Boot Action Reference

The boot action is used to cause the device to boot using the deployed files. Depending on the parameters in the job definition, this could be by executing a command on the dispatcher (for example /usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64) or by connecting to the device over serial or ssh. Depending on the power state of the device and the device configuration, the device may be powered up or reset to provoke the boot.

Every boot action must specify a method which is used to determine how to boot the deployed files on the device. Depending on the method, other parameters will be required.

Boot actions which result in a POSIX type login or shell must specify a list of expected prompts which will be matched against the output to determine the endpoint of the boot process. There are no default prompts, the test writer is responsible for providing a list of all possible prompts.

See also

prompts

Boot is a top level action that is part of the actions list. Here is an example of full boot action from the test job definition:

- boot:
  namespace: target
  timeout:
    minutes: 15
  method: u-boot
  auto_login:
    login_prompt: 'am57xx-evm login:'
    username: root
    password_prompt: "Password:"
    password: "P@ssword-1"
    login_commands:
    - P@ssword-1
    - azertAZERT12345
    - azertAZERT12345
    - azertAZERT12345
  prompts:
  - 'Current password: '
  - 'New password: '
  - 'Retype new password: '
  - 'root@am57xx-evm:'
  transfer_overlay:
    download_command: unset http_proxy ; dhclient eth1 ; cd /tmp ; wget
    unpack_command: tar -C / -xzf
  commands:
  - setenv fdtfile am57xx-beagle-x15.dtb
  - setenv console ttyS2,115200n8
  - setenv mmcdev 1
  - setenv bootpart 1:9
  - run mmcboot
  ignore_kernel_messages: false

auto_login

Some systems require the test job to specify a username and optionally a password to login. These values must be specified in the test job submission. If the system boots directly to a prompt without needing a login, the auto_login details can be omitted from the test job submission.

Note

The test job submission uses auto_login with underscore.

login_prompt

The prompt to match when the system requires a login. This prompt needs to be unique across the entire boot sequence, so typically includes : and should be quoted. If the hostname of the device is included in the prompt, this can be included in the login_prompt:

- boot:
  auto_login:
    login_prompt: 'login:'
    username: root

Note

If login_prompt is not matched during boot LAVA will send control characters to the shell “thinking” that the kernel alert happened which may result in incorrect login but after it recognizes the Login incorrect message it will automatically try to log in using provided credentials.

username

Whenever a login_prompt is specified, a username will also be required. The username should either be root or a user with sudo access without needing a password.

password_prompt

If the login requires a password as well as a username, the password_prompt must be specified:

- boot:
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: 'login:'
      username: root
      password_prompt: 'Password:'
      password: rootme

Note

If password_prompt is not matched during login or password is required but not provided LAVA will recognize the Login timed out message, stop the execution of the job and log the error.

password

Whenever a password_prompt is specified, a password will also be required.

login_commands

A list of arbitrary login_commands can be run after the initial login and before setting the shell prompt. This is typically used to make a regular user become root with su. For example:

- boot:
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: 'login:'
      username: user
      password_prompt: 'Password:'
      password: pass
      login_commands:
      - sudo su

Note

No interactive input such as a password can be provided with the list of login_commands.

prompts

After login (or directly from boot if no login is required), LAVA needs to match the first prompt offered by the booted system. The full list of possible prompts must be specified by the test writer in the test job submission.

Each prompt needs to be unique across the entire boot sequence, so typically includes : and needs to be quoted. If the hostname of the device is included in the prompt, this can be included in the prompt:

Caution

Take care with the specified prompts. Prompt strings which do not include enough characters can match early, resulting in a failed login. Prompt strings which include extraneous characters may fail to match for all test jobs. Avoid prompt elements which are user-specific, e.g. $ indicates an unprivileged user in some shells and # indicates the superuser. ~ indicates the home directory in some shells. In general, the prompt string should include and usually end with a colon : or a colon and space.

- boot:
    prompts:
    - 'root@debian:'

When using the LXC protocol, the hostname element of the prompt will vary:

- boot:
    prompts:
    - 'root@(.*):'

When using a ramdisk, the prompt is likely to need to contain brackets which will need to be escaped:

- boot:
    prompts:
    # escape the brackets to ensure that the prompt does not match
    # kernel debug lines which may mention initramfs
    - '\(initramfs\)'

connection

connection-namespace

When using namespaces in job definition, you can reuse the existing serial connection from another namespace via connection-namespace parameter. This applies only to boot action Example:

actions:
- deploy:
    namespace: boot1
# ...
- boot:
    namespace: boot1
# ...
- test:
    namespace: boot1
# ...
- boot:
    namespace: boot2
    connection-namespace: boot1
# ...
- test:
    namespace: boot2
# ...

commands

One of the key definitions in the device type template for each device is the list(s) of boot commands that the device needs. These are sets of specific commands that will be run to boot the device to start a test. The definitions will typically include placeholders which LAVA will substitute with dynamic data as necessary. For example, the full path to a tftp kernel image will be expanded to include a job-specific temporary directory when a job is started.

As a simple example from a U-Boot template:

- boot
    commands:
    - setenv autoload no
    - setenv initrd_high '0xffffffff'
    - setenv fdt_high '0xffffffff'
    - setenv loadkernel 'tftp {KERNEL_ADDR} {KERNEL}'
    - setenv loadinitrd 'tftp {RAMDISK_ADDR} {RAMDISK}; setenv initrd_size ${filesize}'
    - setenv loadfdt 'tftp {DTB_ADDR} {DTB}'
    - setenv bootcmd 'run loadkernel; run loadinitrd; run loadfdt; {BOOTX}'
    - boot

Note

In some cases, the boot commands list in the template may not provide all of the commands used; lines will also be generated from other data in the template. For example: the command setenv kernel_addr_r '0x82000000' might be generated from the load addresses which match the type of kernel being deployed.

