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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.