BeagleBone Black Kernel Builder

This project provides a Docker image and supporting scripts for configuring and building a custom kernel for the BeagleBone Black dev board. bbb_kernel_builder provides a container able to run the build scripts included in the ti-linux-kernel-dev project. The container is a convenience in the sense that it saves you from having to install the array of tools needed to build the kernel with the added benefit of supporting Windows builds via Docker Desktop. The output of the container is a set of *.deb files that make up the kernel, headers, etc. Those *.deb files are ready to be transferred to the BBB and can be installed using the dpkg utility.

The following sections will walk you through the process of setting up an SD card with an official Debian BBB image. We'll then run the bbb_kernel_builder scripts to configure and build the kernel. Finally, we'll show you how to transfer and install the kernel to the BBB.

Prepping the SD Card

To get started, flash a micro SD card with the latest BBB Debian image. I recommend the console images due to their compactness though the IoT image will work just as well.

Download the latest image from beagleboard.org:

wget https://debian.beagleboard.org/images/bone-debian-10.3-console-armhf-2020-04-06-1gb.img.xz

Unarchive the *.img file:

xz -d *.xz

Write *.img to your SD card. In the command below we assume the SD card is the device /dev/sdb. Make sure you enter the device name that corresponds to your SD card!

sudo dd if=*.img of=/dev/sdb

Writing the image to the SD will take a few minutes.

Building and Configuring the Kernel

To kick off the build, change directory to the scripts directory and run the build.sh script:

./build.sh

The script will prompt you for a kernel version. If you navigate to the ti-linux-kernel-dev repository, you can browse the tags to find a version number that suites your needs. Note, the tags with *-rt-* are kernels with the PREEMPT_RT patches applied.

After selecting a version, the script will checkout the kernel sources, apply patches, etc. During the process, you will be prompted to configure the kernel via menuconfig. Make your selections and then proceed with the build. Depending on your machine, building the kernel and modules can take a while.

Output *.deb files will be installed to bbb_kernel_builder/bin.

Deploying the Kernel to the BBB

To kick off kernel deployment, mount the SD card with the BBB rootfs:

sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/sd

Copy the bbb_kernel_builder/bin/*.deb files to the BBB:

sudo cp bbb_kernel_builder/bin/*.deb /mnt/sd/root

umount the SD card and boot the BBB from the SD. Log on to the BBB as root and install your new kernel:

dpkg -i /root/*.deb

Reboot the BBB off the SD card. Run uname -a and verify the kernel version you previously selected is the one displayed.