Flash via Fastboot

This application note provides instructions on using Snagfactory tool for flashing.

The Snagfactory tool has two main operations:

Snagrecover: Boots the board (recovery) using USB DFU.
Snagflash: Flashes binaries to the on-board memory using the Fastboot protocol.

This tool supports flashing multiple boards simultaneously, enhancing efficiency in producion enviroment.

Installing Snagfactory

Snagfactory tool is hosted here Snagfactory.
More info about installation can be found in Snagfactory Readme.
Snagfactory also is available on pip.

$ python3 -m pip install --user snagboot
$ python3 -m pip install --user snagboot[gui]

Note

At the time of 11.2 release, the corresponding Snagfactory version was v2.5.

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62DX')

   .. note::

      AM62DX support was added after v2.3. Refer this `commit <https://github.com/bootlin/snagboot/commit/d5a691b1916207ee674e99620c63cc3a6c3b3a28>`__.

Building bootloader binaries for Recovery

For Snagrecover, bootloader images must support DFU boot and fastboot download. In addition to USB DFU fragment config (which enables DFU boot) for the u-boot build, an additional fragment config :file:`am6x_a53_snagfactory.config` needs to be used, which enables fastboot support in U-Boot and other required configs for snagfactory.

To build bootloader images for recovery using SDK, following change is needed in :file:`Rules.make` file present in the top level of Linux SDK Installer.

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62X')

   .. code-block:: make

      UBOOT_MACHINE_R5=am62x_evm_r5_defconfig am62x_r5_usbdfu.config

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am62x_evm_a53_defconfig am62x_a53_usbdfu.config am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

      # For AM62X LP

      UBOOT_MACHINE_R5=am62x_lpsk_r5_defconfig am62x_r5_usbdfu.config

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am62x_lpsk_a53_defconfig am62x_a53_usbdfu.config am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

      # For AM62X SIP

      UBOOT_MACHINE_R5=am62xsip_evm_r5_defconfig am62x_r5_usbdfu.config

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am62xsip_evm_a53_defconfig am62x_a53_usbdfu.config am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM64X')

   .. code-block:: make

      UBOOT_MACHINE_R5=am64x_evm_r5_defconfig

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am64x_evm_a53_defconfig am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62AX')

   .. code-block:: make

      UBOOT_MACHINE_R5=am62ax_evm_r5_defconfig am62x_r5_usbdfu.config

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am62ax_evm_a53_defconfig am62x_a53_usbdfu.config am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62PX')

   .. code-block:: make

      UBOOT_MACHINE_R5=am62px_evm_r5_defconfig am62x_r5_usbdfu.config

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am62px_evm_a53_defconfig am62x_a53_usbdfu.config am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62DX')

   .. code-block:: make

      UBOOT_MACHINE_R5=am62dx_evm_r5_defconfig am62x_r5_usbdfu.config

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am62dx_evm_a53_defconfig am62x_a53_usbdfu.config am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62LX')

   .. code-block:: make

      UBOOT_MACHINE=am62lx_evm_defconfig am62x_a53_usbdfu.config am6x_a53_snagfactory.config

Generate the bootloader images using top-level makefile by running following commands on the terminal from the top-level of the Linux SDK installer.

$ make u-boot_clean
$ make u-boot
$ make u-boot_stage

Save the bootloader binaries generated in a separate directory. These bootloader images will be used for recovery and to start flashing the images. The bootloader images after make can be found in :file:`board-support/built-images`.

For more details regarding USB DFU refer :ref:`usb-device-firmware-upgrade-label`.

Note

CONFIG_FASTBOOT_BUF_SIZE is defined in :file:`am6x_a53_snagfactory.config` and specifies the maximum buffer size for flashing files. Its value must be equal or greater than the largest file size being flashed. If smaller, non-sparse images will not flash correctly due to issues with chunked processing.

Connections

Power off the EVM and set up the boot mode switches to boot from USB DFU.

