Introduction

On our Toradex modules, the U-Boot boot loader and the Linux kernel use UART_A as serial debug console. The serial console is the primary and most reliable interface to the boot loader and Linux kernel. This article has two main sections:

• How to use (attach to and communicate via) the debug UART, a.k.a serial console.
• How to disable the debug UART.

If you are looking for instructions on how to communicate with other devices using the UART, please refer to the article UART (Linux).

Warning: We do not recommend to use UART_A for any other purpose. Disabling it prevents analyzing errors (e.g. crash of the user interface) or analyzing if the system is in a non-bootable state.

Tip: This article shows how to disable the debug messages on the serial console only. In case you would like to disable debug messages or the virtual console on graphical output (DVI-I, HDMI, LVDS, or VGA) please refer to the Framebuffer (Linux) article.

Use the Debug UART (Serial Console)

You can easily access your Toradex SoM via the serial, in this section, you will find out how to set up the hardware on each of our boards as well as know the parameters. This section applies to both our BSP Layers and Reference Images for Yocto Project and TorizonCore.

Console Serial Parameters

Connecting to the board requires some parameters, here they are:

• port: it depends on your hardware, often it is /dev/ttyUSBx on Linux, or COMx on Windows, being x a number to be determined in the next section.
• Baud Rate: 115200
• Parity: none
• Bits: 8
• Stop bits: 1
• Flow control: none

Windows - Find the Number of the COM Port

Go to Control Panel and find the Device Manager. Your COMx port will be listed under Ports.

• 

  Windows device manager

Linux - Find the Number of the ttyUSB Port

Unplug the device from your computer and run:

$ ls /dev/ttyUSB*

Plug the device and run the same command again, your device will be listed:

$ ls /dev/ttyUSB*

Linux - Add User to Dialout Group

To avoid being requested to use sudo all the time, you can add your user to the dialout group. You can find your user name with the whoami command. To do it in a single-line, in your development PC, run:

$ sudo usermod -a -G dialout $(whoami)

To apply the changes, either reboot or log off, and log in.

Hardware

Select your carrier board from the tabs below:

• Verdin Development Board
• Dahlia Carrier Board
• Ixora Carrier Board
• Apalis Evaluation Board
• Iris Carrier Board
• Aster Carrier Board
• Colibri Evaluation Board

Setting up a terminal

In case you want to know how to set up a terminal emulator to start accessing your module, please refer to Serial Terminal Emulator article.

Find my Board IP

To get your board IP address, follow the instructions from the section Find your IP and MAC address on the article Basic Linux Commands.

Examples of why you need your board IP:

• You are connecting to the debug UART because you were unable to login via SSH due to missing the board IP.
• The DHCP tables from your LAN router were refreshed and now the board has a different IP address.
• You want to access a service hosted on the board, for instance, a web server or a remote graphical user interface.

Change the Debug UART (Serial Console) to Another Port

We don't provide instructions on how to do this. We advise you to use either the default Debug Port defined by Toradex or NXP.

For the i.MX 8/8X SoMs which have a System Controller Unit/System Controller Firmware (SCU/SCFW), or other SoMs from the i.MX 8 family (such as the i.MX 8M Mini) which use a BootROM, it may be nearly or even impossible to change the default UART.

Disable the Debug UART (Serial Console)

Here are sections for disabling the console on U-Boot and the Linux kernel. Make sure to check on UART (Linux) the name of the UART interfaces available for your specific SoM before proceeding.

