Congatec SMARC conga-SMX8-X User manual

Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 1/8
conga-SMX8-X (Prototype Revision Y.1)
Sample Distribution Set for congatec SMARC 2.0 Development
Quick Start Guide
Revision 1.1

Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 2/8
Preface
This quick start guide provides information about the contents of the
conga-SMX8-X (Prototype Revision Y.1) sample distribution set and how
to set it up.
Disclaimer
The information contained within this quick start guide, including but not
limited to any product specification, is subject to change without notice.
congatec AG provides no warranty with regard to this guide or any other
information contained herein and hereby expressly disclaims any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose with
regard to any of the foregoing. congatec AG assumes no liability for any
damages incurred directly or indirectly from any technical or typographical
errors or omissions contained herein or for discrepancies between the
product and this guide. In no event shall congatec AG be liable for any
incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages, whether based
on tort, contract or otherwise, arising out of or in connection with this guide
or any other information contained herein or the use thereof.
Intended Audience
This guide is intended for technically qualified personnel. It is not intended
for general audiences.
Lead-Free Designs (RoHS)
All congatec AG designs are created from lead-free components and are
completely RoHS compliant.
Electrostatic Sensitive Device
All congatec AG products are electrostatic sensitive devices. They are
enclosed in static shielding bags, and shipped enclosed in secondary
packaging (protective packaging). The secondary packaging does not
provide electrostatic protection.
Do not remove the device from the static shielding bag or handle it, except
at an electrostatic-free workstation. Also, do not ship or store electronic
devices near strong electrostatic, electromagnetic, magnetic, or radioactive
fields unless the device is contained within its original packaging. Be aware
that failure to comply with these guidelines will void the congatec AG
Limited Warranty.
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2019, congatec AG. All rights reserved. All text, pictures and
graphics are protected by copyrights. No copying is permitted without
written permission from congatec AG.
congatec AG has made every attempt to ensure that the information in
this document is accurate yet the information contained within is supplied
“as-is”.
Trademarks
Product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred
to within this guide, or the congatec website, are the property of their
respective trademark holders. These trademark holders are not affiliated
with congatec AG, our products, or our website.
Certification
congatec AG is certified to DIN EN ISO 9001 standard.
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Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 3/8
Warranty
congatec AG makes no representation, warranty or guaranty, express or
implied regarding the products except its standard form of limited warranty
(“Limited Warranty”) per the terms and conditions of the congatec entity,
which the product is delivered from. These terms and conditions can
be downloaded from www.congatec.com. congatec AG may in its sole
discretion modify its Limited Warranty at any time and from time to time.
The products may include software. Use of the software is subject to the
terms and conditions set out in the respective owner’s license agreements,
which are available at www.congatec.com and/or upon request.
Beginning on the date of shipment to its direct customer and continuing for
the published warranty period, congatec AG represents that the products
are new and warrants that each product failing to function properly under
normal use, due to a defect in materials or workmanship or due to non
conformance to the agreed upon specifications, will be repaired or
exchanged, at congatec’s option and expense.
Customer will obtain a Return Material Authorization (“RMA”) number
from congatec AG prior to returning the non conforming product freight
prepaid. congatec AG will pay for transporting the repaired or exchanged
product to the customer.
Repaired, replaced or exchanged product will be warranted for the repair
warranty period in effect as of the date the repaired, exchanged or replaced
product is shipped by congatec, or the remainder of the original warranty,
whichever is longer. This Limited Warranty extends to congatec’s direct
customer only and is not assignable or transferable.
Except as set forth in writing in the Limited Warranty, congatec makes no
performance representations, warranties, or guarantees, either express or
implied, oral or written, with respect to the products, including without
limitation any implied warranty (a) of merchantability, (b) of fitness for a
particular purpose, or (c) arising from course of performance, course of
dealing, or usage of trade.
congatec AG shall in no event be liable to the end user for collateral or
consequential damages of any kind. congatec shall not otherwise be liable
for loss, damage or expense directly or indirectly arising from the use of the
product or from any other cause. The sole and exclusive remedy against
congatec, whether a claim sound in contract, warranty, tort or any other
legal theory, shall be repair or replacement of the product only.
Technical Support
congatec AG technicians and engineers are committed to providing the
best possible technical support for our customers so that our products can
be easily used and implemented. We request that you first visit our website
at www.congatec.com for the latest documentation, utilities and drivers,
which have been made available to assist you. If you still require assistance
after visiting our website then contact our technical support department by
email at [email protected]
Revision History
Revision Date (yyyy-mm-dd) Author Changes
0.1 2019-02-19 BEU Preliminary release for X.0
1.0 2019-04-10 BEU Final release for X.0
1.1 2019-11-15 BEU Update for Y.1

Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 4/8
1 Hardware
1.1 Sample Distribution Set Contents
The contents of the conga-SMX8-X (Prototype Revision Y.1) sample
distribution set are listed below:
Part # Rev. Name Description Qty
007010 C.0 conga-SEVAL Evaluation carrier board for standard
SMARC modules based on SMARC
Specification 2.0
1
051100
or
051103
Y.1 conga-SMX8-X/QXP-4G
eMMC16 (Prototype)
or
conga-SMX8-X/QXP-2G
eMMC16 (Prototype)
SMARC 2.0 prototype module with
NXP i.MX 8QuadXPlus applications
processor, 16 GB onboard HS400
eMMC, and 4 GB or 2 GB LPDDR4
onboard memory.
1
051050 X.0 conga-SMX8/i-CSP-B Passive cooling for SMARC 2.0 module
conga-SMX8. All stand-offs are bore
hole 2.7 mm.
1
011115 B.0 conga-LDVI/EPI LVDS to DVI converter board for digital
flat panels with onboard EEPROM.
1
033331 A cab-LVDV-DAT-34-15 15 cm data cable LVDS to DVI adapter 1
052147 A cab-LVDV-PWR-10-15 15 cm power cable LVDS to DVI adapter 1
48000023 A RS232 adapter cable MOLEX 6-pin PicoBlade to 2x D-SUB 9
adapter
1
10000285 A MicroSDHC-Card UHS-I Kingston industrial SDCIT/EU Class 10
8 GB microSD card with SD card adapter
and preinstalled image.
1
N/A 1.1 Quick Start Guide conga-SMX8-X Sample Distribution Set
Quick Start Guide
1
1.2 conga-SMX8-X
The conga-SMX8-X (Prototype Revision Y.1) included in this sample
distribution set is a SMARC 2.0 prototype module featuring the NXP
i.MX 8QuadXPlus applications processor, 16 GB HS400 onboard eMMC,
and 4 GB or 2 GB LPDDR4 onboard memory.
For information about the Mass Production (MP) variants, refer to the
datasheet available at www.congatec.com.
1.2.1 Pinout Description
The conga-SMX8-X (Prototype Revision Y.1) pinout description is available
at the link below. The pinout description lists which signals of the NXP i.MX
8QuadXPlus applications processor are routed to the SMARC connector.
https://git.congatec.com/imx8x_early_access/imx8x_sx8x_pinlist
Note
Contact congatec technical support to get access to this folder.
1.3 conga-SEVAL
The conga-SEVAL (Revision C.0) included in this sample distribution set is
an evaluation carrier board based on the SMARC Specification 2.0.
For information about the conga-SEVAL, refer to the User's Guide available
at www.congatec.com.

Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 5/8
1.4 Hardware Setup
Follow the steps below to assemble the hardware:
1. Ensure the hardware is protected from the effects of electrostatic
discharge (ESD).
2. On the carrier board, select the boot source via the DIP switches1,2:
M18 M17 Selected
Boot Source1,2
#1 #2 #1
ON ON OFF SPI flash (default)
OFF ON ON SD card
4. On the carrier board, set DIP switch M12 #1 to OFF (Audio: I²S)
5. Insert the included SD card into the SD card slot of the carrier board.
6. Connect the RS232 adapter cable to the connector on the module.
7. Connect the USB 2.0 to Serial Adapter to the RS232 adapter cable port
labeled "CONSOLE".
8. Mount the cooling solution onto the module. (Final torque: 0.4 Nm)
9. Mount the module onto the carrier board. (Final torque: 0.4 Nm)
10. Connect the conga-LDVI/EPI as shown in the image on the right.
11. Connect a Power Supply Unit (PSU)3to the carrier board.
12. To start the system, switch the PSU on4.
Note
1 Boot source selection via DIP switches will not be implemented on Mass
Production (MP) variants.
2 To enable serial downloader mode, set jumper X45 to position 2-3. Fastboot is
currently not supported.
3 An AT PSU is recommended.
4 If an ATX PSU is used in combination with a modified U-Boot, it may be
necessary to push the reset button several times to start the system.

Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 6/8
2 Software
2.1 Starting Up
The conga-SMX8-X uses U-Boot as standard bootloader. The bootloader
is GNU GPL open source software. A serial terminal connection is required
in order to display the boot process and to modify the boot behavior. The
boot behavior is controlled via environment variables.
The included RS232 adapter cable has two connectors. The RX/TX signals
are already crossed. Therefore, do NOT use a crossover-cable. Use the
connector labeled "Console" for the U-Boot console output. Use the
unlabeled connector for the System Controller Unit Firmware (SCFW)
debug output.
To establish a terminal connection, a terminal program such as TeraTerm
or Putty can be used.
Use the following communication parameters:
Baud rate:
Data:
Parity:
Stop:
Flow control:
115200
8 bit
none
1 bit
none
The following console output will be displayed when the system is powered
on:
2.2 Boot Process
The conga-SMX8-X boot process starts at Power On Reset (POR), where
the hardware reset logic forces the ARM core to begin execution. The on-
chip boot ROM loads the boot container which usually consists of SCFW,
Security Controller (SECO) firmware, ARM Trusted Firmware (ATF) and the
bootloader binary (U-Boot).
After SCFW loading, the bootloader is executed and performs basic system
initialization (serial console, etc.). Afterwards, the environment settings are
parsed and the system boot continues as specified.
Press any key during startup to stop autoboot and to get to U-Boot console.
At the U-Boot console, the environment settings can be displayed using
the “print” command. In addition, useful functionality is available (such as
memory dump, access to the SPI and the I2C system, etc.). The “help”
command will display any command supported by the U-Boot.
If autoboot is not interrupted by pressing a key, the boot process goes
ahead and the module boots the Linux operating system installed on the
SD card.
2.3 U-Boot Environment Variables
The U-Boot environment is located in SPI flash. One of the benefits of the
U-Boot bootloader is the possibility to specify its run time configuration
using environment variables.
The environment variables of U-Boot can be displayed using the printenv
(or the print) command.
During the boot process, the bootloader evaluates the “bootcmd” variable
and executes it. The boot command tries to load a bootscript or a kernel
from the boot device. If this is successful, the script or kernel will be started,
otherwise a fallback to network boot is performed. The variable “mmcdev”
specifies the mmc boot device. Furthermore, the variable “mmcroot” is
passed to the kernel in order to specify the location of the root filesystem.

Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 7/8
The following environment variables are predefined for conga-SMX8-X
(Prototype Revision Y.1):
Name Default value Description
bootcmd Defines the startup command of the bootloader, i.e.
how the system performs the boot process
fdt_file imx8qxp-cgtsx8x.dtb The device tree blob, might be exchanged in order to
enhance functionality
image Image The name of the kernel image file that is loaded
during boot process
ipaddr not specified Address of the system (used for network boot)
serverip not specified Address of the remote host (used for network boot)
netmask not specified Netmask of the network (used for network boot)
nfsroot not specified The location where the NFS root filesystem is stored
(used for network boot)
mmcdev "1" (external SD card) The boot device number (used for mmcboot)
mmcpart "1" (first partition) The number of the bootpartiton on the bootdevice
(used for mmcboot)
mmcroot "/dev/mmcblk1p2 rootwait
rw" (2nd partition on device 1)
The root filesystem (used for mmcboot), might also
be used to extend the kernel command line
Following, some frequently used scripts:
Name Description
mmcboot Boots the system from mmc (with the specified parameters for mmcboot), i.e.
eMMC, SD card
mmcargs Configures the bootargs for mmcboot
netboot Boots the system from network (with the specified parameters for network boot)
netargs Configures the bootargs for network boot
loadbootscript Used during boot, loads an eventually existing boot script
loadimage Used during boot, loads the kernel
loadfdt Used during boot, loads the device tree blob file
There are several commands to change the behavior of the bootloader and
to customize the boot process. The help command can be used to display
a list of all available commands.
2.4 Updating or Fixing the Boot Container
The boot container of the conga-SMX8-X (Prototype Revision Y.1) is stored
in SPI flash. To update or fix a corrupted boot container, boot from a
recovery SD card instead of SPI flash. Follow the steps below to create a
recovery SD card and update or fix the boot container:
1. Flash your root filesystem image to an SD card1 ("recovery SD card"):
dd if=your_rootfs.sdcard of=/dev/sdX
2. Write your boot container (SD) to the recovery SD card:
dd if=your_bootcontainer_sd.bin of=/dev/sdX bs=1k seek=32
3. Copy your boot container (SPI flash) to the recovery SD card:
mkdir -p /mnt/sd
mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt/sd
cp -avr your_bootcontainer_fspi.bin /mnt/sd/.
sync; umount /mnt/sd
4. Insert the recovery SD card into the SD card slot of the carrier board
5. Set the DIP switches to boot from SD card (see step 2 of section 1.4)
6. Start the system (see step 12 of section 1.4)
7. Log in as root and enter the following commands:
cd /run/media/mmcblk1p1
ash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
dd if=xyz_bootcontainer_fspi.bin of=/dev/mtd0
poweroff
8. Switch the PSU off
The boot container is updated. The recovery SD card can be removed and
the DIP switches set back to boot from SPI flash (see step 2 of section 1.4).
Note
1 Do not use the SD card included in the sample distribution set for this purpose.

Copyright © 2019 congatec AG SX8X_SDS_q11 8/8
2.5 Linux
By default, the bootloader loads the Linux operating system stored on the
SD card. The operating system image is built by Yocto.
Booting to the Linux desktop may take some time. To speed up the boot
process significantly, install the root filesystem onto the onboard eMMC
device.
Note
In order to maintain the integrity of the filesystem, it is recommended to
always shut down the system by issuing the command “poweroff” in the
console terminal.
2.6 Additional Information
The software provided on the included SD card is based on the Yocto
Project (www.yoctoproject.org) and i.MX 8QuadXPlus specific add-on
layers provided by NXP and congatec.
The conga-SMX8-X software documentation is available at:
https://git.congatec.com/imx8x_early_access/meta-fsl-bsp-release
The conga-SMX8-X sources required to build the root filesystem image,
kernel and bootloader are available at:
https://git.congatec.com/imx8x_early_access
Caution
Using the wrong source can cause damage to the hardware and/or loss of
data. For the conga-SMX8-X Prototype Revision Y.1, only use sources from
branches ending with "_cgtsx8x-Y1".
Note
Contact congatec technical support to get access to the repositories.