#embeddedlinux

Mini USB hub proto is a universal USB port expander 🔌💡🖥️📲🔄💻🎛️🧩

Stop Guessing Why Your Embedded Linux Apps Are Crashing! 🛠️

Debugging segmentation faults and stack overflows on platforms like the OK3568 can be a nightmare when serial logs aren't enough. If you’re working with Linux Kernel 5.10 and Buildroot, enabling Core Dumps is a game-changer for your development workflow.

A Core Dump is essentially a "black box" recorder for your software. When a process fails, it saves the memory image, registers, and call stack, allowing you to perform offline analysis using GDB without needing the hardware in front of you.

Key Takeaways from my latest guide:

✅ How to bypass the default "disabled" status in Buildroot.

✅ Setting persistent storage paths (e.g., /userdata/core).

✅ Essential GDB commands like bt (backtrace) to pinpoint the exact line of code that failed.

✅ Best practices for production vs. R&D environments.

On the i.MX8MP platform, the Cortex-M7 (M-Core) and Cortex-A53 (Linux) often compete for GPIO resources. By default, Linux owns the pinmux and GPIO controllers, which can prevent the M-Core from using pins reliably—especially for interrupt inputs.

To give the M-Core full control, the A-Core must first “release” those pins in the device tree: ✅ Remove the pinmux configuration for the target GPIO ✅ Comment out all Linux device nodes that reference it ✅ For interrupt use on GPIO2/3/4 groups, disable the entire GPIO controller so Linux no longer registers it

This clean separation avoids resource conflicts, ensures stable interrupts, and allows the M-Core to operate with real-time determinism.

🚀 TFTP Flashing Guide for Forlinx RK3568 Development Board

Efficient system flashing is critical during embedded Linux development and debugging. On the Forlinx RK3568 development board, flashing boot.img and rootfs.img via TFTP + U-Boot provides a fast, stable, and hardware-friendly workflow.

🔧 What this guide covers:

✅ U-Boot network environment configuration (MAC, IP, gateway) ✅ TFTP server setup and connectivity verification ✅ eMMC partition layout on RK3568 ✅ Step-by-step flashing of boot.img and rootfs.img ✅ Practical tips for industrial-grade stability and scalability

💡 Why RK3568 + Forlinx?

🔹 Industrial-grade eMMC & power protection 🔹 Dual Gigabit Ethernet for low-latency flashing 🔹 SATA 3.0 & M.2 expansion without reflashing 🔹 Integrated 1 TOPS NPU for lightweight AI at the edge

This approach significantly shortens iteration cycles and is ideal for industrial control, smart devices, and edge computing projects.