Disable U-Boot Console Output on UARTA

Custom U-Boot

To disable the serial console modifying U-Boot, you need to reconfigure it following some basic steps. Before proceding, you have to install a GNU toolchain:

$ cd ~
$ wget -O gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz "https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-a/9.2-2019.12/binrel/gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz?revision=fed31ee5-2ed7-40c8-9e0e-474299a3c4ac&la=en&hash=76DAF56606E7CB66CC5B5B33D8FB90D9F24C9D20"
$ tar xvf gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
$ ln -s gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf gcc-linaro

$ export ARCH=arm
$ export DTC_FLAGS="-@"
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-linux-gnueabihf-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export DTC_FLAGS='-@'" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-linux-gnueabihf-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ cd ~
$ wget -O gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-aarch64-none-linux-gnu.tar.xz "https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-a/9.2-2019.12/binrel/gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-aarch64-none-linux-gnu.tar.xz?revision=61c3be5d-5175-4db6-9030-b565aae9f766&la=en&hash=0A37024B42028A9616F56A51C2D20755C5EBBCD7"
$ tar xvf gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-aarch64-none-linux-gnu.tar.xz
$ ln -s gcc-arm-9.2-2019.12-x86_64-aarch64-none-linux-gnu gcc-linaro

$ export ARCH=arm64
$ export DTC_FLAGS="-@"
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-none-linux-gnu-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm64" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export DTC_FLAGS='-@'" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-none-linux-gnu-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ cd ~
$ wget -O gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz "https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-a/8.3-2019.03/binrel/gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz?revision=e09a1c45-0ed3-4a8e-b06b-db3978fd8d56&la=en&hash=93ED4444B8B3A812B893373B490B90BBB28FD2E3"
$ tar xvf gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
$ ln -s gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf gcc-linaro

$ export ARCH=arm
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ cd ~
$ wget -O gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.xz "https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-a/8.3-2019.03/binrel/gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.xz?revision=2e88a73f-d233-4f96-b1f4-d8b36e9bb0b9&la=en&hash=167687FADA00B73D20EED2A67D0939A197504ACD"
$ tar xvf gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.xz
$ ln -s gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu gcc-linaro

$ export ARCH=arm64
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-linux-gnu-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm64" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-linux-gnu-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ cd ~
$ wget -O gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz "https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-a/8.2-2019.01/gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz?revision=c69ea519-a965-4359-84a4-cbd440ff4130&la=en&hash=09C47C70EEE96D17EA036A7A59AE961972320A31"
$ tar xvf gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
$ ln -s gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf gcc-linaro

$ export ARCH=arm
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ cd ~
$ wget -O gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.xz "https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-a/8.2-2019.01/gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.xz?revision=21270570-4ec0-4bad-a9e1-09707614066a&la=en&hash=AFEDF645AF5B94336DB4E1E608806CEC87A02B8A"
$ tar xvf gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.xz
$ ln -s gcc-arm-8.2-2019.01-x86_64-aarch64-linux-gnu gcc-linaro

$ export ARCH=arm64
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-linux-gnu-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm64" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-linux-gnu-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ cd ~
$ wget -O gcc-linaro-7.3.1-2018.05-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz "https://releases.linaro.org/components/toolchain/binaries/7.3-2018.05/arm-linux-gnueabihf/gcc-linaro-7.3.1-2018.05-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz"
$ tar xvf gcc-linaro-7.3.1-2018.05-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
$ ln -s gcc-linaro-7.3.1-2018.05-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf gcc-linaro

$ export ARCH=arm
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ export ARCH=arm
$ export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH
$ export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-

$ echo "export ARCH=arm" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export PATH=~/gcc-linaro/bin/:$PATH" >> ~/export_compiler
$ echo "export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-" >> ~/export_compiler
$ source ~/export_compiler

$ sudo dnf install bc gcc git ncurses-devel lzop make perl openssl-devel bison flex diffutils

$ sudo apt-get install bc build-essential git libncurses5-dev lzop perl libssl-dev bison flex

$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/utils/dtc/dtc.git -b v1.6.0 ~/dtc
$ cd ~/dtc
$ make
$ export PATH=$HOME/dtc/:$PATH

$ sudo dnf install uboot-tools

$ sudo apt-get install u-boot-tools

$ sudo dnf install uboot-tools

$ sudo apt-get install u-boot-tools

$ sudo dnf install bc gcc git ncurses-devel lzop make perl openssl-devel

$ sudo apt-get install bc build-essential git libncurses5-dev lzop perl libssl-dev

