Understanding the design of the Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi has two identifiable microchips on the PCB:
- In the center is one that's clearly marked with a Broadcom logo and text starting with BCM283x, which is the main processor
- The Raspberry Pi 2 has its RAM chip at the back of the PCB.
- Near the USB port, there is a smaller chip that is either a USB hub or a USB/LAN chip, depending on the model.
BCM283x is actually a high-performance GPU with an embedded ARM processor. It is a SoC (System on Chip), which means that there is small amount of space for code that executes when it gets turned on. This is known as Stage 1 in the boot process.
Boot process
Some network actions need to be performed during the boot process, and it is good to understand the ...
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