Introduction
Last week, I had to develop integration tests on a SAMC-514 (a µTCA i7 CPU) running Fedora 17 to confirm proper assembly of a PicoSDR system. In order to reduce the system configuration duration, test time execution and, avoid test operator mistakes, I decided to wrap all commands that would have been typed manually by the tester in bash scripts and prepared a “software test kit”, so that the tester could launch all configuration scripts and tests using only few bash scripts and from a unique folder.
Furthermore, in order to simplify my test development on the embedded system, I also identified and configured methods allowing remote connection to the µTCA computer, so I was able to work with embedded Fedora directly from my Windows PC.
After a quick training to the test production team, I realized how wrapping the tests and commands in bash scripts paid off in reducing the effort at different levels, as described above, and I then decided to write this blog post presenting an overview of bash file scripting, some bash script examples (downloadable), and how to setup remote connection to a Fedora 17 embedded system.
Wrapping multiple commands and executing all at once using bash scripts.
A quick tour of bash scripts
The bash script allows executing automatic shell/command line instructions. As a text file format, it allows gathering multiple shell commands, but also performing conditional and loop operations, arithmetic operations, define and uses variables, user interface, and more.
To create a bash script, create a new text file using your preferred text editor, write all the commands you it will have to execute, and save the file with the file extension “.sh”
When your bash script is written, you just need to open a command terminal, navigate to the directory where your script is saved, and execute it using one of the following commands. (Note: In many cases, it is recommended to be logged in the terminal as superuser.)
– bash your-script-name
– sh your-script-name
– ./ your-script-name*
*(Note: prior to using this method, you have to set your file as executable using command “chmod +x your-script-name”)
The idea behind this first section was mainly to highlight that the bash scripting is a powerful tool provided in Linux. If you want to learn more about bash scripting, I suggest the following references which present bash scripting in greater detail.
| 1. Bash scripting for beginnershttp://www.tldp.org/LDP/Bash-Beginners-Guide/html/ |
| 2. Introduction to bash scriptinghttp://tldp.org/HOWTO/Bash-Prog-Intro-HOWTO.html |
| 3. Simple tutorial to create a script to backup files with timestampshttp://www.howtogeek.com/67469/the-beginners-guide-to-shell-scripting-the-basics/ |
B. Basic scripts, examples and explanations
In this section, I provide examples of a few bash scripts I created in the context of the PicoSDR bring-up and ADP examples execution. I describe each script, provide details about the commands they include and provide the scripts as downloadable content, so you can reuse it and modify it for your needs.
Script 1: Installation of the ADP release 6.3 for Linux
This script makes updates, installs the necessary development tools and libraries, installs the ADP software suite, and modifies the rights to the ADP working folders. This bash script is directly inspired from the installation instructions provided at: https://nutaq.com/en/support/latest-utca-edition/.
Note:
– You must be logged in as a superuser in the terminal (use command “su”)
– The computer must be connected to the internet, so it can launch the updates.
– The “nutaq-adp6-microtca-sdk-6-3-0-1-fc17-x86-64.rpm” package must be in the same directory as the bash script.
| install_nutaq_adp_6.3.0.sh | Comments |
| # !/bin/bash
# Update systems and install necessary dev. libs yum -y update yum -y install libpcap-devel yum -y install libtool yum -y groupinstall development-libs development-tools
# Installation of ADP6.3.0 software suite rpm -Uhv nutaq-adp6-microtca-sdk-6-3-0-1-fc17-x86-64.rpm
# Modify directories permissions chown -R nutaq //opt/Nutaq chgrp -R nutaq //opt/Nutaq chmod -R +x //opt/Nutaq chown -R nutaq //var/cache |
Typical header to identify it is a bash script
“yum” : command for Installing, removing, and updating packages of the Linux communities.
“rpm” : command to install rpm package
“chmod” : change permission of a directory “chgrp” : change group associated with a file “chown”: change owner of a file |
· Downloadable content: install_nutaq_adp_6.3.0_kit.zip
Script 2: Configure, build, and launch the Perseus6010 RTDEx PCIe example.
This script is used to configure, build, and launch the Perseus6010 RTDEx PCIe example. This demo tests the PCIe data exchange integrity between the Perseus and a Host µTCA computer (running Fedora 17).
This script first installs the PCIe driver in the µTCA computer. It then replaces source and make files to configure the RTDEx PCIe example. It then executes the build_demo.sh bash script provided in the example folder to build the demo with the newly replaced files. Finally, it launches the demo.
This bash script is mostly inspired from the example user guide instructions provided in the documentation of the ADP software suite.
Note:
– You must be logged in as a superuser in the terminal (use command “su”)
– The Nutaq ADP software suite must be installed on the system and you must have the appropriate hardware
– The µTCA computer must have an Ethernet link with the Perseus.
– The Perseus must have the IP address: 192.168.0.101
– The Perseus must be programmed with the bitstream associated with this example.
– Due to PCIe protocol, the Perseus must be configured and powered-up before the host computer.
