Screen Version

Developing your AOS project on a Macintosh

MacOSX is wonderful operating system that many students have on their laptops. It is possible to configure the Mac to become a development host for AOS slug development. This web page lists the steps necessary to configure a Mac. The number of steps will seem quite daunting but each one is reasonably simple and you should proceed step by step. It is easier to use recent Macintoshes with AirPort installed.

Configuring your Mac

• Create a new network location.
  1. Select System preference->Network->Location->New Location...
  2. Create a new location for NSLU2 development
  3. Now in the 'show' popup select Built-In Ethernet->TCP/IP.
  4. Set Configure IPv4: to Manual with IP Address 192.168.168.1 and Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0.
  5. Now configure you internet connection on one of the other network devices, such as the AirPort.
• Create a tftpboot directory for yourself, configure tftp to use it and finally enable tftp:

  # sudo mkdir /var/tftpboot/$USER
  # sudo chown $USER:$USER /var/tftpboot/$USER
  # cd /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
  # sudo <editor> tftp.plist # change /private/tftpboot to /var/tftpboot/<$USER>
  # sudo launchctl unload tftp.plist
  # sudo launchctl load tftp.plist
  # sudo service tftp start
  

• Export an nfs filesystem.

  It is easier to export the tftpboot directory as your filesystem for later milestones. This section describes the steps necessary to do this.

  1. % sudo -s # Start a superuser shell
  2. # cd /var/tftpboot/$USER
  3. # nicl . -create /exports/\\/var\\/tftpboot\\/$USER clients 192.168.168.2
  4. # nicl . -create /exports/\\/var\\/tftpboot\\/$USER opts maproot=<user>
  5. # nicl . -read /exports/\\/var\\/tftpboot\\/$USER
name: /var/tftpboot/<$USER>
clients: 192.168.168.2
opts: maproot=<$USER>
  6. The easiest way to start the nfs server is to reboot the system

  At a later stage when you want to remove all nfs exports and reboot
  % sudo nicl . -delete /exports

Installing and configuring software

• Install the FTDI USB serial driver

  You will need the USB driver for the serial card in your slug. You can find it in Virtual COM Port Drivers, grab whichever driver you need for your Macintosh system. Once you have the driver you can plugin the Slug and found out what the USB serial port is called, it will be something starting with /dev/cu.usbserial-*, note this down as you will need to configure minicom below.

• Install darwinports

  Download and install the darwinports package installer. Get DarwinPorts

• Install the scons build tool

  sudo port install scons.

• Install the minicom

  sudo port install minicom. When it is finished you will need to configure the minicom installation by running sudo minicom -s Delete the modem initialisation strings, Set the serial port up on previously noted address /dev/cu.usb..., 115200, 8N1, No Hardware flowcontrol

• Build the cross development tools
  1. Grab a copy of OSXCrossToolBuild.
  2. Unpack it <somewhere>
  3. % cd <somewhere>
  4. % OSXCrossToolBuild armv5b-softfloat-linux c,c++ 3.4.5 2.3.5

     This will take a long time! At the beginning sudo will occasionally ask for your password to create /opt/local/crosstool and to call ports install for some software.

  5. Add /opt/local/crosstool/gcc-3.4.5-glibc-2.3.5/armv5b-softfloat-linux/bin to your path in your favourite shell.
• Build the nslu2 command and install it in your path somewhere, /opt/local/bin is a pretty good place.