Build System¶
A Cassini distribution can be built by setting the target platform via the
MACHINE
BitBake variable. In addition, the desired distribution features
via the DISTRO_FEATURES
BitBake variable. Finally, customizing those
features via feature-specific modifiable variables, if needed.
This chapter provides an overview of Cassini’s support for the kas build tool. All the available distribution image features and supported target platforms are defined together with their associated kas configuration files, followed by any other additional customization options. The process for building without kas is then briefly described.
kas Build Tool Support¶
The kas build tool enables automatic fetch and inclusion of layer sources, as well as parameter and feature specifications for building target images. To enable this, kas configuration files in the YAML format are passed to the tool to provide the necessary definitions.
These kas configuration files are modular, where passing multiple files will result in an image produced with their combined configuration. Further, kas configuration files can extend other kas configuration files, thereby enabling specialized configurations that inherit common configurations.
The meta-cassini-config/kas
directory contains kas configuration files that
support building images via kas for the Cassini project, and fall into three
ordered categories:
Base Config
Build Modifier Configs
Target Platform Configs
To build an Cassini distribution image via kas, it is required to provide the Base Config and one Target Platform Config, unless otherwise stated in their descriptions below. Additional Build Modifier Configs are optional, and depend on the target use-case. Currently, it is necessary that kas configuration files are provided in order: The Base Config and then additional build features via zero or more Build Modifier Configs, and finally the Target Platform Config.
To enable builds for a supported target platform or configure each Cassini distribution image feature, kas configurations files are described in their relevant sections below: Target Platforms and Distribution Image Features, respectively. Example usage of these kas configuration files can be found in the Build and Deploy section of the User Manual.
Note
If a kas configuration file does not set a particular build parameter, the parameter will take its default value.
Target Platforms¶
Neoverse N1 System Development Platform (N1SDP)¶
Corresponding value for
MACHINE
variable:n1sdp
.Target Platform Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
.This supported target platform is the Neoverse N1 System Development Platform (N1SDP), implemented in meta-arm-bsp.
To read documentation about the N1SDP, see the N1SDP Technical Reference Manual.
Note
Support for the N1SDP platform in Cassini is primarily intended for development, test, and demonstration of features for infrastructure platforms which typically use EDK2 and Trusted Services without a secure enclave.
Due to a limitation of the platform hardware (it does not have enough Secure world RAM) Trusted Services is configured to run from Normal world RAM. This configuration is not compliant with the PSA specifications.
Platforms intended for production should be configured by the platform provider to be compliant with the PSA specifications.
Warning
To avoid system hangs under testing, N1SDP firmware packages built in the
Cassini CI pipeline now use the newer PMIC firmware image which is not
compatible with older boards (with serial numbers before 36253xxx
).
As programming older boards with the newer PMIC firmware image can cause
component damage, please ensure any devices used in CI have serial numbers
later than 36253xxx
.
See Potential firmware damage notice for details
Corstone-1000 for MPS3¶
Corresponding value for
MACHINE
variable:corstone1000-mps3
Target Platform Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/corstone1000-mps3.yml
This supported target platform is the Corstone-1000 for MPS3, implemented in meta-arm-bsp.
To read documentation about the Corstone-1000, see the Arm Corstone-1000 Technical Overview.
For more information about the software stack for the Corstone-1000, see Arm Corstone-1000 Software
Corstone-1000 FVP¶
Corresponding value for
MACHINE
variable:corstone1000-fvp
Target Platform Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/corstone1000-fvp.yml
This supported target platforms is the Corstone-1000 FVP, implemented in meta-arm-bsp.
To read documentation about the Corstone-1000 FVP, see the Fast Models Fixed Virtual Platforms (FVP) Reference Guide.
n1sdp.yml
, corstone1000-fvp.yml
, and corstone1000-mps3.yml
Target Platform Config includes common configuration from
meta-cassini-config/kas/include/arm-machines.yml
which defines the
BSPs, layers, and dependencies required when building for each platform.
Distribution Image Features¶
For a particular target platform, the available Cassini distribution image
features (corresponding to the contents of the DISTRO_FEATURES
BitBake
variable) are detailed in this section, along with any associated kas
configuration files, and any associated customization options relevant for that
feature.
Cassini Architecture¶
Cassini distribution image can be configured via kas using Base Config. This includes a set of common configuration from a base Cassini kas configuration file:
meta-cassini-config/kas/include/cassini-base.yml
This kas configuration file defines the base Cassini layer dependencies and their software sources, as well as additional build configuration variables. It also includes the
meta-cassini-config/kas/include/cassini-release.yml
kas configuration file, where the layers dependencies are pinned for any corresponding Cassini release.
Corresponding value in
DISTRO
variable:cassini
.Base Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini.yml
.This Cassini distribution image feature enables the
cassini-image-base
build target, to build an Cassini distribution image.The Base Config for this distribution image feature sets the build target to
cassini-image-base
.To build Cassini distribution image, provide the Base Config to the kas build command. For example, to build a Cassini distribution image for the N1SDP hardware target platform, run the following command:
kas build meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
Other Cassini Features¶
Developer Support¶
Corresponding value in
DISTRO_FEATURES
variable:cassini-dev
.Base Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini-dev.yml
.This Cassini distribution feature includes packages appropriate for development image builds, such as the
debug-tweaks
package, which sets an empty root password for simplified development access.kas build meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini-dev.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
Run-Time Integration Tests¶
Corresponding value in
DISTRO_FEATURES
variable:cassini-test
.Build Modifier Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/tests.yml
.This Cassini distribution feature includes the Cassini test suites provided to validate the image is running successfully with the expected Cassini functionalities.
