Development without hardware

[UserJB]

I would like to develop software for the PetaLinux environment and be able to test that software.  However, I don't have any Xilinx hardware available at the moment.  Is this possible?

I had previously thought I could install PetaLinux in a VM.  I don't think that is possible, but if it is, lease let me know.

I had also thought about installing PetaLinux on a non-Xilinx ARM-based board.  I don't think that is possible either, but if it is, lease let me know.  I do have a non-Xilinx ARM-based board available.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[baltintop]

Hi @UserJB 

You can install PetaLinux on any supported OS whether it is VM or not.

You don't need hardware. You can boot your Linux system and test your software under QEMU. See page 37 of https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/sw_manuals/xilinx2019_2/ug1144-petalinux-tools-reference-guide.pdf

[UserJB]

Thanks for the reply.  One last question.  What Board Support Package should I download?  My hardware board is third-party and has this SOC: Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSOC: ZU11EG or ZU19EG.  I see several BSPs at the Xilinx download site.  Which one will work for me?

• ZCU102
• ZCU104
• ZCU106
• ZCU111
• ZCU1275
• ZCU1285

Also, for Zync07000

• ZC702
• ZC706
• ZED

[baltintop]

@UserJB 

You don't need a BSP, you can create a project from template.

petalinux-create --type project --template zynqMP --name test
petalinux-config --get-hw-description=/path/to/xsa/or/hdf/

 However, some components on your board may not work because their device tree nodes will probably be missing (since there was no BSP to tell PetaLinux about the components). You can manually add the missing nodes to <petalinux_project_dir>/project-spec/meta-user/recipes-bsp/device-tree/files/system-user.dtsi. After making the necessary changes you can package the project as BSP to be used in future projects targeting the same hardware.

[UserJB2]

Okay. but what should I substitute for /path/to/xsa/or/hdf?  What is that?  Do I create that myself, or do I download it from somewhere?

[UserJB2]

NOTE: I'm the same user as UserJB.  When I tried to reply, the forum software forced me to create a new username.

[baltintop]

@UserJB2 

In template flow, you need a minimal hardware design containing the Zynq MPSoC IP. You can create it in Vivado. Select the correct part number while creating the project. After generating the bitstream export the hardware including the bitstream in HDF or XSA format depending on the Vivado version. BSPs also contain a basic hardware design. Read the related sections in PetaLinux Documentation.