Getting started documentation
#1
Are there any getting started documents or posts for the cluster board? I tried setting it up, but I'm not getting very far.
I have 1 module installed, but the green lights for each slot just blink. I also don't get anything from the serial cable I've hooked up to it (using pins 7, 8, and 9).
I don't know if there's anything I need to do to power the module on or something?

I'm a newbie, so don't worry about hurting my feelings by telling me basic stuff.  Big Grin
#2
Not really yet... all there is at the moment is what you can see here in this section of the forum... it's still pretty new and there aren't many people using it.

What I've learnt so far...
  • all the individual NIC lights will blink regardless of if there is a module connected to them or not as that will be each chip talking to the on-board switch.
  • the xenial-minimal-sopine-bspkernel-0.7.19-118.img.xz image seems the better one to use... I had issues with the *stable* 0.6.x sopine image
  • make sure you use the right header... it's the one to the LEFT of the module you're trying to talk to Wink (no comment)
  • you've got the right pins there... if you're not getting any activity... try swapping the TX/RX (7/8) just to be sure... you should at least get boot messages... and then have to just start logging in as you won't get prompt if you open the serial console after boot has finished
  • may be my board/modules, but slot #0 seems to run a bit hotter than slot #1, and the NIC on slot #1 seems to be a bit... temperamental and occasionally stopped even though the compute module was still running fine
  • once you get your modules running, you can make PB7 flash like a heartbeat indicator (led for each module is at the front of the board near the usb ports) or whatever you want... I have it do a regular heartbeat every 10 seconds or so just to say "I'm still alive 'n haven't crashed yet!"
#3
Thanks for the info pfeerik.

I've made some progress, but this doesn't look promising:
Code:
Connected to /dev/cuaU1 (speed 115200)

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###
I'm getting a bunch of amber flashing lights alone with the green now too.
#4
(03-25-2018, 10:13 AM)ddpbsd Wrote: Thanks for the info pfeerik.

I've made some progress, but this doesn't look promising:
Code:
Connected to /dev/cuaU1 (speed 115200)

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###
I'm getting a bunch of amber flashing lights alone with the green now too.


I tried and I still have only blinking green lights. Both combinations of the serial cables reveal no input over serial. I notice there is an eMMc slot at the end of the board. Right now I have the image on an SD card in the sopine module itself but I'm wondering if I should use an eMMc on that slot instead. Any ideas to get this thing to boot? I want to get this working. Thanks.

(06-22-2018, 01:23 PM)www139 Wrote:
(03-25-2018, 10:13 AM)ddpbsd Wrote: Thanks for the info pfeerik.

I've made some progress, but this doesn't look promising:
Code:
Connected to /dev/cuaU1 (speed 115200)

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###

U-Boot SPL 2018.03 (Mar 20 2018 - 04:43:06 -0600)
DRAM: 0 MiB
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###
I'm getting a bunch of amber flashing lights alone with the green now too.


I tried and I still have only blinking green lights. Both combinations of the serial cables reveal no input over serial. I notice there is an eMMc slot at the end of the board. Right now I have the image on an SD card in the sopine module itself but I'm wondering if I should use an eMMc on that slot instead. Any ideas to get this thing to boot? I want to get this working. Thanks.

Update, the pinout sheet I have displayed multiple pairs of UART pins, I tried the UART pins mentioned in the post above and it worked. I mistakenly assumed it didn't matter which UART pins I used. Now I'm not so sure about the accuracy of the pinout sheet I have. Anyway, serial went all the way to the login prompt so this is verified working. Thanks for sharing this information as I've been looking for it for quite some time.
#5
(06-22-2018, 01:23 PM)www139 Wrote: Update, the pinout sheet I have displayed multiple pairs of UART pins, I tried the UART pins mentioned in the post above and it worked. I mistakenly assumed it didn't matter which UART pins I used. Now I'm not so sure about the accuracy of the pinout sheet I have. Anyway, serial went all the way to the login prompt so this is verified working. Thanks for sharing this information as I've been looking for it for quite some time.

Phew... fantastic! Great to hear you have it up and running at last! Smile

Yes, it does matter which UART pins you use, as there are multiple UARTs... it's not multiple connections to the one UART.

Since I didn't link the pinout doc earlier, I'll just add it here for completeness.

There are also some schematics and layout files on the wiki, but the forum and threads like this one one are where all the 'getting started' documentations is starting to collect.


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