This information applies to the Sheevaplug only. We'll create a Guruplug version as soon as possible.
Prerequisites
Some of the instructions that we provide, or that you will find elsewhere on the 'net may provide long and/or complicated commands to be entered on the command line. The ability to copy and paste this information will save a great deal of time.
- For Linux users:
- We prefer the cu package, which runs from a terminal (command line).
- Installation may be as simple as apt-get install cu
- Sometimes it is necessary to execute sudo modprobe ftdi_sio vendor=0x9e88 product=0x9e8f for the connected SheevaPlug to be recognised.
- Then it's as easy as cu -s 115200 -l /dev/ttyUSB1 (within a cu session type ~? to list commands and ~z to exit).
- (When connecting via ssh you can copy / paste the same as you would do in any other terminal session)
- For Windows Users:
- Do read the .pdf ReadMe that is on the SheevaPlug CD. Appendix B gives instructions on how to install the driver for connecting via the USB miniport.(this is no longer supplied as a CD, but can be downloaded from here: http://www.downloadsnewit.co.uk/CD-images/Sheeva_CD/)
- We prefer PuTTY when working with the USB connection, however you cannot copy & paste in or out of a PuTTY session. We prefer Cygwin for anything that involves copy & paste. The installer for Cygwin is somewhat unusual, but the key element that is required is openssh, which is to be found in the Net category of the package list.
We strongly recommend that the very first things that you do are to install the aforementioned packages on the PC that you will use to connect to the SheevaPlug.
Concepts
The SheevaPlug has Ubuntu 9.04 pre-installed. If or when you get stuck, it may be helpful to use
SheevaPlug and / or Ubuntu in your search terms.
Unless you have purchased a pre-configured UBIFS or SD card booting model, there are a couple of configuration errors with the pre-installed Ubuntu. For instructions on correcting those errors, see
here. (But you should read the rest of this article first).
- For Windows users and / or linux newbies:
- In order to edit a file on the SheevaPlug, from within a terminal session, we recommend nano. If you already know how to use another editor, by all means use the method that you are familiar with. Otherwise, type nano -w /path/to/file - the TAB key may be used to autocomplete. The -w switch allows for simpler editing of long lines ("Don't wrap long lines").
- When you are logged in as root, your access to the system is not restricted and you should be able to run any command, or edit any file. If you are logged in as any other user, it may be necessary to prefix your command with sudo, which will prompt you for your current password and then allow you to run the otherwise restricted command. For instance, unless you are logged in as root mkdir /mnt/my-usb-stick would most likely display the error mkdir: cannot create directory `/mnt/my-usb-stick': Permission denied. The correct way to execute the command would be sudo mkdir /mnt/my-usb-stick
- In a terminal session, you may use the up and down arrows on your keyboard to recall previous typed commands, and navigate through them.
Until you've configured additional software or attached an external communications device (such as a USB wireless device), there are two ways to connect to your SheevaPlug; via the included USB cable or via ethernet.
Sometimes when connecting, you may be presented with a blank (terminal) screen. You may wonder if you did something wrong. If nothing seems to be happening, hit the Enter key and you should see a welcome prompt. If you don't, go back and check your settings.
If you connect via USB, you can observe the boot process, and you should see a series of console messages similar to that listed in the Appendices of the USB Flash Recovery pdf file on the CD. It starts like this:
__ __ _ _
| \/ | __ _ _ ____ _____| | |
| |\/| |/ _` | '__\ \ / / _ \ | |
| | | | (_| | | \ V / __/ | |
|_| |_|\__,_|_| \_/ \___|_|_|
_ _ ____ _
| | | | | __ ) ___ ___ | |_
| | | |___| _ \ / _ \ / _ \| __|
| |_| |___| |_) | (_) | (_) | |_
\___/ |____/ \___/ \___/ \__|
** MARVELL BOARD: SHEEVA PLUG LE
U-Boot 1.1.4 (Mar 19 2009 - 16:06:59) Marvell version: 3.4.16
U-Boot code: 00600000 -> 0067FFF0 BSS: -> 006CEE80
Soc: 88F6281 A0 (DDR2)
CPU running @ 1200Mhz L2 running @ 400Mhz
SysClock = 400Mhz , TClock = 200Mhz
DRAM CAS Latency = 5 tRP = 5 tRAS = 18 tRCD=6
DRAM CS[0] base 0x00000000 size 256MB
DRAM CS[1] base 0x10000000 size 256MB
DRAM Total size 512MB 16bit width
Flash: 0 kB
Addresses 8M - 0M are saved for the U-Boot usage.
Mem malloc Initialization (8M - 7M): Done
NAND:512 MB
CPU : Marvell Feroceon (Rev 1)
Streaming disabled
Write allocate disabled
USB 0: host mode
PEX 0: interface detected no Link.
Net: egiga0 [PRIME], egiga1
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0
There's no need to stop the autoboot; wait another minute or two and you should be presented with a login prompt. Sometimes it doesn't appear immediately (if you connected after the boot process is completed, for instance, so there's no harm in hitting enter if you see only an empty screen).
If you connect via ssh, you must first wait for the SheevaPlug to boot up and be assigned an IP address (i.e. it will need to be connected to a network where there is a DHCP server; usually a router or modem will provide such a service).
debian login:
Login as
root with password
nosoup4u
debian login: root
Password:
Last login: Sun Sep 20 17:40:53 UTC 2009 on ttyS0
Linux debian 2.6.22.18 #1 Thu Mar 19 14:46:22 IST 2009 armv5tejl
The programs included with the Ubuntu system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.
Ubuntu comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by
applicable law.
To access official Ubuntu documentation, please visit:
http://help.ubuntu.com/
[email protected]:~#
Now you may use this login to configure the SheevaPlug the way you want it. (The first thing you might want to do is change the root password, and create a non-root user).
In its out-of-the-box configuration, the SheevaPlug will boot in approximately 2 minutes; here's one set of timings:
| From power-up to mounting the jffs2 filesystem | 30 seconds
|
| mounting the jffs2 filesystem | 70 seconds
|
| final part of boot | 20 seconds
|
See also:
2009-11-07: Edited to clarify that
Fixing the out-of-the-box configuration is not appropriate to UBIFS and SD card boot configurations.
2009-11-14: Added link to computingplugs.com
2009-11-24: Added link for Mac users