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62X')

  AM62X (SK-AM62B-P1) - USB-DFU Boot

  .. code-block:: text

      SW2 - BOOTMODE[8:15]   = 00000000
      SW1 - BOOTMODE[0:7]    = 11001010

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62AX')

  AM62A (SK-AM62A-LP) - USB-DFU Boot

  .. code-block:: text

      SW3 - BOOTMODE[8:15]   = 00000000
      SW2 - BOOTMODE[0:7]    = 11001010

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62PX')

  AM62P (SK-AM62P-LP) - USB-DFU Boot

  .. code-block:: text

      SW5 - BOOTMODE[8:15]   = 00000000
      SW4 - BOOTMODE[0:7]    = 11001010

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM62LX')

  AM62L (TMDS62LEVM) - USB-DFU Boot

  .. code-block:: text

      SW2 - BOOTMODE[8:11]    = 0000
      SW3 - BOOTMODE[12:15]   = 0000
      SW4 - BOOTMODE[0:7]     = 11001010

.. ifconfig:: CONFIG_part_variant in ('AM64X')

  AM64X (TMDS64EVM) - USB-DFU Boot

  .. code-block:: text

      SW2 - BOOTMODE[0:7] = 11001010
      SW3 - BOOTMODE[8:15] = 00000000

Power on the board.
Optionally you can also connect host PC to board via UART to read the console logs.

How to use Snagfactory

Comprehensive instructions for installation of the Snagfactory tool are here:

SnagFactory GUI Tool Configuration and Device Flashing Procedure

The tool currently supports MMC and MTD backends for flashing images.

Note

SnagFactory GUI tool is a prerequisite for this procedure.

The following steps outline the process for configuring and flashing a device by using the SnagFactory GUI tool.

Step 1: Launch SnagFactory GUI Tool

Launch the SnagFactory GUI tool to begin the configuration and device flashing process.

$ snagfactory

Step 2: Select Configuration File Option

Upon launch, the SnagFactory GUI tool will present the option to add a configuration file. Select the conf option to proceed with loading the configuration file.

Step 3: Load YAML Configuration File

Load the YAML configuration file for the platform. This file has the necessary settings and parameters for the device flashing process.

Step 4: Flash the Device

Once you load the YAML configuration file, the SnagFactory GUI tool will flash the device with the specified configuration.

The following table outline the board names for snagfactory yaml configuration.

Evaluation Board	Family	board
am62pxx-evm	am6x	am62p
am62xx-evm	am6x	am625
am62lxx-evm	am62lx	am62l3
am62xx-lp-evm	am6x	am625
am62sip-evm	am6x	am625
am62dxx-evm	am6x	am62d2
am62axx-evm	am6x	am62a7
am64xx-evm	am6x	am6442

The example configuration files for emmc and ospi-nand and ospi-nor are as follows.

For reference, the :file:`ospi-nor.yaml` file for am62p platform can be as follows:

boards:
  0451:6165: am62p
soc-models:
  am62p-firmware:
    tiboot3:
      path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
    tispl:
      path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tispl.bin"
    u-boot:
      path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/u-boot.img"
  am62p-tasks:
  - eraseblk-size: 0x40000
    fb-buffer-addr: 0x82000000
    fb-buffer-size: 0x7000000
    target-device: nor0
  - task: run
    args:
      - "oem_run:mtd list"
      - "oem_run:setenv mtdids nor0=nor0"
  - task: mtd-parts
    args:
      - name: ospi.tiboot3
        size: 0x80000
      - name: ospi.tispl
        size: 0x200000
      - name: ospi.u-boot
        size: 0x400000
  - task: flash
    args:
      - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
        part: ospi.tiboot3
      - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tispl.bin"
        part: ospi.tispl
      - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/u-boot.img"
        part: ospi.u-boot