When a test is started, the appropriate list of commands will be selected. LAVA then substitutes the placeholders in the list to generate a complete command list. The final parsed and expanded boot commands used for a test are reported in the logs for that test job, e.g.:

Parsed boot commands: setenv autoload no; setenv initrd_high '0xffffffff';
setenv fdt_high '0xffffffff'; setenv kernel_addr_r '0x82000000'; setenv
initrd_addr_r '0x83000000'; setenv fdt_addr_r '0x88000000'; setenv loadkernel
'tftp ${kernel_addr_r} 158349/tftp-deploy-Fo78o6/vmlinuz'; setenv loadinitrd
'tftp ${initrd_addr_r} 158349/tftp-deploy-Fo78o6/ramdisk.cpio.gz.uboot; setenv
initrd_size ${filesize}'; setenv loadfdt 'tftp ${fdt_addr_r}
158349/tftp-deploy-Fo78o6/am335x-boneblack.dtb'; setenv bootargs
'console=ttyO0,115200n8 root=/dev/ram0  ip=dhcp'; setenv bootcmd 'dhcp; setenv
serverip 10.3.1.1; run loadkernel; run loadinitrd; run loadfdt; bootz
0x82000000 0x83000000 0x88000000'; boot

Specifying commands in full

During testing and development, it can sometimes be useful to use a different set of boot commands instead of what is listed in the jinja2 template for the device-type. This allows test writers to change boot commands beyond the scope of existing overrides. To work sensibly in the LAVA environment, these commands will still need to include the placeholders such that temporary paths etc. can be substituted in when the test job is started.

In this example (for an x86 test machine using iPXE), the commands change the root argument to the kernel to boot from a SATA drive which has been configured separately. (For example, by the admins or by test writers from a hacking session.)

- boot:
    timeout:
      minutes: 8
    method: ipxe
    commands:
      - dhcp net0
      - set console console=ttyS0,115200n8 lava_mac={LAVA_MAC}
      - set extraargs ip=dhcp root=/dev/sda1 rw
      - kernel tftp://{SERVER_IP}/{KERNEL} ${extraargs} ${console}
      - initrd tftp://{SERVER_IP}/{RAMDISK}

Caution

This support is recommended for use for corner cases that can’t be fixed on the level of device type. Accordingly, LAVA will raise a warning each time this support is used. Abuse of this support can potentially stop devices from working in subsequent tests, or maybe even damage them permanently - be careful!

If the commands are to be used regularly, ask on the lava-users mailing list requesting that a label is created in the templates for this set of commands. Alternatively, you can request a new override to make the existing labels more flexible. You can also propose a patch yourself.

Appending to the kernel command line

A test job may require extra kernel command line options to enable or disable particular functionality. The job context can be used to append strings to the kernel command line:

context:
  extra_kernel_args: vsyscall=native

job context is a top level element of LAVA job definition. It is not a part of boot section.

Values need to be separated by whitespace and will be added to the command line with a prefix of a single space and a suffix of a single space.

The possible values which can be used are determined solely by the support available within the kernel provided to the DUT.

Depending on the boot method, it may also be possible to add specific options, for example to append values to the NFS options using extra_nfsroot_args:

context:
  extra_nfsroot_args: ,rsize=4096 nfsrootdebug

Note

extra_nfsroot_args are appended directly to the existing NFS flags nfsroot={NFS_SERVER_IP}:{NFSROOTFS},tcp,hard,intr so if the appended string contains an extra flag, this must be put first and the string must start with a comma. Other options can then be separated by a space or can use extra_kernel_args. The example above would result in the string nfsroot={NFS_SERVER_IP}:{NFSROOTFS},tcp,hard,intr,rsize=4096 nfsrootdebug.

See also

Kernel documentation for NFSROOT , How to override variables and Overriding values in device type, device dictionary and the job context

failure_message

Some devices deploy the boot commands inside the boot image which is then deployed using fastboot. To boot the device after deployment, LAVA does not interrupt the bootloader (e.g. U-Boot or Grub) and lets the configured boot arguments control the boot.

In some situations, a test kernel can fail and cause the device to reset to the bootloader. The presence of configured boot commands leads to the device booting into an environment which is not necessarily the one required by the test writer and the failure of the test kernel can then be hidden. To handle this issue, a failure_message can be specified to match a string output by the bootloader after the device has reset. The test job will then fail after the reset and tracking the kernel errors.

