Boot Process

Learning how the FunKey S boots and shuts down is not required in order to develop for this platform, but it is certainly an interesting experience in order to understand the way to optimize a Linux embedded system.

And then, when something goes wrong, it provides some useful insight on where to find the solution...

Startup Process¶

The startup process for a Linux machine is like a space rocket launch, but in reverse order: you start small and end up big, each stage helping to launch the next one.

The reason for this is because many resources are involved when booting a Linux system, that require a significant amount of set up before you can use them, as they are not available right from the beginning; the most critical ones are probably memory and system clocks.

When the FunKey S is started, its CPU is merely as powerful as an Arduino board: what is available is a 32-bit ARM CPU running @ 24MHz, with no reliable memory besides its 30 internal registers and a 32KB boot ROM.

In order to get up to full speed (1.2GHz) and with all its memory (64MB DRAM, access to the 8GB SDcard) requires several steps, in order:

• The Boot ROM

• The SPL (Secondary Program Loader)

• The U-Boot bootloader

• The Linux kernel

• The userland System V init scripts

Shutdown Process¶

Unlike the startup process, the shutdown process is much more straightforward, but it must be optimized to run as quiclky as possible, as the time from when the shutdown is initiated when the user press the key or close the FunKey S lid to actual poweroff is extremely short (3 s).