Pogoplug V4 - Debian 10 (Buster)

Recently revived my interest in the Pogoplug V4 after coming across a Medium article in which the author documents his success in getting Debian 10 to successfully install on the V4-- even providing an prebuilt image for it via https://github.com/susamn/debian-10-buster-pogoplug-v4 .

After burning the image to a SD card, I ran a FreePBX installation script designed specifically Debian 10 (https://gist.github.com/billsimon/453d59a0e4c06fbe8ba31cc7ca5ee7c9). The script yielded a slew of errors, but ultimately boiled down to the following below. After a brief research, I've come to conclude that the Debian version for the V4 is not a generic version, but rather a modified one.

I can't seem to find any info on updating to the latest headers or remedying the issue of "linux-headers-3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1". Is there any ongoing updates with Debian on the V4 still?

E: Unable to locate package linux-headers-3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1
E: Couldn't find any package by glob 'linux-headers-3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1'
E: Couldn't find any package by regex 'linux-headers-3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1'
E: Unable to locate package odbc-mariadb

dumdedumda,

> I can't seem to find any info on updating to the
> latest headers or remedying the issue of
> "linux-headers-3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1". Is there
> any ongoing updates with Debian on the V4 still?

See the release thread:

https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,12096

The rootfs Debian-5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2 is a Debian buster rootfs with kernel 5.2.9. And the latest kernel is linux-5.13.6-kirkwood-tld-1-bodhi.tar.bz2.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dumdedumda,
>
> > I can't seem to find any info on updating to
> the
> > latest headers or remedying the issue of
> > "linux-headers-3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1". Is there
> > any ongoing updates with Debian on the V4
> still?
>
> See the release thread:
>
> https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,12096
>
> The rootfs
> Debian-5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2
> is a Debian buster rootfs with kernel 5.2.9. And
> the latest kernel is
> linux-5.13.6-kirkwood-tld-1-bodhi.tar.bz2.

Hi Bodhi,

Just wanted to confirm the following update order to avoid any potential bricks.

1) Update U-Boot 2014.07-tld-1 --> 2017.07
2) Update kernel 3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1 --> 5.13.6-kirkwood-tld-1
3) Update rootfs (not sure which version I ahve currently) to Debian-5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1

And finally, is kwboot tool by Daniel Stodden still the best approach to unbricking a Pogoplug v4? https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,7852,7852

Thank you



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2021 07:20PM by dumdedumda.

dumdedumda,

> 1) Update U-Boot 2014.07-tld-1 --> 2017.07

To be precise, the new u-boot is uboot.2017.07-tld-1. And yes, since you are running Debian and the 2014.07-tld-1 u-boot, it is safe to update to uboot.2017.07-tld-1.

> 2) Update kernel 3.18.5-kirkwood-tld-1 -->
> 5.13.6-kirkwood-tld-1
> 3) Update rootfs (not sure which version I ahve
> currently) to Debian-5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1


There 2 choices here;

1. Start with a brand new rootfs, which is Debian-5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1 (which has kernel 5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1 in it). And then in the future, when you are comfortable that everything is working fine, upgrade the kernel to 5.13.6-kirkwood-tld-1.

OR

2. Update the kernel to 5.13.6-kirkwood-tld-1, and then use the Debian dist upgrade to upgrade the existing rootfs to buster. This will be a massive upgrade process, so you should backup the rootfs first.

If there is not a lot of packages already installed on your existing rootfs, or you want to start fresh, then I would do option 1.

But if you already used the existing rootfs for a while, and want to avoid reinstall packages, then you would do option 2.


> And finally, is kwboot tool by Daniel Stodden
> still the best approach to unbricking a Pogoplug
> v4? https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,7852,7852

Yes. That post is the original. You can also skip all that and use this instruction for a real example unbricking the NSA320S (we already knew Pogo V4 has UART booting):

https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,51739,51919#msg-51919

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Hi Bodhi,

I successfully updated my V4's UBoot & Kernel to 2017.07-tld-1 & Debian-5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1. So, thank you.

After logging in this rootf the first time, remember to generate new SSH key to make it your own unique rootfs. And also update your rootfs to get the latest Debian package security updates:

I have a second Pogoplug V4 that I'd like to update its uboot & kernel to the latest as well. Would I be able to simply export the system .img file of the V4 that I updated just now, use Win32diskimger to write it to a SD card, and boot from the second V4? (Assuming I haven't generated the SSH keys for the the current v4).

dumdedumda,

> I successfully updated my V4's UBoot & Kernel to
> 2017.07-tld-1 & Debian-5.2.9-kirkwood-tld-1. So,
> thank you.