See also

fastboot

ignore_kernel_messages

Some test scenarios assume deliberately forcing kernel panic. This might interfere with LAVA failure detection. To prevent LAVA from stopping the job in such circumstance ignore_kernel_messages should be set to true. LAVA won’t be able to detect any other “legitimate” kernel crashes in such situation. Default value is false.

method

The boot method determines how the device is booted and which commands and prompts are used to determine a successful boot.

avh

The avh boot method allows you to create and boot Arm Virtual Hardware models. Example definition:

- boot:
    method: avh
    bootargs:
      normal: earlycon=uart8250,mmio32,0xfe215040 console=ttyS0,115200n8 rw rootwait root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 coherent_pool=1M 8250.nr_uarts=1 cma=64M
      restore: earlycon=uart8250,mmio32,0xfe215040 console=ttyS0,115200n8 console=tty0 rw rootwait root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 coherent_pool=1M 8250.nr_uarts=1 cma=64M init=/usr/lib/raspi-config/init_resize.sh
    timeout:
      minutes: 20
    docker:
      image: ghcr.io/vi/websocat:1.12.0
      local: true
    prompts:
    - "pi@raspberrypi:"
    - "root@raspberrypi:"
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: "login:"
      username: pi
      password_prompt: 'Password:'
      password: raspberry
      login_commands:
      - sudo su

bootargs

The bootargs dictionary allows you to override the default Kernel bootargs provided by the AVH model. The normal key is used for every regular boot. The restore key, if present, is used for a first boot prior to the device being declared ready. It is expected that the device will reboot itself to indicate that this phase is complete. It is used, for example, on the Raspberry Pi 4 to expand the root FS.

docker

avh boot method uses websocat for connecting to AVH device serial console. ghcr.io/vi/websocat:1.12.0 docker image is used by default. A docker image specified here overrides the default image.

Note

Running an avh deploy before running an avh boot is required. The boot method depends on the image path provided by the deploy method to upload the image that needed by AVH instance creating.

bootloader

The bootloader method is used to power-on the DUT, interrupt the bootloader, and wait for the bootloader prompt.

In order to interrupt the bootloader, the bootloader type should be specified in the bootloader parameter:

- boot
    method: bootloader
    bootloader: u-boot
    commands: []
    prompts: ['=>']

Note

the bootloader method type should match a boot method supported by the give device-type. For example fastboot, minimal, pyocd, u-boot, …

The commands parameter is required but can be kept empty. If some commands should be sent to the bootloader before the end of the action, give the list in the commands parameter.

cmsis-dap

The cmsis-dap boot method takes no arguments or parameters.

- boot
    method: cmsis-dap
    timeout:
      minutes: 10

depthcharge

The depthcharge boot method takes no arguments or parameters. It is used to boot the downloaded kernel image, and optionally a device tree and a ramdisk. The files are converted into an FIT (U-Boot Flattened Image Tree format) image suitable to be booted by Coreboot using the Depthcharge payload, typically used by Chrome OS devices. It also creates a separate text file with the kernel command line which is made available to the DUT over TFTP alongside the FIT image.

- boot:
    method: depthcharge
    commands: nfs

Note

Unlike some other boot methods such as u-boot, the depthcharge boot method always expects the kernel image to be in the same standard format (zImage for arm, Image for arm64…). So there should not be any type attribute for the kernel image in the deploy section as shown in the example below:

- deploy:
    kernel:
      url: http://storage.kernelci.org/mainline/master/v4.18-1283-g10f3e23f07cb/arm/multi_v7_defconfig/zImage
    ramdisk:
      url: http://storage.kernelci.org/images/rootfs/debian/stretchtests/20180627.0/armhf/rootfs.cpio.gz
      compression: gz

docker

Boot a docker image already deployed by a deploy to docker action.

- boot:
   method: docker
   command: bash
   prompts:
   - 'root@lava:'
   timeout:
     minutes: 2

command

The command to run when starting the docker container.

fastboot

The fastboot boot method takes no arguments or parameters.

- boot:
    method: fastboot
    namespace: droid
    prompts:
      - 'root@(.*):/#'
      - 'hikey:/'
    timeout:
      minutes: 15

Note

Since all fastboot DUT depend on LXC to run jobs, it is mandatory to have the namespace specified.

fastboot boot commands

Some test jobs may need to add a fastboot command prior to boot, for example to specify whether the _a or _b partitions are to be active.

If the test job specifies the images labels as boot_a instead of boot, then a fastboot boot command will be required to make sure that the device boots from boot_a instead of boot_b (which may contain an old deployment from a previous test job or may contain nothing at all).

- boot:
    method: fastboot
    commands:
    - --set-active=a

fastboot-nfs

The fastboot-nfs boot is a method that allow you specify a nfs rootfs in a Android boot image via LXC image build and boot using fastboot boot method.

The job needs a require set of 3 primary actions:

• Deploy rootfs over NFS

• Download Kernel and DTB to LXC

• Create Android boot image with NFS details provided by NFS_{ROOTFS,SERVER_IP} environment variables

device_type: dragonboard-410c

job_name: lxc-fastboot-nfs
timeouts:
  job:
    hours: 1
  action:
    minutes: 30
priority: medium
visibility: public

metadata:
  docs-source: actions-boot-qemu-nfs
  docs-filename: doc/v2/examples/test-jobs/fastboot-nfs.yaml

protocols:
  lava-lxc:
    name: lxc-fastboot-nfs-test
    template: debian
    distribution: debian
    release: buster
    arch: amd64
    mirror: http://mirror.bytemark.co.uk/debian
    verbose: true

actions:
- deploy:
    namespace: tlxc
    timeout:
      minutes: 10
    to: lxc
    packages:
     - mkbootimg
     - fastboot
    os: debian

- deploy:
    namespace: target
    timeout:
      minutes: 5
    to: nfs
    nfsrootfs:
      url: http://releases.linaro.org/96boards/dragonboard410c/linaro/openembedded/19.01/rpb/rpb-console-image-dragonboard-410c-20190130223248-110.rootfs.tar.xz
      compression: xz
    modules:
      url: http://releases.linaro.org/96boards/dragonboard410c/linaro/openembedded/19.01/rpb/modules--4.14-r0-dragonboard-410c-20190130223248-110.tgz
      compression: gz

