how to copy a kernel image(uimage)from nand flash to host pc through t

[steffi]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me that how to copy a kernel image(uimage)from nand flash to host pc through tftp server
Thanks

[atreyu]

That is typically very dependent upon your particular piece of hardware (I am assuming some sort of embedded, possibly ARM board?). At any rate, there should be something about doing such a thing in the documentation for the device.

As for tftp, setting one up is trivial. There are free Windows versions, and of course, tftp-server comes with most Linux distros. It is often controlled by xinetd. On a Red Hat-based distro, you'd do something like:

yum install tftp-server xinetd
chkconfig tftp on
service xinetd start

You might need to stop the firewall (service iptables stop), if running.

The default directory shared by the tftp server is /tftpboot (check in /etc/xinetd.d/tftp), so that is where you'd put the images you want tftp clients to be able to access. Once it is up and running, you can test locally with a tftp client, e.g.:

tftp <TFTP_SERVER_IPADDRESS> -c get image.img

In the above example, the file to be downloaded should reside in /tftpboot/image.img on the TFTP server.

[steffi]

Hi Atreyu,
Thanks for your reply. When i gave yum install tftp-server xinetd,i got error as follows
Setting up Install Process
No package tftp-server available.
No package xinetd available.
Nothing to do

I am totally confused. Actually i want to copy kernel image from NAND flash of leopard board dm355. host is ubuntu ,kernel is 2.6.38.8 and target is 2.6.10. I could copy uimage from tftpboot folder of host to target by using the command <tftpboot 0x80700000 uImage> but <bootm 0x80700000> is not working..
I want take the backup of kernel image before writting in to the NAND flash. When i gave the command <nand read 0x80700000 0x200000 0x200000> it will be showing that some 2971200 bytes read.. I jst want to know how these bytes can copy to our host pc through tftp server.

[steffi]

Hi,
Accidently i gave write command to nand..now when i logging in to the minicom ,showing NAND boot failed..boot from UART and UBOOT prompt is not coming..I don have any idea that how to solve this. Can anyone help me??

BOOTUBLChip initialization passed!
TI UBL Version: 1.30
Booting Catalog Boot Loader
BootMode = NAND
Starting NAND Copy...
NAND Boot failed.
Starting UART Boot...
BOOTUBLStarting UART Boot...
BOOTUBLStarting UART Boot...
BOOTUBLStarting UART Boot...
BOOTUBLStarting UART Boot...
BOOTUBLStarting UART Boot...
BOOTUBLStarting UART Boot...
BOOTUBLStarting UART Boot...

Thanks

[atreyu]

Hi Atreyu,
Thanks for your reply. When i gave yum install tftp-server xinetd,i got error as follows
Setting up Install Process
No package tftp-server available.
No package xinetd available.
Nothing to do

I am totally confused. Actually i want to copy kernel image from NAND flash of leopard board dm355. host is ubuntu ,kernel is 2.6.38.8 and target is 2.6.10. I could copy uimage from tftpboot folder of host to target by using the command <tftpboot 0x80700000 uImage> but <bootm 0x80700000> is not working..
I want take the backup of kernel image before writting in to the NAND flash. When i gave the command <nand read 0x80700000 0x200000 0x200000> it will be showing that some 2971200 bytes read.. I jst want to know how these bytes can copy to our host pc through tftp server.

I could have sworn I responded to this....oh well.

Your yum response means that tftp-server and xinetd are already installed, I think. Confirm with:

rpm -qv tftp-server xinetd

As to copying files from the leo board to the PC, you can't do that with a TFTP server on the PC. TFTP is used for downloading files *from* it, not uploading files *to* it, as far as I've experienced. I hope that your leo board came with software, images, kernels, manuals etc., along with instructions for uploading new kernels to it as well as re-imaging the board with the original kernel/image/firmware. What you want to do with the board (replace kernel with your own custom one) is a very common practice with these kinds of boards, typically (but not always).

I would reach out to the whomever you got the board from for technical support. Or, failing that, perhaps the manufacturer themselves.

As far as disaster recovery (accidentally overwriting a good kernel/firmware with one that fails to boot), you may be able to still upload a good image via JTAG interface, if your board has one, and you have the JTAG cable for it. I bricked an ARM board once, only to discover to my joy that it had a JTAG connector...but no cable. After a little googling, I managed to MacGyver a JTAG cable from a parallel port cable, a serial cable, and some duct tape. It can be done.

[steffi]

Thanks

We got some doccument regarding the board but there is no information about copying kernel image from leo board.Actually i want to try with the uimage that i compiled . We have JTAG port in board but doesnt have JTAG cable.Cant we load Uboot to flash using UART?? Anyway i ll try to get JTAG cable.
Can u elaborate how to load UBOOT using the JTAG??

when i gave the command <rpm -qv tftp-server xinetd>

root@client2-linux:~# rpm -qv tftp-server xinetd
package tftp-server is not installed
package xinetd is not installed

But i installed the tftp server ..

[drl]

Hi. Speaking to the install issue (commands are entered after the "$ " prompt):

$ yum list xxxxx
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit
Error: No matching Packages to list

$ yum info xxxxx
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit
Error: No matching Packages to list

$ yum install xxxxx
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit
You need to be root to perform this command.

$ su -
Password: 

# yum install xxxxx
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: mirrors.liquidweb.com
 * extras: mirror.sanctuaryhost.com
 * rpmforge: apt.sw.be
 * updates: holmes.umflint.edu
Setting up Install Process
No package xxxxx available.
Error: Nothing to do

On modern rpm-based systems, I usually use list to identify a package name (note the use of special matching characters and quotes):

$ yum list '*xinetd*' '*tftp*'
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit
Available Packages
atftp.i686                             0.7-6.el6.rf                     rpmforge
atftp-server.i686                      0.7-6.el6.rf                     rpmforge
openssh-xinetd.noarch                  0.2-2.2.el6.rf                   rpmforge
perl-Net-TFTP.noarch                   0.17-1.el6.rf                    rpmforge
perl-TFTP.noarch                       1.0-0.b3.el6.rf                  rpmforge
tftp.i686                              0.49-5.1.el6                     base    
tftp-server.i686                       0.49-5.1.el6                     base    
xinetd.i686                            2:2.3.14-29.el6                  base

To see detail about a specific package, I use info:

$ yum info tftp
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit
Available Packages
Name       : tftp
Arch       : i686
Version    : 0.49
Release    : 5.1.el6
Size       : 31 k
Repo       : base
Summary    : The client for the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)
URL        : http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/network/tftp/
License    : BSD
Description: The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is normally used only for
           : booting diskless workstations.  The tftp package provides the user
           : interface for TFTP, which allows users to transfer files to and
           : from a remote machine.  This program and TFTP provide very little
           : security, and should not be enabled unless it is expressly needed.

Note that the sub-title tells you that this is installed, not just available:

$ yum list gcc
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit
Installed Packages
gcc.i686           4.4.4-13.el6           @anaconda-centos-201106051823.i386/6.0

See man yum for more information. Best wishes ... cheers, drl

[steffi]

Thank you..