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Port Arch Linux to Jetson

This guide will show you how to port Arch Linux onto the Nvidia Jetson Nano Devkit. Including installing the kernel, drivers, and configuration from the Linux for Nano release provided by NVIDIA. It will also provide steps for testing that the NVIDIA drivers have been installed correctly and are working correctly.

On host computer (preferably running Linux)

Obtaining Drivers and Image

  1. Download the latest Nano Driver Package from https://developer.nvidia.com/linux-tegra 

    wget https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/l4t/r32_release_v6.1/t210/jetson-210_linux_r32.6.1_aarch64.tbz2 Linux_for_Tegra.tbz2

    Info

    The link is different for the AGX Xavier Jetson.

  2. Extract the downloaded Jetson Nano driver packages (from step 1) to a folder called Linux_for_Tegra: 

    sudo tar jxpf Linux_for_Tegra.tbz2

  3. Go into the directories created from the extracted tar file (from step 2): 

    cd Linux_for_tegra  # We will refer to this directory as <path_to_L4T_TOP_DIR>
cd rootfs           # We will refer to this directory as <path_to_L4T_rootfs>

  4. Enter the <path_to_L4T_rootfs> folder, download and extract the arch image file: 

    cd rootfs
wget http://os.archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz
sudo tar -xpf ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz

Changing the Configuration Scripts

Compared to Ubuntu a few configuration changes are needed as Arch Linux has a different directory structure and init program. This section outlines the changes that need to be made to the archives in nv_tegra folder of the driver package of Release. Many of the files / directories need to be relocated as the file system hierarchy differs between Arch Linux and Ubuntu.

  1. Modify the nv_customize_rootfs.sh 

    sudo vim Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tools/scripts/nv_customize_rootfs.sh

    Find the part of the script where: 

    if [ -d "${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/tegra" ]; then
    ARM_ABI_DIR_ABS="usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf"
elif [ -d "${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabi/tegra" ]; then
    ARM_ABI_DIR_ABS="usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabi"
elif [ -d "${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/tegra" ]; then
    ARM_ABI_DIR_ABS="usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu"
else
    echo "Error: None of Hardfp/Softfp Tegra libs found"
    exit 4
fi

    And add the two lines: 

    if [ -d "${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/tegra" ]; then
    ARM_ABI_DIR_ABS="usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf"
elif [ -d "${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabi/tegra" ]; then
    ARM_ABI_DIR_ABS="usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabi"
elif [ -d "${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/tegra" ]; then
    ARM_ABI_DIR_ABS="usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu"
elif [ -d "${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib/tegra" ]; then                     # Add this line
    ARM_ABI_DIR="${LDK_ROOTFS_DIR}/usr/lib"                             # Add this line
else
    echo "Error: None of Hardfp/Softfp Tegra libs found"
    exit 4
fi

  2. Extract the tars of the nv_tegra folder into directories of the same name: 

    cd Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra
sudo mkdir nvidia_drivers config nv_tools nv_sample_apps/nvgstapps

sudo tar -xpjf nvidia_drivers.tbz2 -C nvidia_drivers/
sudo tar -xpjf config.tbz2 -C config/
sudo tar -xpjf nv_tools.tbz2 -C nv_tools/
sudo tar -xpjf nv_sample_apps/nvgstapps.tbz2 -C nv_sample_apps/nvgstapps/

Changes to nvidia_drivers Package

  1. The lib folder will need to be moved into /usr: 

    cd Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra/nvidia_drivers
sudo mv lib/* usr/lib/
sudo rm -r lib

  2. Everything in usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu will need to be moved into usr/lib: 

    sudo mv usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/* usr/lib/
sudo rm -r usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu

  3. nv_tegra_release in etc/ will need to be updated to include the correct path to the tegra libraries: 

    sudo vim Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra/nvidia_drivers/etc/nv_tegra_release

    The line in nv_tegra_release need to be replaced. Find the line: 

    0c165125388fbd943e7f8b37a272dec7c5d57c15 */usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/tegra/libnvmm.so

