Quick Start Guide
The information here is intended to help you get started quickly using the NVIDIA Tegra Linux Driver Package (L4T) in conjunction with a Jetson Developer Kit.
Assumptions
• You have a Jetson Developer Kit.
• You have a host computer running Ubuntu Linux 16.04 or 18.04.
• For Jetson Nano, you can skip this guide and simply download and use the supported SD Card image. Alternatively, you can follow these instructions to flash the QSPI, or flash the QSPI and an SD Card inserted on the Jetson Nano module.
• Your Jetson Developer Kit is powered off and connected as follows. (Note that your Jetson Developer Kit may not come with the devices and cables listed below.)
• A USB cable connects the correct USB port of your Jetson Developer Kit to your Linux host for flashing.
(For Jetson AGX Xavier, use the USB-C port next to the power button. For the other Jetson developer kits, use the micro USB port.)
• Any required USB peripherals such as keyboard and mouse are connected to the Jetson Developer Kit, possibly through a USB hub.
• A wired Ethernet connection is available for installing optional software on the Jetson Developer Kit after L4T has been installed.
• Either a display device or a serial console is connected to any free port on the Jetson Developer Kit.
To flash Jetson Developer Kit operating software
The directions below assume that:
• ${L4T_RELEASE_PACKAGE} refers to the L4T release package filename
For Jetson Nano:
Jetson-210_Linux_R32.1.0_aarch64.tbz2
For Jetson AGX Xavier Jetson TX2, and Jetson TX2i:
Jetson_Linux_R32.1.0_aarch64.tbz2
• ${SAMPLE_FS_PACKAGE} refers to the sample filesystem package file name:
Tegra_Linux_Sample-Root-Filesystem_R32.1.0_aarch64.tbz2
• ${BOARD} refers to the supported board/configuration name. Examples are:
jetson-nano-qspi-sd
p3448-0000
jetson-tx2
jetson-xavier
Instructions
1. Download the latest L4T release package and sample file system for your Jetson Developer Kit from:
https://developer.nvidia.com/linux-tegra.
If NVIDIA does not yet provide a public release for the Jetson Developer Kit you have, contact your NVIDIA support representative to obtain the latest L4T release package for use with the Jetson Developer Kit.
2. Enter the following commands to untar the files and assemble the rootfs:
sudo tar xpf ${L4T_RELEASE_PACKAGE}
cd Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/
sudo tar xpf ../../${SAMPLE_FS_PACKAGE}
cd ..
sudo ./apply_binaries.sh
3. Flash the BSP software onto the Jetson Developer Kit.
a. Ensure that your Jetson Developer Kit is configured and connected to your Linux host per the section above.
For Jetson Nano Developer Kit, you must insert a micro SD card 16GB or larger into the modules's micro SD slot.
b. Put your Jetson Developer Kit into ”USB Recovery Mode” (RCM).
For Jetson Nano Developer Kit, follow these instructions:
1) Ensure that your Jetson Nano Developer Kit is powered off.
2) Enable ”Force Recovery mode” by placing a jumper across the FRC pins (pins 3 and 4) of the Button Header (J40) on the carrier board.
3) Place a jumper across J48 to enable use of a DC power adapter.
4) Connect a DC power adapter to J25. The developer kit powers on automatically and enters ”Force Recovery Mode.”
5) Remove the jumper from the FRC pins (3 and 4) of the Button Header (J40).
6) Continue the software installation.
For other Jetson Developer Kits that have the hardware buttons, ensure that the developer kit is powered off, press and hold down the Force Recovery button, and press, then releasing the Power button. Then release the Recovery button.
c. Enter these commands on your Linux host to install (flash) the L4T release onto the Jetson Developer Kit:
sudo ./flash.sh ${BOARD} mmcblk0p1
This takes about 10 minutes, or more on a slow host computer.
For Jetson Nano, there are two available configurations for the board, determined by the value of the environment variable ${BOARD}:
• p3448-0000: Flashes software to update only on QSPI.
• jetson-nano-qspi-sd: Flashes software to update both QSPI and the micro SD card.
The Jetson Developer Kit automatically reboots upon completion of the installation process. The command prompt appears on any display device attached to the Jetson Developer Kit, and on the serial console. Follow the prompts to create your own user account with password.
At this point, your Jetson Developer Kit is operational. You may begin to use it as-is, or continue following these instructions to install additional Ubuntu packages.
4. Optionally install any desired additional Ubuntu packages on your Jetson Developer Kit.
a. Connect the Jetson Developer Kit to your wired network using a network cable.
b. Acquire an IP address.
The public release provides a graphical desktop, which automatically configures the IP address without requiring this step.
If you are not running a graphical desktop environment, enter this command to acquire an IP address
sudo dhclient <interface>
Where <interface> is the name of the Jetson Developer Kit's wired Ethernet adapter. Obtain the name by entering the command:
ip link
The command returns a device name like eth0 or enx<mac_address>
c. Enter these commands to install packages:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install <package_name>
Where <package_name> represents a list of the names of packages you want to install.
d. Enter this command to reboot the system:
sudo reboot
See the Release Notes provided with your software for up-to-date information on platform features and use.
