board/aarch64: update bpi-r3 readme

[skip ci]

Signed-off-by: Joachim Wiberg <troglobit@gmail.com>
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Joachim Wiberg
2025-11-13 00:05:19 +01:00
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# Banana Pi R3
# Banana Pi BPI-R3
## Support level
Full support for all Infix enabled features including switched ethernet ports, WiFi,
and SFP interfaces. The board includes comprehensive hardware support for
MediaTek MT7986 SoC features.
<img src="bananapi-bpi-r3.webp" alt="The board" width=800 padding=10>
### Hardware features
The Banana Pi R3 is a high-performance networking board featuring:
- MediaTek MT7986 ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core processor
- 4x Gigabit LAN ports (lan1-lan4)
- 1x Gigabit WAN port
- 2x SFP ports (sfp1, sfp2) for fiber connectivity
- Dual WiFi interfaces (wifi0 for 2.4GHz, wifi1 for 5GHz)
- USB support
- SD card boot support
## Overview
### Network configuration
The board comes preconfigured with:
- 4 switched LAN ports for internal networking
- Dedicated WAN port with DHCP client enabled
- SFP ports for high-speed fiber connections
- Dual WiFi interfaces for wireless connectivity
The Banana Pi R3 is a high-performance networking board with full Infix
support for all enabled features including switched Ethernet ports, WiFi,
and SFP interfaces.
### Installing Infix on eMMC
### Hardware Features
> [!IMPORTANT]
> No standard eMMC image exist yet, you have to create it your own
> from the SD card image by replacing fip.bin in the SD card image to
> the eMMC variant.
- MediaTek MT7986 ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core processor @ 2.0 GHz
- 2 GB DDR4 RAM
- 8 GB eMMC storage + microSD card slot
- 5x Gigabit Ethernet ports (4x LAN, 1x WAN)
- 2x SFP cages for fiber connectivity (1G/2.5G)
- Dual-band WiFi (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz)
- USB 3.0 port
- Mini PCIe slot
This guide describes how to install Infix on the internal eMMC storage of your BPI-R3.
The installation process requires a FTDI cable for console access, SD
card with Infix, a USB drive with the necessary bootloaders and eMMC
system image, and involves configuring the board's boot switches.
### Default Network Configuration
#### Required files
Infix comes preconfigured with:
Download the following files and place them on a FAT32-formatted USB drive:
- **LAN ports** (lan1-lan4): Bridged for internal networking
- **WAN port**: DHCP client enabled for internet connectivity
- **SFP ports** (sfp1, sfp2): Available for configuration
- **WiFi interfaces** (wifi0, wifi1): Available for configuration
1. **NAND bootloader files** (for initial setup):
- [bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img](https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img)
- [bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin](https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin)
## Getting Started
2. **eMMC bootloader files**:
- Download and extract [bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz](https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz)
- This contains `bl2.img` and `fip.bin` for eMMC boot
### Quick Start with SD Card
3. **System image**:
- `infix-bpi-r3-emmc.img` - The Infix system image for eMMC
The easiest way to get started is using an SD card:
#### Installation steps
1. **Download the SD card image:** [infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img][2]
2. **Flash the image to an SD card:** see [this guide][0]
3. **Set boot switches:**
- Set DIP switches to **0000** (SD card boot mode)
- Switch positions are on the underside of the board near the SD slot
4. **Boot the board:**
- Insert the SD card
- Connect power
- Connect to LAN port or console (115200 8N1)
- Default login: `admin` / `admin`
**Step 1: Flash NAND bootloader**
### Boot Switch Reference
Boot from SD card and break into U-Boot by pressing Ctrl-C during startup:
The BPI-R3 has a 4-position DIP switch that controls boot media:
<img align="right" src="bootstrap-switch.webp" alt="DIP switches" width=200 padding=10>
| Position | Mode | Description |
|----------|-------------|---------------------------------------|
| 0000 | SD card | Boot from microSD card (recommended) |
| 0110 | eMMC | Boot from internal eMMC storage |
| 0101 | SPI NAND | Boot from SPI NAND (advanced users) |
> [!NOTE]
> Switch position is read from left to right: "0" = OFF, "1" = ON.
> When the DIP switch is in the "UP" position it is OFF(0).
## Advanced: Installing to eMMC
For production deployments or better performance, you can install Infix
to the internal eMMC storage. This is more complex but provides faster
boot times and eliminates the external SD card.