Cool!

> I have a second Pogoplug V4 that I'd like to
> update its uboot & kernel to the latest as well.

> Would I be able to simply export the system .img
> file of the V4 that I updated just now, use
> Win32diskimger to write it to a SD card, and boot
> from the second V4? (Assuming I haven't generated
> the SSH keys for the the current v4).

That should work, assuming Win32diskimger know the msdos parttition contains Ext3 partition. Or you can use this instruction in the Wiki

Quote
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,23630

Backup and Cloning rootfs
...
How to clone a rootfs from one Kirkwood box to another: Step 1 and Step 2
...

If you use Win32diskimger, you still needs to do Step 2, to make sure there is no conflict MAC addresses in the system.

The SSH key won't prevent booting or connecting. Just a step to make this rootfs unique that nobody else has the same key. In the future (Debian bullseye) I will make this step automatically done at the 1st boot.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Am I right in the observation that once you have modded the Pogo v4, and your USB stick goes bad, there is *NO* way to build a new one? ALL the directions I've seen for building a boot USB expect you to SSH into the device itself. But if I don't already have a working OS on it, I can't very well run anything from within the device.

And I don't have the setup to add a JTAG to it. Using the image at the top of this thread it seems to be booting (the status light stops flashing and goes steady green) but no ethernet OR wifi connection gets made (I check my network with nmap to see if an IP got assigned).

About time for this Pogo to meet Mr. Sledgehammer.

jelabarre59,

> Am I right in the observation that once you have
> modded the Pogo v4, and your USB stick goes bad,
> there is *NO* way to build a new one?

Incorrect.

> ALL the
> directions I've seen for building a boot USB
> expect you to SSH into the device itself. But if
> I don't already have a working OS on it, I can't
> very well run anything from within the device.

As long as you have serial console, you can fix it.

> And I don't have the setup to add a JTAG to it.

JTAG is a lot more works than serial console. The Pogo V4 has the serial header already installed (the Pogo Mobile does not, Mobile is the V4 without SATA port).

> Using the image at the top of this thread it seems
> to be booting (the status light stops flashing and
> goes steady green) but no ethernet OR wifi
> connection gets made (I check my network with nmap
> to see if an IP got assigned).

Serial console is needed to troubleshoot in this case. If you had install new u-boot on this box, then you could have used netconsole, too.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JTAG is a lot more works than serial console. The
> Pogo V4 has the serial header already installed
> (the Pogo Mobile does not, Mobile is the V4
> without SATA port).
>

Not on this one. At J11 there are just the 4 solder points, but no pins or connector. It's definitely the regular v4, as it has the SATA connector, plus the one USB2 on top, 2 USB3 and Ethernet on the back, and the SD/MMC slot on the side (I used to have a Pogo Mobile as well, that died 3 or 4 years back).

I had tried setting up serial connections before (trying to flash OpenWRT onto a Netgear R6700, but eventually an image that could be flashed via WebUI came out). I still have serial ports on a couple of my systems, so I had tried connecting over various combinations of actual serial under Linux & MSWin, plus a couple different USB-to-TTL-UART adapters. Perhaps the USB adapters were just outright crap (I'd try something from a reliable supplier like Digikey or Mouser if I were to try this again).

And wouldn't you know it, with all that dead electronics I've been scrapping, I can't find a single board with jumper pins or a similarly-sized 4-pin connector.

Now that I'm looking at some old setup files, it was my RaspberryPi 2b that I switched to Debian, the Pogo v4 still had Arch Linux. So finding an Arch image for Kirkwood and putting that on a USB made it boot.

Which means I have a running system on the Pogo now, and I can do the move to Debian I thought I had done before.

> Now that I'm looking at some old setup files, it
> was my RaspberryPi 2b that I switched to Debian,
> the Pogo v4 still had Arch Linux. So finding an
> Arch image for Kirkwood and putting that on a USB
> made it boot.
>
> Which means I have a running system on the Pogo
> now, and I can do the move to Debian I thought I
> had done before.

Nice!