Accordingly to the official documentation of U-boot regarding to silencing the console, the following config options need to be defined in the respective board header file to achieve the goal:

CONFIG_SILENT_CONSOLE
CONFIG_SYS_DEVICE_NULLDEV
CONFIG_SILENT_CONSOLE_UPDATE_ON_RELOC
CONFIG_SILENT_CONSOLE_UPDATE_ON_SET

1. Get the U-boot source code:

$ mkdir -p ~/workdir
$ cd ~/workdir
$ git clone -b <branch> git://git.toradex.com/u-boot-toradex.git

Warning: Replace <branch> by the U-Boot Git Branch for your specific configuration. You can find the version information here.

2. Go to u-boot-toradex/configs and modify the defconfig file of the respective board (for example, for colibri iMX8X: u-boot-toradex/configs/colibri-imx8x_defconfig) by adding and setting the variables at the end of the file as shown below:

...
CONFIG_SILENT_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_SYS_DEVICE_NULLDEV=y
CONFIG_SILENT_CONSOLE_UPDATE_ON_RELOC=y
...

3. Define the variables at the board's config header, located at include/configs (for example, for colibri iMX8X: /include/configs/colibri-imx8x.h):

#define CONFIG_SILENT_CONSOLE
#define CONFIG_SYS_DEVICE_NULLDEV
#define CONFIG_SILENT_CONSOLE_UPDATE_ON_RELOC
#define CONFIG_BOARD_EARLY_INIT_F 1

4. For enabling silent console, append the environment variable 'silent=1' to CONFIG_EXTRA_ENV_SETTINGS in the respective board header file:

#define CONFIG_EXTRA_ENV_SETTINGS \
	BOOTENV \
	AHAB_ENV \
	M4_BOOT_ENV \
	MEM_LAYOUT_ENV_SETTINGS \
	...
	"silent=1\0"\

5. Compile, deploy and integrate the modifications of the U-boot. Please refer to the following article concerning the setup/compilation of the same: Build U-Boot and Linux Kernel from Source Code.

Note: Enabling silent console just bypasses the console messages to null. Depending on the module type and U-Boot version you might still be able to interrupt U-Boot by pressing the specified key which allows you to control the U-Boot at run time.

Disable most Log Messages from Linux Kernel

To get fewer debug messages from the Linux Kernel one can use the "quiet" Kernel parameter.

# setenv tdxargs '${tdxargs} quiet'
# saveenv

Disable Linux Kernel Console Output on UARTA

Disable the console from the kernel completely by setting the console= option on the kernel command line. This can be achieved by doing it from the U-Boot prompt or using U-Boot-envtools under Linux to modify the env variables:

# setenv tdxargs 'console=null'
# saveenv

or using U-Boot-envtools under Linux:

# fw_setenv tdxargs 'console=null'
# reboot

After this, no kernel messages/serial login are available on debug serial port anymore. To re-enable the debug serial port console one needs to reset the 'console' variable back to the respective serial TTY (e.g: ttyLP0 on Colibri VFxx).

# setenv tdxargs 'console=ttyLP0'
# saveenv

or using U-Boot-envtools under Linux:

# fw_setenv tdxargs 'console=ttyLP0'
# reboot

Configure Baudrate for Serial Getty on UARTA

While during boot the serial baudrate is taken from the U-Boot environment variable baudrate, the later login shell baudrate needs to be configured separately if required in respective /etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/serial-getty@<serial device>.service file:

• i.MX 6/7: /etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/serial-getty@ttymxc0.service
• Tegras: /etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/serial-getty@ttyS0.service

Disable Serial Getty on UARTA

Newer BSPs always start an explicit serial getty on UART_A which can be disabled as follows:

# systemctl disable serial-getty@ttyS0.service

Starting from Bsp 3.0 (Kernel 4.14), serial getty cannot be disabled anymore. You need to mask it as follows:

# systemctl mask serial-getty@ttymxc0.service

An interesting blog post from Mr. Poettering about the thematic can be found here.

Video - Using the serial console with Toradex Computer Modules