VisionFive 2

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ge...@codingpanic.com

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May 9, 2023, 7:16:45 AM5/9/23
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All, 
After working with a VisionFive1 board from this program, I figured I would try my hand with a VisionFive2 board I picked up on Amazon. 
I’m trying to run through some of the steps here: 

In order to upgrade the boot loader so that I can run current firmware. Unfortunately, it looks like the Image-55 was removed from Google Drive, and is only available on BaiduDisk, *IF* you first install the client. I’m not installing the client, so is there another way I can find the 55 image so I can upgrade my boot loader?

Thanks!

Jeff Scheel

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May 9, 2023, 7:30:30 AM5/9/23
to ge...@codingpanic.com, devboard-community
Hi, Gerry.  Thanks for the question.

I don't know of the disk image you're asking, but I did want to point out that you may want to post this question in the RVSpace forum which is hosted and monitored by StarFive.  It's at https://forum.rvspace.org/c/visionfive-2/19.

 Good luck!
-Jeff

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Jeff Scheel (he/him/his)
Linux Foundation, RISC-V Technical Program Manager

Daniel Maslowski

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May 9, 2023, 7:33:01 AM5/9/23
to ge...@codingpanic.com, devboard-community
Hi,

Just take the GitHub releases:

In case anyone's interested, I'm working on oreboot support for the JH7110/VF2, just got DRAM to work. We'll have a richer boot environment based on LinuxBoot eventually.

Cheers
Daniel

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StarFive_VisionFive2_Firmware_Update_Guide.webp

Kurt L Keville

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May 9, 2023, 9:45:53 AM5/9/23
to ge...@codingpanic.com, Daniel Maslowski, devboard-community
Daniel,

That would be a welcome addition to the community if you can get that working. We are going to try and use GNUSDR on the ICE-V board and see if we can use it as a LoRa(WAN) bridge.

Kurt

Create and join group buys for existing products. Hack Minimum Order Quantities. Sign up and create your own group buy for free.


From: 'Daniel Maslowski' via RISC-V Developer Board Community <devboard-...@riscv.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 9, 2023 7:32 AM
To: ge...@codingpanic.com <ge...@codingpanic.com>
Cc: devboard-community <devboard-...@riscv.org>
Subject: Re: VisionFive 2
 

Robert Lipe

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May 9, 2023, 3:23:23 PM5/9/23
to ge...@codingpanic.com, devboard-community
There was a LOT of suffering when these boards first came out because they shipped with incomplete boot code that couldn't really update its own boot code. There were special TF images that did nothing but reflash the part, etc.

Now that the boards are supported by the official releases of the mainstream distros (yay!) I think the days of the special image are largely over. There are a lot of instructions that just shouldn't be in play any longer, like that whole image55 vs. image68 thing. Those were just stepping stones.

Installing a VF5R2 onto my home net is on my list for this week... I plan to start my journey at https://ubuntu.com/download/risc-v

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Gerald Normandin Jr

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May 9, 2023, 4:02:38 PM5/9/23
to Robert Lipe, devboard-community
Yeah, thanks to everyone here, I’m up and running! VisionFive2 ready to go. 

What I’m really curious about is progress on the HaikuOS port… I cannot wait until that is usable.


On May 9, 2023, at 3:23 PM, Robert Lipe <rober...@gmail.com> wrote:


There was a LOT of suffering when these boards first came out because they shipped with incomplete boot code that couldn't really update its own boot code. There were special TF images that did nothing but reflash the part, etc.

Now that the boards are supported by the official releases of the mainstream distros (yay!) I think the days of the special image are largely over. There are a lot of instructions that just shouldn't be in play any longer, like that whole image55 vs. image68 thing. Those were just stepping stones.

Installing a VF5R2 onto my home net is on my list for this week... I plan to start my journey at https://ubuntu.com/download/risc-v

On Tue, May 9, 2023 at 6:16 AM <ge...@codingpanic.com> wrote:
All, 
After working with a VisionFive1 board from this program, I figured I would try my hand with a VisionFive2 board I picked up on Amazon. 
I’m trying to run through some of the steps here: 

In order to upgrade the boot loader so that I can run current firmware. Unfortunately, it looks like the Image-55 was removed from Google Drive, and is only available on BaiduDisk, *IF* you first install the client. I’m not installing the client, so is there another way I can find the 55 image so I can upgrade my boot loader?

Thanks!

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Robert Lipe

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May 12, 2023, 8:20:12 AM5/12/23
to Gerald Normandin Jr, devboard-community

This is probably closer to Linux/Ubuntu admin than RISC-V registers, but  I'll ask for help publicly in the hope that it helps others. 

