SUSE Linux Operating System

SUSE is a paid and supported Linux operating system. SUSE is an OS to consider over the free open-source OS's (like Ubuntu) when a customer needs a longer support cycle, a guarantee of stability, technical support and some certifications. SUSE is software that is for sale.

SUSE has only been tested on the Newport Family of SBCs.

SLES - SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

SLES or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is one of the more popular releases from SUSE.

You can read more about SLES for ARM CPUs here: ​https://www.suse.com/products/arm/

SLES 15 SP2 has been validated on a Newport GW63xx SBC.

Use the Gateworks Update Script instructions to flash the disk image to the eMMC over TFTP.

Customers wishing to use SLES will work directly with SUSE.

SLES Installation Instructions

Plan this installation process could take around 1 hour of time.

These instructions are what has been used on the Gateworks board, however more installation instructions are on the SUSE website: ​https://documentation.suse.com/sles/15-SP2/

1. Register for a registration key
   1. Provided at time of sign up for trial download here: ​https://www.suse.com/products/server/download/
2. Download installation media for SLES15SP2 for ARM
   1. An online install will require a smaller initial download which is recommended, filename: SLE-15-SP2-Online-aarch64-GM-Media1.iso
3. Flash ISO image to USB Drive using the following command on a Linux PC: (IMPORTANT: Adjust sdx to actual device)

   sudo dd if=SLE-15-SP2-Online-aarch64-GM-Media1.iso of=/dev/sdx bs=4M
   

4. Flash Newport SBC with latest bootloader: http://trac.gateworks.com/wiki/newport/boot
5. Insert USB drive into Newport SBC and break into the bootloader and type the following commands in uboot to boot the installation media:

   usb start
   fdt addr $fdtcontroladdr
   fdt resize
   fatload usb 0:1 $kernel_addr_r EFI/BOOT/bootaa64.efi
   bootefi $kernel_addr_r $fdtcontroladdr
   

6. This will take you into a grub prompt. At the prompt continue the boot process with the following commands:

   set root=(hd1,msdos1)
   set prefix=(hd1,msdos1)/EFI/boot
   configfile $prefix/grub.cfg
   

7. Modify the installation line by pressing the letter e on the keyboard and append the following on the end of the kernel command line:
   1. Note this will kick off an installation process over SSH

      console=ttyAMA0,115200n8 earlycon=pl011,0x87e028000000 cma=64M network=1 usessh=1 sshpassword=linux
      

8. SSH into the board from a system on the network given the provided commands and address on the screen
9. Now, going through installation process, overall choose default options or adjust as desired.
   1. You will need a registration key (as mentioned above)
   2. During the partitioning step, if any partitions try to default to btrfs, use ext4 instead. Install on /dev/mmcblock0
   3. It is suggested that the /boot/efi install go on the Gateworks FAT partition instead of creating another one. This was tested manually modifying the partitions during the install process on the GUI menu and this worked.
   4. During the username setup, you can use the same password for the root user if desired
10. System will reboot once complete
11. Once the system reboots, the USB stick can be removed and now it will boot the installed OS off EMMC.
12. By default, it should take you automatically to the grub prompt.
13. Then 2 items appear in the GRUB menu to boot SLES. Select the standard boot.

           GNU GRUB  version 2.02
    
    ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │*SLES 15-SP2                                                                                                                                                                                                    │ 
    │ Advanced options for SLES 15-SP1                                                                                                                                                                               │
    │                                                                                                                                            
    

    1. If this does not happen automatically, another command to try from the grub command prompt is:

       grub> configfile (hd0,2)/efi/boot/grub.cfg
       

14. The system should now boot. Username and password should match what was used during the installation.

See more installation instructions on the SUSE website: ​https://documentation.suse.com/sles/15-SP2/

Contact Gateworks support for questions with the installation.

OpenSUSE

While this may work on a Newport SBC, it is not something Gateworks is supporting at this time.