- boot:
    namespace: tlxc
    prompts:
    - 'root@(.*):/#'
    timeout:
      minutes: 5
    method: lxc

- deploy:
    timeout:
      minutes: 40
    to: download
    namespace: target
    images:
      kernel:
        url: http://releases.linaro.org/96boards/dragonboard410c/linaro/openembedded/19.01/rpb/Image.gz--4.14-r0-dragonboard-410c-20190130223248-110.bin
        compression:
      dtb:
        url: http://releases.linaro.org/96boards/dragonboard410c/linaro/openembedded/19.01/rpb/Image.gz--4.14-r0-apq8016-sbc-20190130223248-110.dtb
        compression:

- test:
    namespace: tlxc
    timeout:
      minutes: 10
    definitions:
    - from: inline
      name: test-testdef
      path: inline/test-testdef
      repository:
        metadata:
          description: test definition env
          format: Lava-Test Test Definition 1.0
          name: test-testdef
        run:
          steps:
          - env
          - echo "$NFS_ROOTFS"
          - echo "$NFS_SERVER_IP"
          - cd /lava-lxc/
          - cp Image.gz--4.14-r0-dragonboard-410c-20190130223248-110.bin Image.gz+dtb # OE image already has dtb appended
          - mkbootimg --kernel Image.gz+dtb --cmdline "root=/dev/nfs rw nfsroot=$NFS_SERVER_IP:$NFS_ROOTFS ip=dhcp console=tty0 console=ttyMSM0,115200n8" -o boot.img
          - ls /lava-lxc/

- deploy:
    timeout:
      minutes: 40
    to: fastboot
    namespace: target
    images:
      boot:
        url: lxc:///boot.img
    protocols:
        lava-lxc:
        - action: fastboot-deploy
          request: pre-power-command
          timeout:
              minutes: 2

- boot:
    namespace: target
    prompts:
    - 'root@(.*):[/~]#'
    timeout:
      minutes: 15
    method: fastboot
    protocols:
      lava-lxc:
      - action: auto-login-action
        request: pre-os-command
        timeout:
          minutes: 2

See also

boot method fastboot.

fvp

The fvp boot method allows you to run Fixed Virtual Platforms.

- boot:
    method: fvp
    prompts:
      - 'root@(.*):/#'
    image: /path/to/FVP_Binary
    licence_variable: ARMLMD_LICENSE_FILE=foo
    arguments:
      - "-C board.virtioblockdevice.image_path={DISK}"
      ...
    docker:
      name: "fvp_foundation:11.8"
      local: true
    timeout:
      minutes: 5

This boot method will launch the image file (already present in the docker image provided) with the arguments as parameters, and the licence_variable set as an environment variable.

You can use {IMAGE_NAME} which will be replaced with the path to the image with the same key under images in the previous fvp deploy stage. {ARTIFACT_DIR} can also be used for the directory where all images are deployed.

Note

Previous to running an fvp boot, you should run an fvp deploy.

Note

The docker image must have the fastmodel in it and must have the required tools, such as telnet.

grub

The grub boot method takes no arguments or parameters.

- boot:
    method: grub
    commands: ramdisk

grub-efi

The grub-efi boot method takes no arguments or parameters. However, in most cases, starting Grub from UEFI requires using the uefi-menu as well.

- boot:
    timeout:
      minutes: 4
    prompts:
      - 'root@stretch:'
    method: grub-efi
    commands: nfs
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: "login:"
      username: root

Download or view the complete example: examples/test-jobs/mustang-grub-efi.yaml

Note

Admins can refer to the mustang-grub-efi.jinja2 template for an example of how to make selections from a UEFI menu to load Grub. See Device type templates.

ipxe

The ipxe boot method takes no arguments or parameters.

- boot:
    method: ipxe
    commands: ramdisk
    prompts:
    - 'root@debian:~#'
    - '/ #'

lxc

See also

LXC protocol

- boot:
    method: lxc
    prompts:
    - 'root@(.*):/#'
    timeout:
      minutes: 5

openocd

The openocd boot method takes no arguments or parameters.

The method works by passing through the command line options for the openocd command. It downloads and runs the executable specified by binary in the job definition. It also allows an openocd script file to be downloaded from the location specified by openocd_script in the job definition, if a custom script file should be used instead of the one specified by the device type.

board_selection_cmd can be used in the device-type to specify a command to pass the board id/serial number to OpenOCD. See OpenOCD documentation for details on the command to set the serial number for the interface your device type is using.

- boot:
    method: openocd
    timeout:
      minutes: 3

minimal

The minimal method is used to power-on the DUT and to let the DUT boot without any interaction.

- boot
    method: minimal
    prompts:
    - 'root@debian:~#'
    - '/ #'

Note

auto-login and transfer_overlay are both supported for this method.

By default LAVA will reset the board power when executing this action. Users can skip this step by adding reset: false. This can be useful when testing bootloader in interactive tests and then booting to the OS.

- boot
    method: minimal
    reset: false

Pre power/os command defined in device dictionary can be executed by adding pre_power_command: true or pre_os_command: true. These commands can be useful to activate or deactivate external hardware before applying power.

- boot
    method: minimal
    pre_power_command: true

musca

The musca method is used to boot musca devices. Currently supported are the musca a, musca b, and musca s1. Unlike the minimal boot, the board has to be powered on before the serial will be available as the board is powered by the USB that provides the serial connection also. Therefore, the board is powered on then connection to the serial is made. Optionally, prompts can be used to check for serial output before continuing.

