Running U-Boot

Each STM32MP1 System-On-Module comes pre-loaded with U-Boot. U-Boot runs as the primary firmware from the on-module eMMC Flash on each power-on / reset.

U-Boot is probably the most popular firmware monitor for Linux. It is developed and maintained by DENX Software Engineering (www.denx.de). If you need detailed information on any aspects of U-Boot operation, DENX publishes extensive U-Boot user documentation at their web site.

On the STM32MP1 SOM, U-Boot image is stored in the eMMC device. On a power-on / reset, U-Boot is relocated to DDR RAM.

As soon as the module is powered on or reset, the core proceeds to boot the U-Boot firmware printing the following output to the serial console:

If you hit any key on the serial console before the number of seconds defined by the U-Boot bootdelay variable has elapsed, you will enter the U-Boot interactive command monitor. From the command monitor you can run U-Boot commands to examine memory, load an image from Ethernet, boot Linux from a loaded image or perform any other action supported by U-Boot.

U-Boot makes use of the so-called environment variables to define various aspects of the target functionality. On the STM32MP1 SOM, the U-Boot environment is stored in the eMMC Flash and is persistent across power or reset cycles. Parameters defined by the U-boot environment variables include: target IP address, target MAC address, location in RAM where a Linux bootable image will be loaded, and many others.

To manipulate the U-Boot environment the following commands are used:

• printenv <var> - print the value of the variable var. Without arguments, prints all environment variables:

  u-boot => printenv bootcmd=run sdboot bootdelay=3 baudrate=115200 ... u-boot =>

• setenv <var> <val> - set the variable var to the value val:

  u-boot => setenv image vlad/imx8m/my.Image u-boot=>

• saveenv - save the up-to-date U-Boot environment, possibly updated using setenv commands, into the Flash. Running saveenv makes sure that any updates you have made to the U-Boot environment are persistent across power cycles and resets.

  u-boot => saveenv Saving Environment to MMC... Writing to MMC... done u-boot =>

The autoboot sequence in U-Boot is controlled by the two environment variables called bootdelay and bootcmd.

The bootdelay variable defines a delay, in seconds, before running the autoboot command defined by bootcmd. During the bootdelay countdown, you can interrupt the autobooting by pressing any key. This will let you enter the U-Boot command line interface.

The bootcmd variable defines a command executed by U-Boot automatically after the bootdelay countdown is over. Typically, this would be run netboot to boot Linux from TFTP during development or run flashboot to boot Linux from the on-module Flash on deployed units.

In deployed configurations, where boot time to the service provided by your embedded device is critical, you will probably want to set bootdelay to 0:

This will make sure that on each power on / reset U-Boot immediately executes the command defined by bootcmd, typically booting Linux from the on-module Flash.

With bootdelay set to 0 the U-Boot countdown is disabled, so there is a question how you enter the U-Boot command monitor, should you need to enter it for some reason. To do so, push the Ctrl-C keys down and don't release them until you have hit the reset button on the baseboard. This will interrupt the U-Boot bootcmd sequence and let you enter the U-Boot command monitor:

From the command monitor, you would be able to reset bootdelay to 3 or whatever value makes sense to you.