Table of Contents

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Preface

Armbian is a base operationg system platform which provides a lightweight Debian or Ubuntu based Linux distribution specialized for ARM development boards. TQ extends the Armbian build system with a patch series to add the support for the MBa8MP-RAS314 board.

Prerequisites

Armbian requires a Ubuntu 22.04 build host, the basic requirements are documented in the armbian github repository

Prepare Armbian Repository

1. Clone the armbian repository into folder armbian-build folder e.g. in the home directory 

git clone --branch=main https://github.com/armbian/build.git armbian-build

2. Create a new branch and switch to it 

cd armbian-build
git switch -c tqma8

3. Download and extract patch series e.g. in the home directory 

mkdir ~/armbian-patches
wget -P ~/armbian-patches/ https://support.tq-group.com/en/downloads/armbian-patches.tar.gz
tar -xvzf ~/armbian-patches/armbian-patches.tar.gz -C ~/armbian-patches

4. Apply patch series to The Armbian repository 

git am ../armbian-patches/series

Armbian BSP Build Instructions

The Armbian build system provides a build script to build images and has the option to create a debian or ubuntu based image with and without a desktop environment. As a lightweight option TQ recommends to use the Xfce desktop environment.

Build a minimal Image

Ubuntu based 

./compile.sh build BOARD=mba8mpxl-ras314 BRANCH=current BUILD_DESKTOP=no BUILD_MINIMAL=yes KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no RELEASE=jammy

Debian based 

./compile.sh build BOARD=mba8mpxl-ras314 BRANCH=edge BUILD_DESKTOP=no BUILD_MINIMAL=yes KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no RELEASE=bookworm

Build an image with Xfce desktop environment

As a lightweight option TQ recommends to use the Xfce desktop environment.

Debian based 

./compile.sh build BOARD=mba8mpxl-ras314 BRANCH=edge BUILD_DESKTOP=yes BUILD_MINIMAL=no DESKTOP_APPGROUPS_SELECTED= DESKTOP_ENVIRONMENT=xfce DESKTOP_ENVIRONMENT_CONFIG_NAME=config_base KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no RELEASE=bookworm

Ubuntu based 

./compile.sh build BOARD=mba8mpxl-ras314 BRANCH=current BUILD_DESKTOP=yes BUILD_MINIMAL=no DESKTOP_APPGROUPS_SELECTED= DESKTOP_ENVIRONMENT=xfce DESKTOP_ENVIRONMENT_CONFIG_NAME=config_base KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no RELEASE=jammy

Create bootable SD Card

The Armbian Image is located in the output/images folder of the build directory. To write it on an SD Card the dd command (shell) or the gnome-disk-utility (GUI) can be used. The SD Card can also be written in Windows e.g. with Balena Etcher.

Create SD Card using dd command

The Image must be written onto the RAW device not into a partition.

Create SD Card using gnome-disk

See the officical gnome-disk-utility documentation how to use it.

Initial System Setup

When the board is started for the first time, a configuration is required. The debug interface (UART) X4 or the network interface (SSH) can be used for this. The initial system setup includes the following steps:

1. Set Root Password
3. Set Shell
4. Creating a new user account
5. Set Real Name
6. Set Date Time and Timezone

Once the initial setup has been completed the system will be started.

UART

SSH