- boot:
    method: musca

Note

No shell is expected and no boot string is checked. All checking should be done with test monitors.

Note

Some initial setup steps are required to ensure that the Musca device boots when it is powered on. Check here for details on how to setup the board to auto-boot when it is programmed or turned on. Ensure DETAILS.TXT on the MSD shows “Auto Reset” and “Auto Power” are activated.

pyocd

The pyocd boot method takes no arguments or parameters.

- boot:
    method: pyocd
    timeout:
      minutes: 10

The pyocd boot method requires configuration on the device type level. Following configuration options are supported:

• command - executable command to invoke

• options - list of options to pass to the executable

• connect_before_flash - if true, connect to device before running pyocd flash command, otherwise after the command (default is false)

jlink

Installation

To install jlink, first download the “JLink Software and Documentation Pack” from the SEGGER website: https://www.segger.com/downloads/jlink/

Device type configuration

Example Configuration:

{% extends 'base-nxp-mcu.jinja2' %}
{% set usb_vendor_id = '1366' %}
{% set usb_product_id = '1015' %}
{% set device_name = 'MKW36A512XXX4' %}
{% set device_info = device_info|default([{'board_id': board_id, 'usb_vendor_id': usb_vendor_id, 'usb_product_id': usb_product_id}]) %}
{% block jlink_options %}
- '-device {{device_name}}'
- '-if {{target_interface|default("SWD")}}'
- '-speed {{ speed_ti|default(4000)}}'
{% endblock jlink_options %}

It is important to fill in all the parameters present in jlink_options block.

Device configuration

{% set board_id = '000380000008' %}
{% set usb_mass_device = '/dev/disk/by-id/usb-MBED_microcontroller_02400201E8B77E4E154983F6-0:0' %}
{% set connection_command = 'telnet localhost 7010' %}
{% set hard_reset_command = 'board-control frdm-kw36zj-01 pdu reboot' %}
{% set power_off_command = 'upoco set-state -d hub-01 -p 1 -s OFF -r 200' %}
{% set power_on_command = 'upoco set-state -d hub-01 -p 1 -s ON -r 200' %}

Usage

Note

Images passed to jlink commands must be first deployed using the tmpfs deploy action.

Using the following :

- deploy:
    to: tmpfs
    images:
      shell:
        url: https://.../shell.bin
      hello_world:
        url: https://../hello_world.bin

For the JLink boot method, there are two possibilities:

flashing a single image: It will flash the binary to the load address 0x0 by default.

- boot:
  method: jlink
  timeout:
    minutes: 2

flashing multiple images : It also works with a single image, allowing additional commands to be executed during the flash via JLink.

- boot:
  method: jlink
  prompts : ['SHELL>> ']
  commands :
    - loadfile {shell} 0x0
    - loadfile {hello_world} 0x0
  timeout:
    minutes: 2

method (required): Specifies the method used for booting the device. Set this to “jlink” when using JLink.

prompts (optional): Specifies the prompts expected from the target device. This parameter is optional and is only used when the flashing binary behaves like a shell, allowing for interactive testing. It expects a list of strings representing the prompts.

commands (optional): Specifies a list of commands to execute using JLink. These commands can include loadfile or any other valid JLink command. Additionally, you can use variables in the commands to reference binaries deployed during the deploy phase of tmpfs.

In this example, {shell} and {hello_world} are variables referencing binaries deployed during the deploy phase of tmpfs.

Test Setup with Multiple MCUs

To set up a test requiring multiple MCUs, such as testing Bluetooth connectivity, the best solution is a multinode job. In this setup, MCU 1 and MCU 2 are placed on the same worker. Additionally, a Docker device is used to execute tests once both MCUs have completed their deployment and boot processes.

As depicted in the diagram above, the test setup consists of the following components:

• MCU 1 and MCU 2: These are the target devices to be tested.

• Docker Device: A Docker container is deployed to execute the tests. This Docker device is responsible for coordinating the test execution once both MCUs are ready.

Here’s how the process works:

1. Deployment and Boot: The necessary images are deployed to both MCUs using tmpfs. Once deployed, the MCUs are booted to initiate the test process.

2. Test Execution: Once both MCUs have completed their boot processes, the Docker device executes the test suite. This suite includes tests for Bluetooth connectivity or any other desired functionality.

3. Results Analysis: The test results are collected and analyzed by a LAVA test to verify the functionality of the MCUs and ensure successful connectivity.

new_connection

The new_connection boot method takes no arguments or parameters. This method can be used to switch to a new connection, allowing a test to isolate test and kernel messages (if the kernel and the device are both appropriately configured).

- boot:
    # make the connection to the second uart for use in the test shell
    namespace: isolation
    connection: uart0
    method: new_connection

Note

The new_connection boot method must use a different namespace to all other actions in the test job. The test shell(s) must pass this namespace label as the connection-namespace.

See also

connection-namespace

- test:
    namespace: hikey-oe
    connection-namespace: isolation
    timeout:
      minutes: 5
    definitions:
    - repository: http://git.linaro.org/lava-team/lava-functional-tests.git
      from: git
      path: lava-test-shell/smoke-tests-basic.yaml
      name: smoke-tests-basic-oe

qemu

The qemu method is used to boot the downloaded image from the deployment action using QEMU. This runs the QEMU command line on the dispatcher. Only certain elements of the command line are available for modification using the job context. The available values can vary depending on local admin configuration. For example, many admins restrict the available memory of each QEMU device, so the memory option in the job context may be ignored.

context:
  arch: aarch64
  memory: 2048
  # comment out or change to user if the dispatcher does not support bridging.
  # netdevice: tap
  extra_options:
  - -smp
  - 1
  - -global
  - virtio-blk-device.scsi=off
  - -device virtio-scsi-device,id=scsi
  - --append "console=ttyAMA0 root=/dev/vda rw"

The version of qemu installed on the dispatcher is a choice made by the admin. Generally, this will be the same as the version of qemu available from Debian in the same suite as the rest of the packages installed on the dispatcher, e.g. buster. Information on the available versions of qemu in Debian is available at https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/qemu

See also

Only protect the essential components and qemu-iso boot method

media

When booting a QEMU image file directly, the media needs to be specified as tmpfs.