The Build Modifier for this distribution image feature automatically includes the Yocto Package Test (ptest) framework in the image, configures the inclusion of
meta-cassini-tests
as a Yocto layer source for the build, and appends thecassini-test
feature toDISTRO_FEATURES
for the build.To include run-time integration tests in a Cassini distribution image, provide the Build Modifier Config to the kas build command. For example, to include the tests in a Cassini distribution image for the N1SDP hardware target platform, run the following command:
kas build meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/tests.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
Each suite of run-time integration tests and specific customizable variables associated with each suite are detailed separately, at Run-Time Integration Tests.
Parsec service¶
Corresponding value in
DISTRO_FEATURES
variable:cassini-parsec
.This Cassini distribution feature adds parsec-service and parsec-tool to the Cassini distribution image.
The value
cassini-parsec
is appended toDISTRO_FEATURES
inmeta-cassini-distro/conf/distro/cassini.conf
. Therefore, parsec service is included in the Cassini distribution image by default. If parsec-service is not required then the valuecassini-parsec
can be removed fromDISTRO_FEATURES
in the<distro name>.conf
of the downstream distribution. To build Cassini distribution image with parsec-service for the N1SDP hardware target platform, run the following command:kas build meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
Security Hardening¶
Corresponding value in
DISTRO_FEATURES
variable:cassini-security
.Build Modifier Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/security.yml
.This Cassini distribution feature configures user accounts, packages, remote access controls and other image features to provide extra security hardening for the Cassini distribution image.
To include extra security hardening in a Cassini distribution image, provide the Build Modifier Config to the kas build command, which appends the
cassini-security
feature toDISTRO_FEATURES
for the build. For example, to include it in the Cassini distribution image for the N1SDP hardware target platform, run the following command:kas build meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/security.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
The security hardening is described in more detail at Security Hardening.
Software Development Kit (SDK)¶
Corresponding value in
DISTRO_FEATURES
variable:cassini-sdk
.Build Modifier Config:
meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini-sdk.yml
This Cassini distribution feature:
Adds the Cassini Software Development Kit (SDK) which includes packages and image features to support on-target software development activities.
Enables an additional SDK build target,
cassini-image-sdk
The Build Modifier for this distribution image feature automatically appends
cassini-sdk
toDISTRO_FEATURES
, and sets the appropriate build target with the necessary configuration included by default.To include the SDK in a Cassini distribution image, provide the appropriate SDK Build Modifier Config to the kas build command. For example, to include the SDK in a Cassini distribution image for the N1SDP hardware target platform, run the following command:
kas build meta-cassini-config/kas/baremetal-sdk.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
The SDK itself is described in more detail at Software Development Kit (SDK).
Additional Distribution Image Customizations¶
An additional set of customization options are available for Cassini distribution images, which don’t fall under a distinct distribution image feature. These customizations are listed below and are grouped by the customization target.
Filesystem Customization¶
Adding Extra Rootfs Space¶
The size of the root filesystem can be extended via the
CASSINI_ROOTFS_EXTRA_SPACE
BitBake variable, which defaults to 2000000
Kilobytes. The value of this variable is appended to the
IMAGE_ROOTFS_EXTRA_SPACE
BitBake variable.
Tuning the Filesystem Compilation¶
The Cassini filesystem by default uses the generic armv8a-crc
tune for
aarch64
based target platforms. This reduces build times by increasing the
sstate-cache reused between different image types and target platforms. This
optimization can be disabled by setting CASSINI_GENERIC_ARM64_FILESYSTEM
to
"0"
. The file system compilation tune used when
CASSINI_GENERIC_ARM64_FILESYSTEM
is enabled can be changed by setting
CASSINI_GENERIC_ARM64_DEFAULTTUNE
, which configures the DEFAULTTUNE
BitBake variable for the aarch64
based target platforms builds. See
DEFAULTTUNE for more information.
In summary, the relevant variables and their default values are:
CASSINI_GENERIC_ARM64_FILESYSTEM: "1" # Enable generic file system (1 or 0). CASSINI_GENERIC_ARM64_DEFAULTTUNE: "armv8a-crc" # Value of DEFAULTTUNE if generic file system enabled.
Their values can be set by passing them as environmental variables. For example, the optimization can be disabled using:
CASSINI_GENERIC_ARM64_FILESYSTEM="0" kas build meta-cassini-config/kas/cassini.yml:meta-cassini-config/kas/n1sdp.yml
Manual BitBake Build Setup¶
In order to build an Cassini distribution image without the kas build tool directly via BitBake, it is necessary to prepare a BitBake project as follows:
Configure dependent Yocto layers in
bblayers.conf
.Configure the
DISTRO
ascassini
inlocal.conf
.Configure the image
DISTRO_FEATURES
inlocal.conf
.
Assuming correct environment configuration, the BitBake build can then be run for the desired image target corresponding to one of the following:
cassini-image-base
cassini-image-sdk
As the kas build configuration files within the meta-cassini-config/kas/
directory define the recommended build settings for each feature. Any
additional functionalities may therefore be enabled by reading these
configuration files and manually inserting their changes into the BitBake build
environment.