Is it running stock u-boot for Arch new u-boot? it is still best that you can run serial console before flashing new u-boot.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

I am presuming it's an older u-boot:

----------------------------------------------------
[alarm@alarm ~]$ file /boot/uImage
/boot/uImage: u-boot legacy uImage, Linux-4.4.271-1-ARCH, Linux/ARM, ...
----------------------------------------------------

I need to order some parts still, I couldn't find any jumper pins I could scavenge from boards I was scrapping (I must have thrown out the board from a DVD drive I scrapped, that should have had a redbook connector). I am presuming I can still connect directly to a serial port on my computer (not running the "latest" systems, ao I still have such ports available). I have enough DB9-to-RJ45 connectors available (plus the cables, although I could just crimp up my own custom pinout anyway).

As an aside: most if not all of the links for suggested USB-to-TTL adapters are dead links now (especially the ones for long-expired eBay auctions). I figure I'd get something off of DigiKey, and those are likely to stay active longer (and would probably work better than the crap Amazon sells).

(and if I set this thread as "follow" I might even see replies sooner...)

jelabarre59,

> ----------------------------------------------------
> [alarm@alarm ~]$ file /boot/uImage
> /boot/uImage: u-boot legacy uImage,
> Linux-4.4.271-1-ARCH, Linux/ARM, ...
> ----------------------------------------------------

That's the kernel file uImage. To see u-boot version

strings /dev/mtd0 | grep U-Boot\ 2

> As an aside: most if not all of the links for
> suggested USB-to-TTL adapters are dead links now
> (especially the ones for long-expired eBay
> auctions)

Picture and model name is good enough to find them at other sites.

>. I figure I'd get something off of
> DigiKey, and those are likely to stay active
> longer (and would probably work better than the
> crap Amazon sells).

It is OK to buy the serial module converter from Amazon, but DigiKey, Adafruit, or SeedStudio have much better quality products.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

bodhi Wrote:

> That's the kernel file uImage. To see u-boot
> version
>
>

> strings /dev/mtd0 | grep U-Boot\ 2
>

Definitely older than what you're looking for (wasn't even a U-Boot 2xxx version)

-----------------------------
U-Boot 1.1.4 (Oct 1 2011 - 12:06:06) Cloud Engines 1.1.2 (3.4.27) PHYADDR=0
...
U-Boot 1.1.4 (Jan 13 2012 - 22:33:21) Arch Linux ARM (PPV4 r1) PHYADDR=0
-----------------------------


> It is OK to buy the serial module converter from
> Amazon, but DigiKey, Adafruit, or SeedStudio have
> much better quality products.

Already ordered a module from DigiKey, and some header pins (hopefully they fit, ordered what seemed to be the thinnest). Like I said, Amazon's selections seem to be crap (like trying to find a 44pin IDE-to-SD adapter with the SD slot facing away from the pins rather than sideways).

> Definitely older than what you're looking for
> (wasn't even a U-Boot 2xxx version)
>
> -----------------------------
> U-Boot 1.1.4 (Oct 1 2011 - 12:06:06) Cloud
> Engines 1.1.2 (3.4.27) PHYADDR=0
> ...
> U-Boot 1.1.4 (Jan 13 2012 - 22:33:21) Arch Linux
> ARM (PPV4 r1) PHYADDR=0
> -----------------------------

That's basically stock u-boot with some mods by Arch ARM folks from way back. It does not have FDT or EXT4 capability. However, it can be used with the uImage is the DTB >> zImage.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

don't think adding the serial connection worked. I can't tell if it made a decent connection anyway, my soldering iron isn't that great (it's good for patching together wires in a wiring harness, but that's about it).

I'll probably put the Pogo away in a box for a couple months and work on some other projects (and probably go back to the rPi4 for hosting some USB drives, I had only just started on that setup anyway)

jelabarre59 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> don't think adding the serial connection worked.
> I can't tell if it made a decent connection
> anyway, my soldering iron isn't that great (it's
> good for patching together wires in a wiring
> harness, but that's about it).
>
> I'll probably put the Pogo away in a box for a
> couple months and work on some other projects (and
> probably go back to the rPi4 for hosting some USB
> drives, I had only just started on that setup
> anyway)


jelabarre59, I can chime in on the issue. My knowledge from the V4 is still fresh after spending days tinkering with it. What device are you using to initiate a UART/serial connection?

