Welcome

This Developer Guide applies to NVIDIA® Jetson™ Linux version 34.1.1.

NVIDIA Jetson is the world’s leading platform for AI at the edge. Its high-performance, low-power computing for deep learning and computer vision makes it the ideal platform for compute-intensive projects. The Jetson platform includes a variety of Jetson modules together with NVIDIA JetPack™ SDK.

Each Jetson module is a computing system packaged as a plug-in unit (a System on Module (SOM)). NVIDIA offers a variety of Jetson modules with different capabilities.

JetPack bundles all of the Jetson platform software, starting with NVIDIA Jetson Linux. Jetson Linux provides the Linux kernel, bootloader, NVIDIA drivers, flashing utilities, sample file system, and more for the Jetson platform.

Jetson Developer Kits and Modules

Jetson developer kits include a non-production specification Jetson module attached to a reference carrier board. It is used with JetPack SDK to develop and test software for your project. Jetson developer kits are not intended for production use.

Jetson modules designed for deployment in a production environment are sold separately from Jetson developer kits. Each Jetson module ships with no software preinstalled; you attach it to a carrier board designed or procured for your end product, and flash it with the software image you’ve developed.

Software for Jetson Modules and Developer Kits

JetPack SDK is a comprehensive resource for building AI applications. It includes Jetson Linux together with accelerated software libraries, APIs, sample applications, developer tools, and documentation.

Use NVIDIA SDK Manager to install Jetson Linux and other JetPack components on your Jetson developer kit. For instructions, see the appropriate Jetson Developer Kit user guide. Alternatively, see the topic Quick Start to flash your Jetson module with the bootloader and file system only, excluding other JetPack components.

For information about moving a completed application from a Jetson developer kit to a production Jetson module on your production carrier board, see the appropriate topic “Jetson Module Adaptation and Bring-Up” topic for your Jetson module.

You can customize Jetson Linux software to fit the needs of your project. This developer guide contains the information you need to optimize your use of the complete Jetson product feature set.

Documentation for Jetson Modules and Developer Kits

This developer guide is your primary resource for information about software development for Jetson modules.

NVIDIA publishes many other documents that address specific aspects of Jetson software and hardware. Several important ones are listed in the topic Related Documentation.

Many of these documents and others are available through the Jetson Download Center. To find a document, enter any string of consecutive words from the document’s title in the Search box. Use the Product dropdown to restrict your search to documents for a specific Jetson device.

The NVIDIA Autonomous Machines Getting Started page contains links to several documents that are useful to developers who are new to artificial intelligence (AI) programming or to Jetson products. This page has links to “Getting Started” guides and user guides for each Jetson module’s developer kit.

Additional resources and important facts about Jetson Linux are on the Jetson Linux home page of the NVIDIA Developer web site.

Devices Supported by This Document

The NVIDIA Jetson Linux Developer Guide covers use of Jetson Linux with any of the module and reference carrier board combinations described in this table.

Type of module Module name & P-number * Compatible developer kit
NVIDIA® Jetson AGX Orin™ series Jetson AGX Orin™ (P3701-0000)
For Developer Kit only 		Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit (P3730); includes 3701-0000 module
NVIDIA® Jetson Xavier™ NX series Jetson Xavier NX (P3668-0000)

For developer kit only

 Jetson Xavier NX Developer Kit (P3518-0000); includes P3668-0000 module
Jetson Xavier NX (P3668-0001)

Commercial module
Jetson Xavier NX 16GB (P3668-0003)

Commercial module
NVIDIA® Jetson AGX Xavier™ series Jetson AGX Xavier (P2888-0001)

Original module with 16 GB RAM

 Jetson AGX Xavier Developer Kit (P2972-0000); includes P2888-0001 module
Jetson AGX Xavier (P2888-0004)

Original module with 32 GB RAM

Jetson AGX Xavier 64GB (P2888-0005)

With 64 GB RAM

Jetson AGX Xavier Industrial (P2888-0008)

Industrial grade module with 32 GB RAM

* The P-numbers for NVIDIA® Jetson™ modules and developer kits are derived from their 699-level part numbers (PNs). See Jetson Module EEPROM Layout for details about the structure of a 699-level part number for modules.

For more information about the various Jetson modules and developer kits, see the Jetson Developer Site and the Jetson FAQ.

How Developer Guide Topics Identify Devices

If a Developer Guide topic does not concern all supported Jetson devices, its heading or subheading specifies its scope. Here are two examples of scope headings:

  • Jetson Xavier AGX Series Software Features

  • Power Management for Jetson AGX Orin Devices

Some examples of subheadings:

  • Applies to: Jetson AGX Orin only

  • Applies to: Jetson Xavier NX series and Jetson AGX Xavier series only

“Jetson Xavier NX series” refers to all variants of Jetson Xavier NX. “Jetson Xavier NX” or “original Jetson Xavier NX” refers to the original Jetson Xavier NX (P3668-0000 or P3668-0001) only.

“Jetson AGX Xavier series” refers to all variants of Jetson AGX Xavier. “Jetson AGX Xavier” or “original Jetson AGX Xavier” refers to original Jetson AGX Xavier (P2888-0001) only.

Note

The word “original” is purely descriptive, and is used only to clarify the products being referenced. It is not a part of any Jetson product’s name.

Introduction

Architecture

Software Feature Overview

Software Features in Depth

Hardware References

Applications and Tools

Reference Material