    Replace it with the correct path: 

    0c165125388fbd943e7f8b37a272dec7c5d57c15 */usr/lib/tegra/libnvmm.so

  4. Now go into the folder Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra/nvidia_drivers/etc/ld.so.conf.d/: 

    sudo vim Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra/nvidia_drivers/etc/ld.so.conf.d/nvidia-tegra.conf

    Point to the right directory and add the tegra-egl entry. The contents of nvidia-tegra.conf should look like this: 

    /usr/lib/tegra
/usr/lib/tegra-egl

Changes to the nv_tools Package

Note: In more recent versions of the nvidia drivers package (downloaded in step 1) you may not need to do step 11 as it has already done for you. Check the directories before running the commands in step 11.

  1. The tegrastats script should be moved from home/ubuntu into the /usr/bin directory. This removes the dependency on a user called ubuntu: 
    cd Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra/nv_tools
mkdir -p usr/bin
mv home/ubuntu/tegrastats usr/bin/
rm -r home

Changes to nvgstapps Package

Note: In more recent versions of the nvidia drivers package (downloaded in step 1) you may not need to do step 12 as it has already done for you. Check the directories before running the commands in step 12.

  1. Move the contents of usr/sbin into `usr/bin`` 

    cd Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra/nv_sample_apps/nvgstapps/
sudo mv usr/sbin/* usr/bin
sudo rm -r usr/sbin

  2. Move the contents of usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu to usr/lib 

    sudo mv usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/* usr/lib/
sudo rm -r usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu

Finalizing Configuration Changes

  1. When you have finished making all the listed changes, repackage the files: 

    cd <path_to_L4T_TOP_DIR>/nv_tegra


    cd nvidia_drivers
sudo tar -cpjf ../nvidia_drivers.tbz2 *
cd ..

    cd config
sudo tar -cpjf ../config.tbz2 *
cd ..

    cd nv_tools
sudo tar -cpjf ../nv_tools.tbz2 *
cd ..

    cd nv_sample_apps/nvgstapps
sudo tar -cpjf ../nvgstapps.tbz2 *
cd ../..

Changes to rootfs

The following are changes that will be made to contents in your rootfs directory.

Initialization Script​

As Arch Linux uses systemd rather than upstart, the init script will need to be converted into a systemd service. Information on systemd and how to create services can be found on the Arch Linux Wiki page for systemd

  1. To create the systemd service, we will need the service descriptor file, that tells systemd about the service. Hence need to create a service file as below in <path_to_L4T_TOP_DIR>/rootfs/usr/lib/systemd/system/nvidia-tegra.service:

    Tip

    Path may actually be <path_to_L4T_TOP_DIR>/usr/lib/systemd/system/nvidia-tegra.service. Try the first one before showing this guide to anyone else!!

    Create and open file in vim editor: 

    sudo vim Linux_for_Tegra/usr/lib/systemd/system/nvidia-tegra.service

    File contents: 

    ##Location
## /usr/lib/systemd/system/nvidia-tegra.service

[Unit]
Description=The NVIDIA tegra init script

[Service]
type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
ExecStart=/usr/bin/nvidia-tegra-init-script

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

  2. Similarly, create a new file at <path_to_L4T_TOP_DIR>/rootfs/usr/bin/nvidia-tegra-init-script, and place these contents inside:

    Create and open fil in vim editor: 

    sudo vim Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/usr/bin/nvidia-tegra-init-script

    File contents: 

