User guide

12 GR-LEON4-ITX Development Board

Quick Start Guide

3 LINUX SYSTEM USER GUIDE

3.1 Overview

When the system is powered on the processor will load the Linux kernel from flash into main

memory. The kernel will then mount a Debian root file system system from the USB Flash

stick.

The sections below describe the system and the available user interfaces. The reader is

encouraged to read the full documentation before using the system for the first time.

NOTE: The Linux image programmed into the board SPI Flash boot PROM and the source

code provided on the USB stick is for SnapGear Linux. This is an older Linux distribution that

is no longer actively maintained by Aeroflex Gaisler. For users that want to do Linux kernel

development, and for applications that require a newer user land, or are better off using

BusyBox, it is recommended to start from Aeroflex Gaisler's newer solution built around

Linux, named LinuxBuild. Packages are available from http://www.gaisler.com.

3.2 Debian Operating System

The USB Flash stick contains an installation of Debian 4.0 (Etch). Debian is a well-known

GNU/Linux distribution which comes with extensive documentation and a large set of

precompiled applications. A good starting point for Debian documentation is

http://www.debian.org/doc/

Precompiled applications can easily be added using Debian's package management system.

To search for an application the command apt-cache can be used. To search for the

application `less', issue the command:

apt-cache search less

The output will show a large amount of packages, in this case the package we searched for

is simply named less:

less - Pager program similar to more

To install this application we now issue (to install applications you must be logged in as the

super-user):

apt-get install less

This will fetch the application from a public repository specified in the file /etc/apt/sources.list,

which at delivery is specified to a public repository that can be accessed over the Internet.

More documentation about the package management system is available at the Debian

website mentioned above.

3.3 Logging in to the system

There are three ways of logging in to the system,

• Serial terminal connected to the RS232 port (or GRMON with -u flag)

• Keyboard, mouse and computer screen directly attached the system

The recommended interface for system interaction is to attach a keyboard, a mouse and a

computer monitor and use the command line interface. This setup will be no different from

working with a normal Linux desktop system.

The serial terminal provides an alternative way of access. To access the system via the