Clarification Before Ordering MCIMX8QM-CPU Kit – Hypervisor + Android + FreeRTOS Support

[Shivu_Guru_24]

Hello Team,

I am planning to order the MCIMX8QM-CPU Embedded Development Kit for my project.

My goal is to bring up:

* Android on Cortex-A72
* FreeRTOS on Cortex-M4
* Jailhouse Hypervisor for isolation and partitioning

Before purchasing, I would like clarification on the following:

1. Does the kit include flashing tools and full setup documentation?
2. Will I get sample source code for Android BSP and M4 FreeRTOS?
3. Is Jailhouse Hypervisor supported on this platform with reference examples?
4. Are there ready-to-use boot scripts or configuration files for hypervisor setup?
5. What additional hardware or licenses (if any) are required?

I want to confirm that this kit supports my planned architecture before ordering.

Please guide me with the correct setup details and recommendations.

Thank you.

[Zhiming_Liu]

Hi,

1. Does the kit include flashing tools and full setup documentation?

Flash tool :https://github.com/nxp-imx/mfgtools

Setup Guide:https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/quick-reference-guide/UG10157.pdf
2. Will I get sample source code for Android BSP and M4 FreeRTOS?

https://www.nxp.com/design/design-center/software/embedded-software/i-mx-software/android-os-for-i-m...

https://mcuxpresso.nxp.com/
3. Is Jailhouse Hypervisor supported on this platform with reference examples?

Jailhouse is supported in Linux BSP: https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/user-guide/UG10163.pdf

4. Are there ready-to-use boot scripts or configuration files for hypervisor setup?

Xen and Jailhouse is supported on Linux, but there is no such support on Android BSP. You can use Xen on Linux BSP to run Android.

5. What additional hardware or licenses (if any) are required?

No additional licenses need to be purchased.

Best Regards,
Zhiming

[Shivu_Guru_24]

@Zhiming_Liu thanks 

My requirement is to run Android and freertos on top of hypervisor.

We are planning to implement a Hypervisor-based architecture on i.MX8QuadMax (MCIMX8QM-CPU).

Our target architecture:

- Hypervisor as the base layer

 - Android running as one guest

 - FreeRTOS running as another guest

We need official guidance from NXP on this setup.

Questions:

1. Which hypervisor is officially supported or recommended by NXP for i.MX8QM?

 - Is Jailhouse supported?

 - Is Xen supported?

2. Does NXP provide official documentation for enabling and configuring the hypervisor on this platform?

 - Step-by-step enablement guide?

 - Kernel patches?

 - Reference configuration?

3. Which CPU cores should be used for:

 - Running the Hypervisor?

 - Running Android as a guest?

 - Running FreeRTOS as a guest?

4. Are there any limitations or known issues when combining:

 - Hypervisor

 - Android

 - FreeRTOS

5. Does NXP provide an official FreeRTOS SDK ?

 - If yes, where can we download it?

 -Is the FreeRTOS port for i.MX8QM officially supported and maintained by NXP?

[Shivu_Guru_24]

@Peng_Fan 

Regarding FreeRTOS, there is no Cortex-A based FreeRTOS release for i.MX8QM -> then how to bring up freertos freertos runs on separate m4 cores right? Do we really need hypervisor here ?

[Shivu_Guru_24]

Thank you for the quick response!

Above provided latest version i can use to build and flash?

1. Where can I download Jailhouse source code for i.MX8QM? Can give the document if you have how to integrate?

Regarding FreeRTOS, there is no Cortex-A based FreeRTOS release for i.MX8QM -> then how to bring up freertos 

[Peng_Fan]

jailhouse is not supported in latest i.MX8QM BSP. It was supported in previous release(not recall which one). But if you have any issues regarding running jailhouse on top of i.MX8QM, I could give some guidance.

BTW:

i.MX8MQ/P/N/M, i.MX93, i.MX95, i.MX94 are the platforms that supported by latest SW release.

[Shivu_Guru_24]

Hi @Peng_Fan 

MCIMX8QM-CPU I am using this soc 

I need to bringup Android and freertos using jail house it will work?

Could you please let me know where I can download the official Android BSP source code and FreeRTOS code for the MCIMX8QM-CPU platform?

“Which Android BSP version is officially supported for i.MX8QM currently?”

“Which Android version do you recommend for stability with this platform?”

[Peng_Fan]

Technically yes. But you need do some work by yourself, because NXP SW releases not include this platform for jailhouse anymore.

Android 16.0.0_1.2.0 (L6.12.49_2.2.0 BSP)

https://www.nxp.com/design/design-center/software/embedded-software/i-mx-software/android-os-for-i-m...

Android Automotive-16.0.0_1.1.0 (LF_v6.12.34_2.1.0 BSP)

https://www.nxp.com/design/design-center/software/embedded-software/i-mx-software/android-automotive...

Regarding FreeRTOS, there is no Cortex-A based FreeRTOS release for i.MX8QM.