For reference, the :file:`ospi-nand.yaml` file for am62xx-lp platform can be as follows:

boards:
  0451:6165: am625
soc-models:
  am625-firmware:
    tiboot3:
      path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
    tispl:
      path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tispl.bin"
    u-boot:
      path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/u-boot.img"
  am625-tasks:
  - eraseblk-size: 0x40000
    fb-buffer-addr: 0x82000000
    fb-buffer-size: 0x7000000
    target-device: spi-nand0
  - task: run
    args:
      - "oem_run:mtd list"
      - "oem_run:setenv mtdids spi-nand0=spi-nand0"
  - task: mtd-parts
    args:
      - name: ospi_nand.tiboot3
        size: 0x80000
      - name: ospi_nand.tispl
        size: 0x200000
      - name: ospi_nand.u-boot
        size: 0x400000
      - name: ospi_nand.env
        size: 0x40000
      - name: ospi_nand.env.backup
        size: 0x40000
      - name: ospi_nand.rootfs
        size: 0x5fc0000
        start: 0x2000000
      - name: ospi_nand.phypattern
        start: 0x7fc0000
        size: 0x40000
  - task: flash
    args:
      - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
        part: ospi_nand.tiboot3
      - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tispl.bin"
        part: ospi_nand.tispl
      - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/u-boot.img"
        part: ospi_nand.u-boot

For reference, the :file:`emmc.yaml` file for am62p platform can be as follows:

boards:
  "0451:6165": "am62p"
soc-models:
  am62p-firmware:
      tiboot3:
        path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
      tispl:
        path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tispl.bin"
      u-boot:
        path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/u-boot.img"
  am62p-tasks:
    - target-device: mmc0
      fb-buffer-addr: 0x82000000
      fb-buffer-size: 0x7000000
    - task: gpt
      args:
        - name: rootfs
          size: 1G
    - task: reset
    - task: flash
      args:
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
          image-offset: 0x0
          part: "hwpart 1"
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tispl.bin"
          image-offset: 0x80000
          part: "hwpart 1"
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/u-boot.img"
          image-offset: 0x280000
          part: "hwpart 1"
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/rootfs.ext4"
          part: "rootfs"

For reference, the :file:`emmc.yaml` file for am62l platform can be as follows:

boards:
  "0451:6165": "am62l3"

soc-models:
  am62l3-firmware:
      tiboot3:
        path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
      tispl:
        path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/tispl.bin"
      u-boot:
        path: "<path_to_boot_binaries>/u-boot.img"

  am62l3-tasks:
    - target-device: mmc0
      fb-buffer-addr: 0x82000000
      fb-buffer-size: 0x7000000

    - task: gpt
      args:
        - name: rootfs
          size: 15G

    - task: reset

    - task: flash
      args:
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tiboot3.bin"
          image-offset: 0x0
          part: "hwpart 1"
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/tispl.bin"
          image-offset: 0x80000
          part: "hwpart 1"
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/u-boot.img"
          image-offset: 0x280000
          part: "hwpart 1"
        - image: "<path_to_flash_binaries>/rootfs.ext4"
          part: "rootfs"

For eMMC boot configuration, refer :ref:`emmc_boot_config`

Snagboot Command-line Configuration and Device Flashing Procedure

Snagrecover uses vendor-specific ROM code mechanisms to initialize external RAM and run U-Boot, without modifying any non-volatile memories.

$ snagrecover -s am625 -F "{'tiboot3': {'path': 'tiboot3.bin'}}" -F "{'tispl': {'path': 'tispl.bin'}}" -F "{'u-boot': {'path': 'u-boot.img'}}"

Comprehensive instructions for using snagrecover command line are here: Snagrecover command line.

Snagflash communicates with U-Boot to flash system images to non-volatile memories, using either DFU, UMS or Fastboot.

$ snagflash -P fastboot-uboot -p 0451:6165 -i

Comprehensive instructions for using snagflash command line are here: Snagflash command line.

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