In brief, please refer to the example documentation for the setup details.
| Launch_pcie_demo.sh |
| #!/bin/bash
# Install the PCIe driver using the installation bash script. bash install_pcie_driver.sh
# Copy files necessary to configure the example. cp Makefile_PCIe //opt/Nutaq/ADP6/ADP_MicroTCA/sdk/examples/perseus6010_rtdex_record_playback /host/prj_linux/Makefile
# Move to the example directory and build the demo cd //opt/Nutaq/ADP6/ADP_MicroTCA/sdk/examples/perseus6010_rtdex_record_playback/host/prj_linux/ ./build_demo.sh
# Launch the demo bash file provided in the ADP software suite. ./Launch_rtdex_host_to_perseus_pcie.sh
|
· Downloadable content: https://nutaq.com/sites/default/files/blog-downloads/launch_pcie_demo_kit_1.zip
Script 3: Configure, build, and launch the HDD PCIe streaming example.
This script is used to configure, build, and launch the HDD PCIe streaming example. This demo tests the PCIe data exchange integrity between the Perseus and a Host µTCA computer (running Fedora 17) while the host computer saves the data in real-time on an external hard drive disk.
This script first installs the PCIe driver in the µTCA computer. It then replaces source and make files to configure the RTDEx PCIe example. It executes the build_demo.sh bash script provided in the example folder to build the demo with the newly replaced files.
Before launching the example, the bash requests some information from the user using the command “read” about the disk to mount and the location where the user wishes to mount the disk. Afterward, the bash will perform some verifications to properly mount the disk and allow read/write permissions.
With the disk now mounted, the system is now ready for the example execution. The example is launched a first time to perform a data exchange between the host and the Perseus in order to record a 2 Gig file on the external hard disk. It is then launched a second time, but this time to perform a playback of the recorded file and verify the data integrity. This will return the number of errors if any. Finally, the bash script cleans and unmounts the external hard drive if requested by the user.
Note:
– You must be logged in as a superuser in the terminal (use command “su”)
– The external Hard disk must be formatted and have an existing partition.
– The Nutaq ADP software suite must be installed on the system and you must have the appropriate hardware
– The µTCA computer must have an Ethernet link with the Perseus.
– The Perseus must have the IP address: 192.168.0.101
– The Perseus must be programmed with the bitstream associated with this example.
– Due to the PCIe protocol, the Perseus must be configured and powered-up before the host computer.
| launch_hdd_pcie_streaming.sh |
| #!/bin/bash
# Install the PCIe driver using the installation bash script. bash install_pcie_driver.sh
# Copy files necessary to build the test. cp hdd_streaming_6.3_corrected.c /opt/Nutaq/ADP6/ADP_MicroTCA/sdk/examples/perseus6010_rtdex_record_playback/host/src/hdd_streaming.c cp Makefile_PCIe //opt/Nutaq/ADP6/ADP_MicroTCA/sdk/examples/perseus6010_rtdex_record_playback/host/prj_linux/Makefile cd /opt/Nutaq/ADP6/ADP_MicroTCA/sdk/examples/perseus6010_rtdex_record_playback/host/prj_linux/ ./build_demo.sh
# Get the required user inputs echo ” “ echo ” “ read -p ‘Please, enter the disk partition to use for test (e.g.: /dev/sda1): ‘ DEVDISK read -p ‘Please, enter where to mount the disk (e.g.: /HDD): ‘ HDDDISK
# Verify if the disk is already mounted somewhere… if yes, unmount it… if mount | grep $DEVDISK > /dev/null; then echo “Disk is already mounted, unmounting the disk from the current location…” umount $DEVDISK echo “Disk is now unmounted.” fi
# Verify if the disk mounting directory already exists if read -p ‘The mounting directory already exists, do you want to clear it (y/n)?’ YESNO if [ “$YESNO” == “y” ]; then echo “Clearing folder…” chmod 777 -R $HDDDISK rmdir $HDDDISK mkdir $HDDDISK fi else mkdir $HDDDISK fi # Mount the user-defined disk at the user-defined directory echo ” “ echo “Mounting disk $DEVDISK in folder $HDDDISK…” mount $DEVDISK $HDDDISK chmod 777 $HDDDISK # Executing hdd streaming example echo ” “ echo “Launching hdd rtdex streaming pcie test [Slot A]” cd /opt/Nutaq/ADP6/ADP_MicroTCA/sdk/examples/perseus6010_rtdex_record_playback/host/bin echo ” “ echo “step 1/3: Launching a recording of 2gig and saving file on the external hdd…” ./hdd_streaming_pcie -r -d $HDDDISK -s 2g -a 192.168.0.101 0 echo ” “ echo “step 2/3: Launching a playback to verify the previously recorded file…” ./hdd_streaming_pcie -d $HDDDISK -s 2g -a 192.168.0.101 0 echo ” “ echo “Showing file on disk:” ls -l $HDDDISK echo ” “ echo “step 3/3: Cleaning…” read -p ‘Do you want to clear and unmount the hard drive (y/n)?’ YESNO if [ “$YESNO” == “y” ]; then chmod 777 -R $HDDDISK rm $HDDDISK/* umount -l $DEVDISK rmdir $HDDDISK fi echo “Test completed” |
· Downloadable content: https://nutaq.com/sites/default/files/blog-downloads/launch_hdd_pcie_streaming_demo_kit_1.zip
In our next post we will discuss enabling SSH connections and remote desktop access.