- boot:
    method: qemu
    media: tmpfs

qemu-nfs

The qemu-nfs method is used to boot a downloaded kernel with a root filesystem deployed on the worker. Only certain elements of the command line are available for modification using the job context. The available values can vary depending on local admin configuration. For example, many admins restrict the available memory of each QEMU device, so the memory option in the job context may be ignored.

The version of qemu installed on the dispatcher is a choice made by the admin. Generally, this will be the same as the version of qemu available from Debian in the same suite as the rest of the packages installed on the dispatcher, e.g. buster. Information on the available versions of qemu in Debian is available at https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/qemu

QEMU can be used with an NFS using the qemu-nfs method and the nfs media:

- boot:
    timeout:
      minutes: 4
    method: qemu-nfs
    connection: serial
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: 'login:'
      username: root
    prompts:
      - 'root@(.*):'

See also

boot method qemu.

When using qemu-nfs, the hostname element of the prompt will vary according to the worker running QEMU:

- boot:
    timeout:
      minutes: 4
    method: qemu-nfs
    connection: serial
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: 'login:'
      username: root
    prompts:
      - 'root@(.*):'

media

When booting a QEMU image using NFS, the media needs to be specified as nfs.

- boot:
    timeout:
      minutes: 4
    method: qemu-nfs
    connection: serial
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: 'login:'
      username: root
    prompts:
      - 'root@(.*):'

qemu-iso

The qemu-iso method is used to boot the downloaded installer from the deployment action using QEMU. This runs the QEMU command line on the dispatcher. Only certain elements of the command line are available for modification using the job context.

The version of qemu installed on the dispatcher is a choice made by the admin. Generally, this will be the same as the version of qemu available from Debian in the same suite as the rest of the packages installed on the dispatcher, e.g. buster. Information on the available versions of qemu in Debian is available at https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/qemu

See also

Only protect the essential components and boot method qemu

- boot:
    method: qemu-iso
    media: img
    timeout:
      minutes: 20
    connection: serial
    auto_login:
      login_prompt: 'login:'
      username: root
      password_prompt: 'Password:'
      password: root
    prompts:
    - 'root@debian:~#'

media

When booting an installer using QEMU, the media needs to be specified as img

- boot:
    method: qemu-iso
    media: img

transfer_overlay

An overlay is a tarball of scripts which run the LAVA Test Shell for the test job. The tarball also includes the git clones of the repositories specified in the test job submission and the LAVA helper scripts. Normally, this overlay is integrated into the test job automatically. In some situations, for example when using a command list to specify an alternative rootfs, it is necessary to transfer the overlay from the worker to the device using commands within the booted system prior to starting to run the test shell.

Some overlay tarballs can be quite large. The LAVA TestShell helpers are tiny shell scripts but the git repositories cloned for your test shell definitions can become large over time. Additionally, if your test shell definition clones the git repo of source code, those clones will also appear in the overlay tarball.

Note

The situations where transfer_overlay is useful tend to also require restricting the test job to specific devices of a particular device type. This needs to be arranged with the lab admins who can create suitable device tags which will need to be specified in all test job definitions.

See also

Secondary media which is more flexible but slower.

The overlay is transferred before any test shell operations can occur, so the method of transferring and then unpacking the overlay must work without any further setup of the rootfs. All dependencies must be pre-installed and all configuration must be in place (possibly using a hacking session). This includes the network configuration - the worker offers several network services to download the overlay and LAVA can populate the URL but the device must automatically configure the networking immediately upon boot and the network must work straight away.

The job could specify transfer_method to choose how to transfer overlay:

• transfer_method: http

  This will transfer overlay through apache host service.

  - boot:
      transfer_overlay:
        transfer_method: http
        download_command: wget -S --progress=dot:giga
        unpack_command: tar -C / -xzf
  

  Note

  The -C / command to tar is essential or the test shell will not be able to start. The overlay will use gzip compression, so pass the z option to tar.

• transfer_method: nfs

  This will transfer overlay through nfs server service:

  - boot:
      transfer_overlay:
        transfer_method: nfs
        download_command: mount -t nfs -o nolock
        unpack_command: cp -rf
  

Note

http will be used if transfer_method omitted.

Deployment differences

The -S --progress=dot:giga options to wget in the example above optimize the output for serial console logging to avoid wasting line upon line of progress percentage dots. If the system uses busybox, these options may not be supported by the version of wget on the device.

Some systems do not store the current time between boots. The --warning no-timestamp option is a useful addition for tar for those systems but note that busybox tar does not support this option.

The download_command and the unpack_command can include one or more shell commands. However, as with the test shell definitions, avoid using redirects (> or >>) or other complex shell syntax. This example changes to /tmp to ensure there is enough writeable space for the download.