After a misstep in trusting a power source I shouldn't have (hint: don't try to power it from the USB serial cable's power. The board starts to boot, but apparently browns out and relives an enactment of "99 First Dates". Now powering from the USB-C jack.

I inserted the WiFi card (which I know now doesn't show up in lsbusb at all...more on that later.) and a working ethernet cable into the port near the edge. I grab the server image from https://ubuntu.com/download/risc-v, burn it to a 128G Lexar, bunch the button, wait, type the password, and don't do much else...and I get to a login. Yay! That's pretty amazing.

I have a mostly working system...that's not very much like my Dietpi system, also a Debian system, that's a foot away from it. (I suspect this is where the systemd pile-on/mocking begins.) My serial console is fine. My shell is fine. Of course, when I try do do anything involving neworking, it just isn't configured. Unfortunately, if I follow the playbook, installing networking requires installing networking and querying the state of the network requires installing networking. See why I'm annoyed? :-)

ubuntu@ubuntu:/etc/netplan$ ifconfig -a
Command 'ifconfig' not found, but can be installed with:
sudo apt install net-tools
ubuntu@ubuntu:/etc/netplan$ sudo apt install net-tools
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  net-tools
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 196 kB of archives.
After this operation, 725 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Ign:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports lunar/main riscv64 net-tools riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
Ign:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports lunar/main riscv64 net-tools riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
Ign:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports lunar/main riscv64 net-tools riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
Err:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports lunar/main riscv64 net-tools riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
  Temporary failure resolving 'ports.ubuntu.com'
E: Failed to fetch http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/pool/main/n/net-tools/net-tools_2.10-0.1ubuntu3_riscv64.deb  Temporary failure resolving 'ports.ubuntu.com'
E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with --fix-missing?
ubuntu@ubuntu:/etc/netplan$


Apparently, things like ifconfig, netstat, route, and everything else one would use to configure a network aren't installed by default...and require networking to install. :-/ I could uuencode and then ckermit it to that system, I suppose, but that seems like playing life on a level harder than intended. :-)

Referencing https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/network-configuration,  I see there is hope for GUI networking admin tools, but of course, we installed the server edition and don't have X11 installed to run them. I learn that 'if' looks like the familiar ifconfig, so I try:

$ sudo ip addr
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: end0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 6c:cf:39:00:28:39 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet6 fe80::6ecf:39ff:fe00:2839/64 scope link
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: end1: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state DOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 6c:cf:39:00:28:3a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff


And learn that the interface I care about s3ems to be "end0". I tried remembering the incantations (and new spellings) to mark the interface up, declare a route, assign a static address or a DHCP grant, and invariably fail. I also know that nobody that it that way any more. Given how amazingly automatic everything else was (like identifying the extents of my disk and making an appropriately sized volume) I'm guessing that something just left the rails or I have a networing/GUI admin deadlock where experience is doing me more harm than good.

$ netplan status
     Online state: offline
    DNS Addresses: 127.0.0.53 (stub)
       DNS Search: .

●  1: lo ethernet UNKNOWN/UP (unmanaged)
      MAC Address: 00:00:00:00:00:00
        Addresses: 127.0.0.1/8
                   ::1/128
           Routes: ::1 metric 256

●  2: end0 ethernet UP (networkd: zz-all-en)
      MAC Address: 6c:cf:39:00:28:39
        Addresses: fe80::6ecf:39ff:fe00:2839/64 (link)
           Routes: fe80::/64 metric 256

...gives mixed info on whether 'end0' is up or down; it certainly doesn't have a DHCP lease issued to it. The yellow light is blinking away. The green one isn't. There is no X server running, so I've not even tried attaching a monitor yet and don't even know for sure if graphics are even expected to work on this chipset yet; I expected it to act pretty headlessly, like VF1 did.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RISC-V/StarFive%20VisionFive looks so welcoming compared to the earlier hazing rituals like the V55/V68 stuff mentioned before. Did you get yours to a happy place AND on the network? I feel like this is going to be one of those "you DID run the FOO command, didn't you?" things that everyone just knows applies to 2023 Linux and forgot to write down - or that I'm mmissing since I've stared at so many of these guides through the years.

As I didn't have ethernet connected on first boot, I even re-flashed the card and re-installed the OS since I Had nothing to lose. NOthing material changed.


Did you (or anyone else) succeed with the 23.04 Canonical Server image on the  VF5r2? Any advice?

I'd like to get my VF5R2 a permanent place on my network for quick-checking RV64 runtime things faster than I can spin QEmu and get my original VF5 back into kernel development duty after my current RISC-V OS development project (Nuttx on CH32V) burns down some more.

