We have provided most of the pieces necessary to boot and run a BEE2 in pre-compiled, binary form. The following list includes all of the reference design bitstreams, a minimal Debian root file system, a more feature rich Debian root filesystem, the BEE2 test suite, and the default boot Compact Flash configuration.
For all ACE files, you will need to properly format the CompactFlash card with a FAT16 partition. The SystemACE chip that is used on the BEE2 requires special formatting options to properly read the files on the FAT16 partition. Once you have acquired a CF card you need to format it using the following command (assuming you are in Linux):
mkdosfs -s 2 -F 16 -R 1 /dev/sda1 (16MB CF) mkdosfs -s 8 -F 16 -R 1 /dev/sda1 (128MB CF) mkdosfs -s 16 -F 16 -R 1 /dev/sda1 (256MB/512MB CF) mkdosfs -s 64 -F 16 -R 1 /dev/sda1 (1GB CF)
We have tested all of these parameters on CFs at Berkeley, however they may not be right for your particular CF. More information can be found in the XUP documentation (search for "mkdosfs"). You can also download "mkdosfs" for Windows which should be run with the same options (the only difference is "/dev/sda1" would be replaced with "DRV:/" where DRV is the driver letter of the CF).
For instructions on how to further format the CF card to hold a root filesystem, see the Bee2DebianRootFs page.
All of the reference designs can be built from source code contained within the BEE2 board support package. Information and instructions on how to build all the designs can be found in the Bee2Reference page.
Hardware bitstream: linux_download.bit
Kernel image: linux_zImage.embedded
SysACE file (bitstream + kernel): linux_system.ace
The first Debian root image contains a very minimal installation of Debian. It is fully prepared to boot Debian, but almost no packages have been installed. This is a good starting point if you want complete control over your system, or you want a small footprint. The second image contains a root file system with many common packages pre-installed. Instructions are available for installing on a Compact Flash and installing on an NFS server.
Minimal Debian root filesystem: Minimal_rootfs.tar.gz
Standard Debian root filesystem: Standard_rootfs.tar.gz
Linux stress test root filesystem: Stress_rootfs.tar.gz
The best way to boot the BEE2 is to use a Compact Flash that has several base systems installed. We have provided a default configuration that has three separate systems:
(1) The standard system which is by default is the base Linux configuration
(2) the failsafe system which is also the default Linux configuration and
(3) the test suite system which is a copy of the BEE2 test suite.
The purpose is for the user to place their new bitstreams as the "standard" bitstream. If ever the new bitstream was to fail to boot, you can simply reboot with the "failsafe" bistream so you can re-upload your configuration without having to remove the CF card and use an external reader.
Finally, the test suite is useful to have around to diagnose errors. Our current chassis has an external switch which selects the bitstream to boot. On a bare board this is available through a configuration jumper that is labeled on the board (see Bee2Setup for more information).
Default CompactFlash configuration: default_cf.zip
Bee2Binaries (last edited 2006-10-21 01:35:46 by hchen05)