMFS8.4. JFFS28.5. Disk Filesystem over NFTL8.6. Disk Filesystem over RAM Disk8.7. Mounting Directories on TMPFS8.8. Live Updates8.8.1. The rsync Utility8.8.2. Package Management Tools8.8.3. Ad Hoc Scripts8.8.3.1. Installing the patch utility8.8.3.2. Scripts for performing updates

9. Setting Up the Bootloader
9.1. Bootloaders Galore9.1.1. LILO9.1.2. GRUB9.1.3. ROLO9.1.4. loadlin9.1.5. EtherBoot9.1.6. LinuxBIOS9.1.7. Compaq’s bootldr9.1.8. blob9.1.9. PMON9.1.10. sh-Boot9.1.11. U-Boot9.1.12. RedBoot9.2. Server Setup for Network Boot9.2.1. Setting Up the DHCP Daemon9.2.2. Setting Up the TFTP Daemon9.2.3. Mounting a Root Filesystem on an NFS Server9.3. Using LILO with Disk and CompactFlash Devices9.4. Using GRUB with DiskOnChip Devices9.4.1. Configuring and Building GRUB for the DOC9.4.2. Installing GRUB on a DOC9.4.3. Configuring GRUB to Boot from a DOC9.5. U-Boot9.5.1. Compiling and Installing9.5.2. Booting with U-Boot9.5.3. Using U-Boot’s Environment Variables9.5.4. Creating Boot Scripts9.5.5. Preparing Binary Images9.5.6. Booting Using BOOTP/DHCP, TFTP, and NFS9.5.7. Downloading Binary Images to Flash9.5.8. Booting Using a RAM Disk9.5.9. Booting from CompactFlash Devices9.5.10. Updating U-Boot
10. Setting Up Networking Services
10.1. The Internet Super-Server10.1.1. inetd10.1.2. xinetd10.2. Remote Administration with SNMP10.3. Network Login Through Telnet10.3.1. netkit-telnetd10.3.2. utelnetd10.4. Secure Communication with SSH10.4.1. OpenSSH10.4.2. A Word on Other SSH Implementations10.5. Serving Web Content Through HTTP10.5.1. Boa10.5.2. thttpd10.5.3. A Word on Apache10.6. Dynamic Configuration Through DHCP
11. Debugging Tools
11.1. Debugging Applications with gdb11.1.1. Building and Installing gdb Components11.1.2. Using the gdb Components to Debug Target Applications11.1.3. Interfacing with a Graphical Frontend11.2. Tracing11.2.1. Single Process Tracing11.2.2. System Tracing11.2.2.1. Preliminary manipulations11.2.2.2. Patching the kernel11.2.2.3. Building the trace daemon11.2.2.4. Installing the visualization tool11.2.2.5. Tracing the target and visualizing its behavior11.3. Performance Analysis11.3.1. Process Profiling11.3.2. Code Coverage11.3.3. System Profiling11.3.3.1. Basic /proc figures11.3.3.2. Complete profile using LTT11.3.4. Kernel Profiling11.3.5. Measuring Interrupt Latency11.4. Memory Debugging11.4.1. Electric Fence11.4.2. MEMWATCH11.5. A Word on Hardware Tools
A. Worksheet
A.1. Project IdentificationA.2. Hardware SummaryA.3. Development ToolsA.4. KernelA.5. Root filesystemA.6. Storage Device OrganizationA.7. Bootloader Configuration and UseA.8. Networking servicesA.9. Custom Project SoftwareA.10. Debug NotesA.11. Additional NotesA.12. Embedded Linux Systems Worksheet
B. Resources
B.1. OnlineB.2. BooksB.3. PublicationsB.4. OrganizationsB.5. Linux and Open-Source-Oriented Hardware Projects
C. Important Licenses and Notices
C.1. Exclusion of User-Space Applications from Kernel’s GPLC.2. Notices on Binary Kernel ModulesC.2.1. First Posting by Linus in Kernel Interface ThreadC.2.2. Second Posting by Linus in Kernel Interface ThreadC.2.3. Post by Alan Cox in Kernel Hooks ThreadC.2.4. First Post by Linus in Security Hooks License ThreadC.2.5. Second Post by Linus in Security Hooks License ThreadC.3. Legal Clarifications About the Kernel by Linus Torvalds
About the Author
Colophon
Copyright

Overview

Linux® is being adopted by an increasing number of embedded systems developers, who have been won over by its sophisticated scheduling and networking, its cost-free license, its open development model, and the support offered by rich and powerful programming tools. While there is a great deal of hype surrounding the use of Linux in embedded systems, there is not a lot of practical information. Building Embedded Linux Systems is the first in-depth, hard-core guide to putting together an embedded system based on the Linux kernel. This indispensable book features arcane and previously undocumented procedures for:

Building your own GNU development toolchain
Using an efficient embedded development framework
Selecting, configuring, building, and installing a target-specific kernel
Creating a complete target root filesystem
Setting up, manipulating, and using solid-state storage devices
Installing and configuring a bootloader for the target
Cross-compiling a slew of utilities and packages
Debugging your embedded system using a plethora of tools and techniques

Details are provided for various target architectures and hardware configurations, including a thorough review of Linux's support for embedded hardware. All explanations rely on the use of open source and free software packages. By presenting how to build the operating system components from pristine sources and how to find more documentation or help, this book greatly simplifies the task of keeping complete control over one's embedded operating system, whether it be for technical or sound financial reasons.Author Karim Yaghmour, a well-known designer and speaker who is responsible for the Linux Trace Toolkit, starts by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of Linux as an embedded operating system. Licensing issues are included, followed by a discussion of the basics of building embedded Linux systems. The configuration, setup, and use of over forty different open source and free software packages commonly used in embedded Linux systems are also covered. uClibc, BusyBox, U-Boot, OpenSSH, thttpd, tftp, strace, and gdb are among the packages discussed.

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