- boot:
    transfer_overlay:
      download_command: cd /tmp ; wget
      unpack_command: tar -C / -xzf

u-boot

The u-boot method boots the downloaded files using U-Boot commands.

commands

The predefined set of U-Boot commands into which the location of the downloaded files can be substituted (along with details like the SERVERIP and NFS location, where relevant). See the device configuration for the complete set of commands.

Certain elements of the command line are available for modification using the job context. The available values vary by device type.

Example

NXP Layerscape platforms supports booting from Alternate Bank, keeping Main Bank safe. If you want to boot the board from Alternate Bank, you can do it by adding context variable “uboot_altbank: true”. By default its value is set to “false”

context:
  uboot_altbank: true

By default LAVA will reset the board power when executing this action. Users can skip this step by adding reset: false. This can be useful when loading u-boot in fastboot mode.

- deploy:
    to: fastboot
    docker:
      image: lavalabteam/adb-fastboot
      local: true
    images:
      boot:
        url: https://.../uboot.img
    timeout:
      seconds: 90
- boot:
    method: fastboot
    docker:
      image: lavalabteam/adb-fastboot
      local: true
    timeout:
      seconds: 30
- boot:
    method: u-boot
    reset: false
    ...

uefi-menu

The uefi-menu method selects a pre-defined menu in the UEFI configuration for the device. In most cases, this is used to execute a different bootloader. For example, a fastboot device can execute fastboot from a menu item or a device could execute an PXE menu item to download and execute Grub.

Caution

Although it is possible to create new menu entries in UEFI each time a test job starts, this has proven to be unreliable on both of the device types tested so far. If the build of UEFI is not able to download a bootloader using PXE, then experiment with creating a UEFI menu item which is able to execute a local file and have a build of Grub on local storage. Build the grub binary using grub-mkstandalone to ensure that all modules are available.

UEFI menus will renumber themselves each time a new item is added or removed, so LAVA must be able to match the description of the menu item and then identify the correct selector to be able to send the correct character to execute that menu option. This means that the admins must create the same menu structures on each device of the same device type and correlate the text content of the menu with the jinja2 templates.

To use uefi-menu, the device must offer a menu from which items can be selected using a standard regular expression: 'a-zA-Z0-9\s\:', for example:

[1] bootloader
[2] boot from eMMC
[3] Boot Manager
[4] Reboot

The device type template would need to specify the separator (whitespace in the example) as well as how to identify the item matching the requested selector:

- boot:
    method: uefi-menu
    parameters:
      item_markup:
      - "["
      - "]"
      item_class: '0-9'
      separator: ' '

This allows LAVA to match a menu item matching \[[0-9]\] ['a-zA-Z0-9\s\:'] and select the correct selector when the menu item string matches one (and only one) line output by the UEFI menu. In this example, the selector must be a digit.

The template must then also specify which menu item to select, according to the commands set in the testjob:

- boot:
    method: uefi-menu
    commands: fastboot

The template would then need:

- boot:
    method: uefi-menu
    parameters:
      fastboot:
      - select:
          items:
          - 'boot from eMMC'

uuu

Integration of NXP uuu the flashing tool utility for i.mx platform.

See the complete documentation of uuu / mfgtools on GitHub https://github.com/NXPmicro/mfgtools/wiki

Installation

uuu is not provided as a dependency within LAVA, you need to install it manually over all Slaves.

You can get the latest release here : https://github.com/NXPmicro/mfgtools/releases/latest

# INSTALLATION SCRIPT
wget https://github.com/NXPmicro/mfgtools/releases/download/<UUU_VERSION>/uuu
chmod a+x uuu
mv uuu /bin/uuu

Device configuration

To use uuu the device template must specify two variables :

{# One of the variable above #}
{% set uuu_usb_otg_path = '2:143' %}
{% set uuu_usb_otg_path_command = ['echo', '2:143'] %}

{% set uuu_corrupt_boot_media_command = ['mmc dev 1', 'mmc erase 0 0x400'] %}

• uuu_corrupt_boot_media_commanda list of commands to execute on the platform within u-boot to corrupt the primary boot media.

  On the next reboot, serial download protocol must be available on the platform to flash future images using uuu.

• uuu_usb_otg_path : can be obtained using the command uuu -lsusb. Multiple paths can be provided by using array declaration in device template.

{# Multiple otg path example #}
{% set uuu_usb_otg_path = ['1:143', '2:143'] %}
{% set uuu_usb_otg_path_command = ['echo', '-ne', '1:143\n2:143'] %}

{% set uuu_corrupt_boot_media_command = ['mmc dev 1', 'mmc erase 0 0x400'] %}

• uuu_usb_otg_path_commandAllow to customize uuu_otg_path at the worker level, avoiding jinja2 device template modification on the server.

  Your command must print a well formatted usb path accepted by uuu on each line with no new-line at end of output.

$ uuu -lsusb
uuu (Universal Update Utility) for nxp imx chips -- libuuu_1.3.102-1-gddf2649
Connected Known USB Devices
    Path       Chip    Pro     Vid     Pid     BcdVersion
    ==================================================
    2:143      MX8MQ   SDP:    0x1FC9 0x012B   0x0001

If you want to use uuu within docker image, you could specify next variable:

{% set uuu_docker_image = 'atline/uuu:1.3.191' %}

• uuu_docker_image : This is a docker image which installed an uuu binary in it already.

