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Atmel NGW100 - Linux and other OSs, and debugging?

I'm getting a freebie Atmel NGW100 Network Gateway Kit shortly, and I had a few questions.

I plan to use the board to learn embedded Linux, and also learn some other OSs like FreeRTOS and uC/OS-II, and in the process build an adaptive cruise control whose software will run under all three of those OSs. Then I plan to release the whole thing to anyone who wants to build one for themselves.

Atmel's website says that board is "preloaded with Linux". I assume that one can readily load new / reconfigured Linux kernels as needed, right? Can Linux be removed altogether and something like FreeRTOS or uC/OS-II run (then Linux restored later)? (I don't know right now if either of those OSs has a port to the NGW100 but if not, I might make one as a training exercise.)

I can't afford the JTAG debug pod right now. Can't software on the NGW100 be debugged over the network? I think I read somewhere that gdb can run as a client-server and debug software running on target boards, is that right?

The person I'm getting the board from suggests using it with a Sharp Play Station Portable display such as the Sparkfun catalog number LCD-08335

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. Have any of you done that, can you suggest a controller for it, and how does it connect to the board?

As you can probably tell, this is a real low-budget project... currently unemployed so plenty of free time and no money.

Reply to
Eric
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The board "comes" with good instructions on how to build the linux kernel from scratch using the source from

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(It "comes" with nothing, one has to download the ISO image with all the tools and other stuff on) As long as you do not clobber U-Boot, you can load another version of Linux, or any other RTOS without having to get a JTAG debugger. U-Boot can boot your new RTOS from a tftp server which makes things a lot easier.

It is a full linux, so one tend to telnet in to it, and run everything via this session. If you have a linux machine ("Or with more effort windows"), then you can use native X-Windows tools to debug your linux app on this board. You just use the X-Server on your development machine.

Regards Anton Erasmus

Reply to
Anton Erasmus

Good morning, Anton.

Ah, that's even better. Their website says it comes with Linux "preloaded". But I'm usually happier if I can control the process... after all how do I learn if I just buy an "appliance" and plug it in?

I suppose it's entirely too much to hope for that KDevelop or Eclipse will run on the board? That'd sure make life easiest.

Reply to
Eric

Why? Run these development tools on your host, let them cross compile your application and use the cross debugger to debug the binary result on your target system.

jbe

Reply to
Juergen Beisert

Good morning, Juergen.

That's what I wanted to find out, if there was a cross debugger that would work over the network (i.e. without JTAG). If there is, then that's even better.

Reply to
Eric

Yes, as someone stated you can run gdbserver on it and run gdb (probably with a gui on top) on your PC connected to it over the network.

If you clobber u-boot, I think that you can probably reload it (slowly) with a home-made parallel port jtag cable.

Reply to
cs_posting

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