Thanx,
RJL

Heinrich Schuchardt

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May 12, 2023, 10:29:17 AM5/12/23
to Robert Lipe, devboard-community, Gerald Normandin Jr
On 5/10/23 05:47, Robert Lipe wrote:
>
> This is probably closer to Linux/Ubuntu admin than RISC-V registers,
> but  I'll ask for help publicly in the hope that it helps others.
>
> After a misstep in trusting a power source I shouldn't have (hint: don't
> try to power it from the USB serial cable's power. The board starts
> to boot, but apparently browns out and relives an enactment of "99 First
> Dates". Now powering from the USB-C jack.
>
> I inserted the WiFi card (which I know now doesn't show up in lsbusb at
> all...more on that later.) and a working ethernet cable into the port
> near the edge. I grab the server image from
> https://ubuntu.com/download/risc-v <https://ubuntu.com/download/risc-v>,
> burn it to a 128G Lexar, bunch the button, wait, type the password, and
> don't do much else...and I get to a login. Yay! That's pretty amazing.

Hello Robert,

As described on
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RISC-V/StarFive%20VisionFive%202
support for USB and PCIe is missing in the Ubuntu 6.2 kernel.
Upstreaming for these interfaces is ongoing but was not completed at the
time Canonical created the kernel. Currently you will not be able to use
an USB WiFi card.

>
> I have a mostly working system...that's not very much like my Dietpi
> system, also a Debian system, that's a foot away from it. (I suspect
> this is where the systemd pile-on/mocking begins.) My serial console is
> fine. My shell is fine. Of course, when I try do do anything involving
> neworking, it just isn't configured. Unfortunately, if I follow the
> playbook, installing networking requires installing networking and
> querying the state of the network requires installing networking. See
> why I'm annoyed? :-)
>
> ubuntu@ubuntu:/etc/netplan$ ifconfig -a

You can us the 'ip -a' command.

> Command 'ifconfig' not found, but can be installed with:
> sudo apt install net-tools
> ubuntu@ubuntu:/etc/netplan$ sudo apt install net-tools
> Reading package lists... Done
> Building dependency tree... Done
> Reading state information... Done
> The following NEW packages will be installed:
>   net-tools
> 0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
> Need to get 196 kB of archives.
> After this operation, 725 kB of additional disk space will be used.
> Ign:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports
> <http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports> lunar/main riscv64 net-tools
> riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
> Ign:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports
> <http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports> lunar/main riscv64 net-tools
> riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
> Ign:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports
> <http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports> lunar/main riscv64 net-tools
> riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
> Err:1 http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports
> <http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports> lunar/main riscv64 net-tools
> riscv64 2.10-0.1ubuntu3
>   Temporary failure resolving 'ports.ubuntu.com <http://ports.ubuntu.com>'
> E: Failed to fetch
> http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/pool/main/n/net-tools/net-tools_2.10-0.1ubuntu3_riscv64.deb <http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/pool/main/n/net-tools/net-tools_2.10-0.1ubuntu3_riscv64.deb>  Temporary failure resolving 'ports.ubuntu.com <http://ports.ubuntu.com>'
> E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with
> --fix-missing?
> ubuntu@ubuntu:/etc/netplan$
>
> Apparently, things like ifconfig, netstat, route, and everything else
> one would use to configure a network aren't installed by default...and
> require networking to install. :-/ I could uuencode and then ckermit it
> to that system, I suppose, but that seems like playing life on a level
> harder than intended. :-)

Is Ethernet not working for you? If so, please, create a bug on
launchpad.net and put me on copy.

Best regards

Heinrich

>
> Referencing https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/network-configuration
> <https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/network-configuration>,  I see there is
> hope for GUI networking admin tools, but of course, we installed the
> server edition and don't have X11 installed to run them. I learn that
> 'if' looks like the familiar ifconfig, so I try:
>
> $ sudo ip addr
> 1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN
> group default qlen 1000
>     link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
>     inet 127.0.0.1/8 <http://127.0.0.1/8> scope host lo
>         Addresses: 127.0.0.1/8 <http://127.0.0.1/8>

Robert Lipe

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May 16, 2023, 8:53:22 AM5/16/23
to Heinrich Schuchardt, devboard-community, Gerald Normandin Jr
Hi, Heinrich.

Thanx for the hand.

No, ethernet is not working. Even after I found the thing where you had to change a config file and reflash for the 1.2a boards, it's still not found.  I did find someone else on the rv-space forum with a 1.2a board and very similar circumstances that met a similar fate. So the 1.2a "earlybird boards" may be the key; I really don't know the volume of those that shipped.

If USB isn't working, USB keyboards aren't working. Are people really using serial keyboard with X once they get the desktop up? Honestly, I was planning to probably use it headlessly so graphics/local login would be merely a bonus for me, but networking is pretty much a must-have.

I'll file that bugreport within a few hours.

Thank you.
RJL
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