This guide helped me get my serial connection working: https://readytoact.tistory.com/675

It's a 6-in-1 USB to serial converter from DigiKey (DFRobot FIT0781), and I've tried accessing it with both Cutecom and picocom. The thing is I had such trouble trying to clear out the holes for attaching the connector on the Pogo I probably ruined the pads, so at this point I expect anything that requires a serial connection is out of consideration.

It already has Arch Linux on it, I can SSH into it from my desktop, so all I need is a way to run an update for u-boot, or whatever other migration tool is needed. Barring that it's probably time for the device to have a meeting with Mr. Sledgehammer.

jelabarre59,

> It already has Arch Linux on it, I can SSH into it
> from my desktop, so all I need is a way to run an
> update for u-boot, or whatever other migration
> tool is needed.

Then it is OK. Just install new u-boot from inside Arch Linux:

https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,12381

And then run rootfs

Debian-5.13.6-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2 on USB.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Just a note here about FreePBX, the latest version you'll get working on armv5 is 13. Everything beyond 13 requires high versions of nodejs and nodejs beyond 0.10.48 is not supported for 6 years on armv5. Asterisk is not a problem as the latest version compiles fine on armv5. Last Debian version that had nodejs package for download on armv5 from repository was Jessie 8.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2021 06:38PM by LeggoMyEggo.

Well, too late for that anyway. I still had the cover off (I wanted to shave a little more off the opening for the SATA drive) and it was running with the USB drive in the top slot, then managed to knock it off my desk and broke the USB slot. So now it can't boot anyway because I can't use the top connector.

So I'll just need to build something else, something that has USB3 ports (so that leaves my rPi 2b out of running, and I wanted to use my rPi3 for a different project).

jelabarre59,

> Well, too late for that anyway. I still had the
> cover off (I wanted to shave a little more off the
> opening for the SATA drive) and it was running
> with the USB drive in the top slot, then managed
> to knock it off my desk and broke the USB slot.
> So now it can't boot anyway because I can't use
> the top connector.

Ouch!

> So I'll just need to build something else,
> something that has USB3 ports (so that leaves my
> rPi 2b out of running, and I wanted to use my rPi3
> for a different project).


Let me see if I can build you a temp u-boot 2021 version. Hopefully the USB 3.0 port on this box has more luck booting in the latest u-boot code. I've done all the works for 2021.07 u-boots but not ready to release them yet (have not tested this USB 3.0 capability).

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

jelabarre59,

Probably a while before I can figure out if USB 3.0 will work in the new u-boot. It seems I'll need to do some extra works to get the box with Kirkwood SoC (such as this box) to use the correct PCI driver.

This is the topic I'm interested in, so how long it will take will depend on the free time I have.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Well then, I'll hold onto it then in case there's a build you want to test later.

jelabarre59,

The alternative is to boot the kernel files from NAND, or from tftp. And then use the USB 3.0 port for rootfs.

The easiest is tftp. You could store uImage, uInitrd, and DTB on /tftproot on one of your rPis.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Why not put boot files on MMC and rootfs on USB3.0? This is a V4 after all.

> Why not put boot files on MMC and rootfs on
> USB3.0? This is a V4 after all.

Thumbs up! LME is right. The easiest setup is to have kernel files on the SD card slot. The SD card is much more more flexible than the other approaches, too.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

You know I've often thought the V4 A3 has the ultimate form factor for a hackers SOC. Give it a modern dual core 2ghz 64bit CPU, 2 gigs of RAM and maybe built in EMMC and I would even pay $100 for it.

LME,

> You know I've often thought the V4 A3 has the
> ultimate form factor for a hackers SOC. Give it a
> modern dual core 2ghz 64bit CPU, 2 gigs of RAM and
> maybe built in EMMC and I would even pay $100 for
> it.

You might find that kind of horse power in other boards like ODROID or Wanboard. But they never have enough community supports to become as popular as the rPi.

Another board is the Cubox and its cousins. But I dislike their (over)pricing structure so never want to buy those.

Like you, I really like the form factor of the Pogo V4. I used to carry this plug in my suitcase while traveling, even on vacation, just in case nerd impulse take over :))

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Just picked up a replacement Pogo V4 (haven't plugged it in yet). So I can try setting this one up from scratch instead.

Later I'll see if I can try that tftp setup to get the old one working off of the SD card. For now I'm just looking for a file-sharing option with the Pogo.