    #!/bin/bash

if [ -e /sys/power/state ]; then
    chmod 0666 /sys/power/state
fi

if [ -e /sys/devices/soc0/family ]; then
    SOCFAMILY="`cat /sys/devices/soc0/family`"
fi

if [ "$SOCFAMILY" = "Tegra210" ] &&
    [ -e /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_min_freq ]; then
    sudo bash -c "echo -n 510000 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_min_freq"
fi

if [ -d /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuquiet/tegra_cpuquiet ] ; then
    echo 500 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuquiet/tegra_cpuquiet/down_delay
    echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuquiet/tegra_cpuquiet/enable
elif [ -w /sys/module/cpu_tegra210/parameters/auto_hotplug ] ; then
    echo 1 > /sys/module/cpu_tegra210/parameters/auto_hotplug
fi

if [ -e /sys/module/cpuidle/parameters/power_down_in_idle ] ; then
    echo "Y" > /sys/module/cpuidle/parameters/power_down_in_idle
elif [ -e /sys/module/cpuidle/parameters/lp2_in_idle ] ; then
    echo "Y" > /sys/module/cpuidle/parameters/lp2_in_idle
fi

if [ -e /sys/block/sda0/queue/read_ahead_kb ]; then
echo 2048 > /sys/block/sda0/queue/read_ahead_kb
fi
if [ -e /sys/block/sda1/queue/read_ahead_kb ]; then
    echo 2048 > /sys/block/sda1/queue/read_ahead_kb
fi

for uartInst in 0 1 2 3
do
    uartNode="/dev/ttyHS$uartInst"
    if [ -e "$uartNode" ]; then
        ln -s /dev/ttyHS$uartInst /dev/ttyTHS$uartInst
    fi
done

machine=`cat /sys/devices/soc0/machine`
if [ "${machine}" = "jetson-nano-devkit" ] ; then
    echo 4 > /sys/class/graphics/fb0/blank
            BoardRevision=`cat /proc/device-tree/chosen/board_info/major_revision`
            if [ "${BoardRevision}" = "A" ] ||
                    [ "${BoardRevision}" = "B" ] ||
                    [ "${BoardRevision}" = "C" ] ||
                    [ "${BoardRevision}" = "D" ]; then
                    echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/tegra-otg/enable_device
                    echo 1 > /sys/devices/platform/tegra-otg/enable_host
            fi
fi

if [ -e /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_governors ]; then
    read governors < /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_governors
    case $governors in
        *interactive*)
            echo interactive > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor
            if [ -e /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/interactive ] ; then
                echo "1224000" >/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/interactive/hispeed_freq
                echo "95" >/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/interactive/target_loads
                echo "20000" >/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/interactive/min_sample_time
            fi
                ;;
        *)
                ;;
    esac
fi

echo "Success! Exiting"
exit 0

  3. Enable the script before flashing / first boot by create the following symbolic link to enable the service: 

    cd Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/etc/systemd/system/sysinit.target.wants/
ln -s /usr/lib/systemd/system/nvidia-tegra.service nvidia-tegra.service

    This should be executed after apply_binaries, so the nvidia-tegra service is in place.

Pacman Configuration

  1. As we have installed a custom kernel to boot linux on the jetson-nano-devkit, it is necessary to update pacman.conf to ignore updates to the kernel package. To do so add linux as an ignored package to your <path_to_L4T_rootfs>/etc/pacman.conf as below:

    Open file in vim editor: 

    sudo vim Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/etc/pacman.conf

    Edit the following line to: 

    IgnorePkg=linux

Flashing the Jetson

The steps for flashing the Arch Linux image to the Jetson are no different than flashing the image for Ubuntu.

  1. Enable recovery mode on the Jetson:

    • Enabling recovery Mode on the Jetson:

      1. Jumper the J48 power select pin first and plug the power jack
      2. Jumper the recovery pin
      3. Jumper the reset pin
      4. Remove the jumper of reset pin
      5. Remove the jumper of recovery pin.

      You should be able to see an nvidia device with lsusb command on your host computer.

  2. Plug the jetson in via USB to the host computer (where you have done steps 1-18).

  3. Apply the NVIDIA specific configuration, binaries and the L4T kernel: 

    sudo ./apply_binaries.sh

  4. Create the image from the rootfs directory and flash the image to the Jetson: 

    sudo ./flash.sh jetson-nano-devkit mmcblk0p1

    Tip

    You may need to change the big if statement of the apply_binaries.sh script to get it to apply the changes you made in the previous steps. Test and see.

  5. Your device should reboot and prompt you to login. The default login for Arch Linux ARM is: Username: root Password: root