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Foboot: The Bootloader for Fomu

Foboot is a failsafe bootloader for Fomu. It exposes a DFU interface to the host. Foboot comes in two halves: A Software half and a Hardware half. These two halves are integrated into a single "bitstream" that is directly loaded onto an ICE40UP5k board, such as Fomu.

Requirements

To build the hardware, you need:

  • Python 3.5+
  • Nextpnr
  • Icestorm
  • Yosys
  • Git

Subproject hardware dependencies will be taken care of with lxbuildenv.

To build the software, you need:

  • RISC-V toolchain

Building the project

The hardware half will take care of building the software half, if it is run with --boot-source bios (which is the default). Therefore, to build Foboot, enter the hw/ directory and run:

$ python3 foboot-bitstream.py --revision hacker --seed 19

This will verify you have the correct dependencies installed, compile the Foboot software, then synthesize the Foboot bitstream. The resulting output will be in build/gateware/. You should write build/gateware/top-multiboot.bin to your Fomu device in order to get basic bootloader support.

The seed argument is to set initial conditions for the place-and-route phase. nextpnr-ice40 uses a simulated annealing algorithm that can result in one of several locally optimal layouts. Only some of these will meet the timing requirements for Fomu.

If you see something like

ERROR: Max frequency for clock 'clk48_$glb_clk': 45.41 MHz (FAIL at 48.00 MHz)

try a different seed. You can search for an appropriate seed with:

for seed in $(seq 0 100)
do
  python3 ./foboot-bitstream.py --revision pvt --seed $seed 2>&1 |
     grep 'FAIL at 48.00 MHz' && continue
  echo "Working Seed is $seed"
  break
done

This can take a considerable time.

Usage

You can write the bitstream to your SPI flash.

Loading using fomu-flash

If you're using fomu-flash, you would run the following:

$ fomu-flash -w build/gateware/top-multiboot.bin
Erasing @ 018000 / 01973a  Done
Programming @ 01973a / 01973a  Done
$ fomu-flash -r
resetting fpga
$

Fomu should now show up when you connect it to your machine:

[172294.296354] usb 1-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 33 using dwc_otg
[172294.445661] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=1209, idProduct=70b1
[172294.445675] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[172294.445684] usb 1-1.3: Product: Fomu Bootloader (0)
[172294.445692] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: Kosagi

Using dfu-util to flash the bootloader

Safe way to test

Just do

dfu-util -D build/gateware/top.bin

to copy into the SPI flash, then

dfu-util -e

each time you want to run the generated bitstream after a reboot.

A multiboot enabled bootloader is also generated; you can try that out with

dfu-util -D build/gateware/top-multiboot.bin

dfu-util loads the bootloader into flash at 0x40000; it'll be overridden by any other code you attempt to flash using dfu-util

Loading the bootloader as first bootloader

WARNING: Flashing a new bootloader could brick your device It's best to wait for an official release

First build the flasher program, that will run on the Fomu (you only need to do this once):

cd booster
cc -O2 -o make-booster -I ./include make-booster.c
make

Then package everything up ready for loading:

cd releases
bash ./release.sh pvt

This will create a new directory in releases named by the head of your git tree and the last official release. So you'll see something like v2.0.3-8-g485d232

In that directory will be a file named pvt-updater-version.dfu Load it onto the Fomu using dfu-util:

dfu-util -D pvt-updater-v2.0.3-8-g485d232.dfu

Your Fomu will flash rainbow for about five seconds, then reboot and go back to blinking steadily. To verify that your code has loaded, use

dfu-util -l

and look at the version output.

Loading and running other bitstreams

To load a new bitstream, use the dfu-util -D command. For example:

$ dfu-util -D blink.bin

This will reflash the SPI beginning at offset 262144.

To exit DFU and run the bitstream at offset 262144, run:

$ dfu-util -e

Note that, like Toboot, the program will auto-boot once it has finished loading.

Building the Software

Software is contained in the sw/ directory.