RDK-S100 Quick Start

1.2.1 RDK S100 Series

Notes

  • Do not hot-plug any device other than USB, HDMI, and Ethernet cables while powered.
  • Use a quality-brand power adapter; otherwise power anomalies may cause abnormal shutdowns.
  • It is recommended to use the onboard POWER ON/OFF button to power the board on/off, and to plug/unplug the DC connector only when the adapter is unpowered.

Flashing Preparation

**Power**

The RDK S100 development board is powered through the DC interface. Use the power adapter included in the kit.

**Storage**

RDK S100 uses eMMC as the system boot medium.

**Display**

The RDK S100 development board supports the HDMI display interface. Connect the board to a display with the appropriate cable to enable graphical desktop output.

**Network Connection**

The RDK S100 development board supports both Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Users can use either interface for network connectivity.

**Driver Download**

Install USB drivers. For Windows, before using adb and fastboot, first confirm whether the corresponding drivers are installed.

Enter fastboot 0 at the board's uboot command line to put the board into fastboot mode:

Warning: eth1 (eth0) using random MAC address - 9a:07:de:92:a2:c5
eth0: eth1
system_slot: 0 adc_boardinfo: 6a84
strap_pin = 0x45bc0 bootinfo = 0x0 bootcount = 0x1
boot_block_device [1]
flash boot
success!
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0
Hobot$
Hobot$
Hobot$ fastboot 0

At this point, Device Manager will report an unknown USB download gadget device.

When the driver is not installed, Device Manager reports an unknown USB download gadget device, as shown below:

IMG_256

USB driver download (available in the download resources bundle):

Download the sunrise5_winusb.zip package and install the driver with the following steps:

  1. Extract sunrise5_winusb.zip.

  2. Enter the sunrise5_winusb folder, right-click install_driver.bat, and select Run as administrator.

After successful installation, Device Manager will show an Android Device, as shown below:

IMG_257

System Flashing

The RDK S100 kit currently provides an Ubuntu 22.04 system image that supports a Desktop graphical interface.

Note

RDK S100 comes pre-flashed with a test version system image. To ensure you are using the latest version, it is recommended to follow this document to flash the latest system image.

Image Download

Full System Flashing

Note: Currently, SW3 must be set to the ↑ position to boot from the onboard eMMC. Booting from an M.2 NVMe SSD is not supported.

The RDK S100 development kit can use the PC tool D-Navigation to flash the Ubuntu system. Currently, this flashing process supports two USB download modes. Users can select the desired mode from the "Download Mode" option on the "Download Selection" screen in the flashing tool. The differences between the two modes are as follows:

  • **U-Boot flashing mode:** This mode requires RDK S100 to enter the U-Boot flashing mode (i.e., fastboot mode). It is commonly used for routine flashing and meets most ordinary system flashing needs.
  • **USB flashing mode:** This mode is based on the DFU protocol. When RDK S100 cannot enter U-Boot mode, or the system is damaged and bricked, this mode is used to recover the system.

The following describes the specific flashing steps using the PC tool D-Navigation.

Note: On a Windows PC, D-Navigation can only be used after the driver is successfully installed. Please ensure the driver is installed before use.

Tip: Before flashing the Ubuntu system image, prepare the following:

  1. Prepare a Type-C data cable. Connect one end to the board's Type-C port and the other end to the PC.

  2. Download the image flashing tool D-Navigation. Depending on your OS, there are three ways to launch the D-Navigation tool:

  1. Windows launch:

Double-click D-Navigation.exe.

  1. Ubuntu launch:

xhost + sudo ./D-Navigation --no-sandbox

  1. MacOS launch (currently supports M-series chips):

xattr -cr D-navigation.app # Remove app quarantine in the terminal, then double-click D-Navigation.exe.

U-Boot Flashing

  1. Prepare the RDK S100 image package (RDK-S100-Resources-Bundle-product.zip).

  2. After extraction, you get the product folder with the structure shown below. Ensure that both the img_packages folder and the xmodem_tools file are in the same folder. IMG_259

  3. Power on the board.

Tip: U-Boot mode occupies the serial port; ensure the serial port is not being used by other devices or applications.

  1. Open the D-Navigation tool and complete the following:
      • Select product model: S100
      • Download mode: uboot; storage medium: emmc; type: secure
      • Click Browse to select the product folder containing the firmware
      • Select the serial port connected to RDK S100, baud rate 921600
      • Click Start Upgrade (during the upgrade, if a 'Need manual reset' prompt appears, re-power the board)

IMG_260

After the upgrade completes, re-power the board.

USB Flashing (Empty Chip Flashing or Re-flashing After Failure)

  1. Prepare the RDK S100 image package (RDK-S100-Resources-Bundle-product.zip).

  2. After extraction, you get the product folder with the structure shown below. Ensure that both the img_packages folder and the xmodem_tools file are in the same folder. IMG_262

  3. Switch the device to DFU mode, steps:

    1. Set SW1 to ↑, turn off power
    2. Set SW2 to ↑, enter Download mode
    3. Set SW1 to ▽, turn on power
    4. If the DOWNLOAD LED lights up, DFU mode is entered; otherwise, press K1 to reset the system. IMG_263
  1. Open the D-Navigation tool and complete the following:
    • Select product model: S100
    • Download mode: usb; storage medium: emmc; type: secure
    • Click Browse to select the product folder containing the firmware
    • Power-cycle the device, click Start Upgrade, and wait for the upgrade to complete

IMG_264

  1. After the upgrade completes, turn off power, toggle the flashing switch down (to exit DFU mode), then re-power the board.

Miniboot and File System Upgrade

The D-Navigation tool supports [Miniboot image] updates for the S100. When customers need to preserve root file system modifications (such as self-installed python/deb packages), they can run sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade on the board to upgrade the file system, then use D-Navigation to upgrade the Miniboot image.

The overall Miniboot flashing flow is identical to [full system flashing], with additional configuration:

  1. Click the rightmost arrow in "Other Configuration";
  2. Click and select "Partition Selection";
  3. Uncheck "emmc";

U-Boot flashing example: IMG_265

USB flashing example configuration: IMG_266

Booting the System

First keep the board unpowered, connect the board to a display via an HDMI cable, then power on the board.

On first boot, the system performs default environment configuration. This takes about 45 seconds. After configuration, the Ubuntu desktop is output to the display.

Board Indicator LEDs

  • **Green** indicator: lit indicates normal hardware power-on.

If the board does not produce display output for an extended period (over 2 minutes) after power-on, the board has failed to boot. Use a serial cable to debug and check whether the board is normal.

When the Ubuntu Desktop system finishes booting, the system desktop is output to the display via the Display interface, as shown below:

IMG_267