### Why Use eMMC?
**Advantages:**
- Faster boot and better performance
- No external SD card to manage
- More robust for industrial/embedded deployments
**Disadvantages:**
- More complex installation process
- Requires intermediate NAND boot step
- Harder to recover from errors
### Prerequisites
- FTDI USB-to-serial cable (3.3V) for console access
- microSD card with Infix (for initial boot)
- USB flash drive (FAT32 formatted)
- Downloaded files (see below)
### Required Files
Download and place these files on a FAT32-formatted USB drive:
1. **Intermediate NAND bootloader** (from Frank-W's U-Boot):
- [bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img][5] (BL2 loader)
- [bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin][6] (FIP image)
2. **Infix eMMC image:**
- [infix-bpi-r3-emmc.img][3] (Complete system image)
3. **eMMC bootloader** (extracted from):
- [bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz][4]
- Extract `bl2.img` from the tarball to your USB drive
> [!WARNING]
> The following process involves multiple boot mode changes. Take your
> time verify each step carefully.
### Installation Steps
#### Step 1: Boot from SD card
1. Set boot switches to **0000** (SD card mode)
2. Insert SD card with Infix
3. Power on and break into U-Boot (press Ctrl-C during boot)
#### Step 2: Flash intermediate NAND bootloader
This step installs a temporary bootloader to NAND that will help us
flash the eMMC. From the U-Boot prompt:
```
usb start
@@ -64,9 +127,13 @@ fatload usb 0:1 0x50000000 bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin
mtd write spi-nand0 0x50000000 0x380000 0x200000
```
Power off the board and set the boot switch to **0101** (NAND boot mode), then power on.
#### Step 3: Boot from NAND
**Step 2: Flash system to eMMC**
1. Power off the board
2. Set boot switches to **0101** (NAND mode)
3. Power on - you should boot into U-Boot again
#### Step 4: Write Infix image to eMMC
From the U-Boot prompt:
@@ -77,9 +144,11 @@ setexpr blocks ${filesize} / 0x200
mmc write 0x50000000 0x0 ${blocks}
```
**Step 3: Configure eMMC bootloader**
This writes the complete Infix system (partitions, rootfs, etc.) to eMMC.
Write the eMMC bootloader and configure the boot partition:
#### Step 5: Configure eMMC boot
Now configure the eMMC boot partition and write the bootloader:
```
mmc partconf 0 1 1 1
@@ -90,8 +159,72 @@ mmc partconf 0 1 1 0
mmc bootbus 0 0 0 0
```
Power off the board, set the boot switch to **0110** (eMMC boot mode), and power on.
Your BPI-R3 should now boot Infix from the internal eMMC storage.
#### Step 6: Boot from eMMC
### Pre-built images
SD card image: [infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img](https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img)
1. Power off the board
2. Set boot switches to **0110** (eMMC mode)
3. Remove SD card (optional, but recommended to verify eMMC boot)
4. Power on
Your BPI-R3 should now boot Infix from internal eMMC storage!
## Troubleshooting
### Board won't boot
- Verify boot switch positions (check twice!)
- Ensure power supply provides adequate current (12V/2A recommended)
- Try booting from SD card with switches at **0000**
### Can't break into U-Boot
- Ensure serial console is connected properly (115200 8N1, 3.3V)
- Press Ctrl-C immediately when you see boot messages
- Try power cycling and pressing Ctrl-C repeatedly
### eMMC boot fails after installation
- Boot from NAND (**0101**) and verify eMMC image was written
- Check USB drive contents - ensure all files are present
- Re-run Step 5 (eMMC boot configuration)
### Reverting to SD card
Simply set boot switches back to **0000** and boot from SD card. The
eMMC installation does not affect SD card functionality.
## Additional Resources
- [Infix Documentation][1]
- [Official BPI-R3 Wiki][7]
- [Release Downloads][8]
## Building Custom Images
See the main Infix documentation for building from source. To build both
SD card and eMMC images locally:
```bash
# Build bootloaders for both SD and eMMC
make x-bpi-r3-sd-boot
make x-bpi-r3-emmc-boot
# Build main system
make aarch64
# Create SD card image
./utils/mkimage.sh -od bananapi-bpi-r3
# Create eMMC image
./utils/mkimage.sh -odt emmc bananapi-bpi-r3
```
[0]: https://kernelkit.org/posts/flashing-sdcard/
[1]: https://kernelkit.org/infix/latest/
[2]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img
[3]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/infix-bpi-r3-emmc.img
[4]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz
[5]: https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img
[6]: https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin
[7]: https://wiki.banana-pi.org/Banana_Pi_BPI-R3
[8]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/tag/latest-boot
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