Note

A docker image specified in job.yaml could also override this value in device configuration like next:

- boot:
    docker:
      image: atline/uuu:1.3.191
    method: uuu
    commands:
      - uuu : -b sd {boot}
    timeout:
      minutes: 5

If you also want to enable remote uuu feature, in which situation your device not directly linked to lava dispatcher, you could specify another variable:

{% set uuu_remote_options = '--tlsverify --tlscacert=/labScripts/remote_cert/ca.pem --tlscert=/labScripts/remote_cert/cert.pem --tlskey=/labScripts/remote_cert/key.pem -H 10.192.244.5:2376' %}

• uuu_remote_options : This let docker client remotely operate an uuu docker container on a remote machine.

You could follow https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/linux-postinstall/#configure-where-the-docker-daemon-listens-for-connections to configure remote docker support.

You could follow https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/https/ to protect the docker daemon socket if you are also care about security.

Note

The minimal docker version to run uuu is 19.03. This is due to a bug in earlier docker versions. See https://github.com/moby/moby/pull/37665.

• uuu_power_off_before_corrupt_boot_media : This enables a device power off before corrupt boot media.

  There is a situation that uboot continues to restart, it will affect uboot interrupt when corrupt boot media. Next configure could power down the device before uboot interrupt, with which you have option to remove the interference:

{% set uuu_power_off_before_corrupt_boot_media = true %}

Usage

Following the same syntax of uuu tool, commands are specified using a pair <Protocol, Command>. commands field is then a list of dictionary with only one pair of <Protocol, Command>.

A special Protocol named uuu is defined to used build-int scripts.

Note

Images passed to uuu commands must be first deployed using the uuu deploy action if used with overlay.

Using the following :

- deploy:
    to: uuu
    images:
      boot:
        url: https://.../imx-boot-sd.bin-flash
      system:
        url: https://../imx-image-multimedia.rootfs.wic
        apply-overlay: true
        root_partition: 1

Both boot and system keyword are stored as images name that you can reference within uuu boot method commands.

Warning

boot image is required by uuu boot method to perform USB serial download availability check.

The USB serial availability check consist to try to write in memory a valid bootloader image using this command uuu {boot}. If the command does not terminate within 10 seconds, primary boot-media will be erased using uuu_corrupt_boot_media_command.

Using built-in scripts

Example definition :

- boot:
    method: uuu
    commands:
    - uuu: -b sd_all {boot} {system}

Non-exhaustive list of available built-in scripts :

- uuu: -b emmc {boot}                 # Write bootloader to emmc
- uuu: -b emmc_all {boot} {system}    # Write bootloader & rootfs to emmc
- uuu: -b sd {boot}                   # Write bootloader to sd card
- uuu: -b sd_all {boot} {system}      # Write bootloader & rootfs to sd card

Using commands

Example code :

- boot:
    method: uuu
    commands :
    - SDPS: boot -f {boot}
    - FB: continue
    - FB: done

BCU Integration

Most recent i.MX boards (imx8dxl, imx8mp, imx8ulp, imx93 as of july-2022) support BCU, a remote control utility. BCU allows changing the board’s boot configuration (mainly SD card, eMMC or USB Serial Download Protocol) through a serial interface.

bcu

Integration of NXP bcu the board remote control utility for the boards/platform that support remote control.

See the project readme of bcu on GitHub : https://github.com/NXPmicro/bcu#readme

Installation

bcu is not provided as a dependency within LAVA, you need to install it manually over all workers.

You can get the latest release here : https://github.com/NXPmicro/bcu/releases/latest

Enabling bcu capability on compatible device types

To use bcu the device type template must specify variable :

{% set bcu_board_name = 'imx8dxlevk' %}

• bcu_board_name : can be obtained using the command bcu lsboard :

$ bcu lsboard
version bcu_1.1.45-0-g0b267ba

list of supported board model:

     imx8dxlevk
     imx8dxlevkc1
     imx8dxl_ddr3_evk
     imx8mpevkpwra0
     imx8mpevkpwra1
     imx8mpevk
     imx8mpddr4
     imx8ulpevk
     imx8ulpevkb2
     imx8ulpevk9
     done

Device configuration

To use bcu the device template must specify variable :

{# One of the variable below #}
{% set bcu_board_id = '2-1.3' %}
{% set bcu_board_id_command = ['echo', '2-1.3'] %}

• bcu_board_id : can be obtained using the command bcu lsftdi :

• bcu_board_id_commandAllows customization of bcu_board_id at the worker level. It avoids device template modification in server side.

  Your command must print on a single line a well formatted board id accepted by bcu.

$ bcu lsftdi
version bcu_1.1.45-0-g0b267ba
number of boards connected through FTDI device found: 1
board[0] location_id=2-1.3
done

Usage

Following the same syntax of bcu tool, in the boot action the method should be specified as uuu and then commands are specified in the commands field.

Example definition :

- boot:
    method: uuu
    commands:
         - bcu: reset usb
         - uuu: -b emmc {boot}
         - bcu: set_boot_mode emmc
    timeout:
      minutes: 20

Note

Serial availability check and bootloader corruption actions are skipped when:

• First item in commands block is bcu: reset usb

Or

• commands block contain bcu commands only

This behavior is useful to recover bricked devices or to use bcu as a standalone action.

Non-exhaustive list of available bcu commands :

- reset BOOTMODE_NAME                 # Reset the board and then boots from mentioned BOOTMODE_NAME.
                                      # Replace BOOTMODE_NAME with different options like emmc,sd,
                                      # usb which can be obtained from command bcu lsbootmode.
                                      # Replace the BOOTMODE_NAME with anyone of the mentioned.
- lsftdi                              # List all the boards connected by ftdi device
- lsboard                             # List all supported board models
- get_boot_mode                       # Displays the boot mode set by BCU