Recommendation for a Linux development environment

[rami_rosenbaum]

Hi,

I'm looking for a development board, for working on a Linux OS.

The Linux distro isn't that important, also the chip, but I prefer them to be rather mainstream (E.G.: ARM based, MMU & virtual memory). The iMX6 is a rather popular SoC (maybe the iMX7 or iMX8, if they are not too new???).

I'll be manipulating the Linux kernel and will need debugging capabilities - a JTAG debugger.

Due to the generic character of the project, I'm in need of a solid recommendation for a development environment: a dev-board with JTAG connection, a matching JTAG and the accompanying host SW.

Naturally, I prefer not the most expensive environment (JLink for $400 would be expensive at this POC stage).

Thanks.

[romitchatterjee]

You can also take a look at the dev boards provided by Embedded Artists: Manufacturer of Arm based Computer on Modules (COM) - Embedded Artists 

[gusarambula]

Hello Rami Rosenbaum,

The i.MX6, i.MX7 and i.MX8 all support JTAG although some boards do not have the JTAG connector populated. There are some documents on the communities that may be of help, like the following:

https://community.nxp.com/docs/DOC-334347

You may use any debugger that supports the desired processor. The i.MX processors are relatively big Cortex-A cores so the JTAG debuggers that support these cores are usually not cheap.

The most used would be DSTREAM and Lauterbach.

I hope this helps!
Regards,

[rami_rosenbaum]

Thanks.

Informative post.

Unfortunately, the Lauterbach is way beyond the project budget (though it's a fantastic debugger!).

Also, I prefer avoiding tweaking the kernel through Yocto, due to technical reasons of the POC. I know iMX6 development goes hand-in-hand with the Yocto project, but I prefer avoiding that overhead.

What I need is a how-to post for a 'home-project', that will quickly set me up with the debugging environment.

If I don't find a cheap-quick entry point, I may try a cheap RPie or even a simple STM32F429i-Discovery (with a built-in debugger but a degenerated kernel).