EBC Exercise 01 Start Here

Overview
There are four major things that need to be done to have the BeagleBoard ready to run for class:
 * 1) Get your Beagle Hardware together
 * 2) Write the SD card for you Beagle
 * 3) Set up a host computer, running Linux for code development
 * 4) Clone the course git repository on both the Beagle and the host

If you have a BeagleBone and want to start playing, go to EBC Exercise 02 Out-of-the-Box, Bone. The Bone comes with all the hardware you need and an SD card that's ready to run.

Installing a Beagle OS
After you've had a chance to explore the Bone, or you are running a Beagle xM, check The Hardware below. Once you have all your hardware together you need to get an up to date image for you SD cards. Go to EBC Exercise 03 Installing a Beagle OS to learn how to flash your SD card with a fresh OS. With a fresh OS installed, you are now ready for EBC Exercise 04 Out-of-the-Box, xM on the xM. It'a little different than the bone.

The class git repository
Once you have an up to date OS running on your Beagle, go to EBC Exercise 05 Getting Exercise Support Materials to learn how to clone the class git repository. Once cloned it's a single command to get the latest materials on your Beagle (or host computer for that matter).

The Linux host computer
The above will get you ready for about the first 4 weeks of class. Around week 5 we'll start looking at the kernel and will need to cross compile. Once we start moving into Kernel development we will need a host computer. Since we are doing Linux development, it's generally agree the host should be running Linux. I suggest you run Ubuntu 12.04 (LTS). The Rose Linux Users Group LUG has instructions on where to get a local copy so you don't have to download some 700M.

There are three options as to how to run Linux.
 * 1) Native install
 * 2) Install in a virtual machine. I've been running  Virtual Box recently and it seems to work find.  You can also try  VMware Player.
 * 3) Run in the cloud

The Ubuntu site gives good instructions for a native install. I've had good success with running both VMware and Virtual Box, though my installation instructions are a bit dated. (Feel free to update them if they need it.)

I've been testing out the "Cloud" approach and it looks like it will work too. If you want to try the cloud, let me known and I'll ask CSSE to set up a machine for you.

Kernel Development
Once you have Linux running somewhere, you need to install the kernel development tools. Go to EBC Exercise 08 Installing Development Tools to see all the steps you need. Once set up, go back to EBC Exercise 05 Getting Exercise Support Materials to clone the class repository on your host.

Now that you have all these pieces in place you are ready to work with a very power embedded processor.

The Hardware
Here's the hardware you will need and where you get it.

From the Instrument Room

 * BeagleBoard xM
 * 5V power supply
 * HDMI to DVI cable
 * serial to USB cable

From your own resources

 * USB keyboard and mouse
 * DVI-D display
 * micro SD card. 4G should be enough.  I suggest you have 3 or 4 cards since it's easy to mess up one and it takes some 10 minutes to reload it.
 * micro SD card reader/writer
 * USB to Ethernet adapter. The Beagle xM has Ethernet on it, but every time you boot it you get a random MAC address.  If you are running on the Rose network you need a fixed MAC address.