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Development Environment Setup

This chapter details the setup of the Jetson Orin NX development environment, covering the complete process from local development environment configuration to remote debugging and desktop access, aiming to help developers efficiently build a development system suitable for embedded AI edge computing devices.

1. Local Source Code Development Environment Setup​

Prerequisites​

  • Ubuntu host (recommended: 20.04/22.04 LTS, >100GB space, for cross-compilation)

  • Install necessary tools as follows:

sudo apt update  
sudo apt install git-core build-essential bc flex bison libssl-dev

Source Code Deployment​

  1. Download and extract the Linux_for_Tegra source code:
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r36_release_v4.0/release/Jetson_Linux_R36.4.0_aarch64.tbz2  
tar xf Jetson_Linux_R36.4.0_aarch64.tbz2
  1. Download and extract the filesystem:
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r36_release_v4.0/release/Tegra_Linux_Sample-Root-Filesystem_R36.4.0_aarch64.tbz2  
sudo tar xpf Tegra_Linux_Sample-Root-Filesystem_R36.4.0_aarch64.tbz2 -C Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/
  1. Pull the kernel source code:
cd Linux_for_Tegra/source/  
./source_sync.sh -t jetson_36.4
  1. Fetch the following code and overwrite the original source:
cd ../..  
mkdir -p gitlab/Linux_for_Tegra  
git clone git@gitlab.milesight.com:ai-developer/aibox/l4t.git gitlab/Linux_for_Tegra  
cp -r gitlab/Linux_for_Tegra/* Linux_for_Tegra/
  1. Deploy NVIDIA Tegra components:
cd Linux_for_Tegra  
sudo ./apply_binaries.sh

Cross-Compilation Toolchain Deployment​

Download and extract the cross-compilation toolchain:

wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r36_release_v3.0/toolchain/aarch64--glibc--stable-2022.08-1.tar.bz2  
mkdir -p $HOME/l4t-gcc  
tar xf aarch64--glibc--stable-2022.08-1.tar.bz2 -C $HOME/l4t-gcc

Compilation Methods​

Before compiling, configure the environment variables (required for each new terminal session):

cd Linux_for_Tegra/source  
export CROSS_COMPILE=$HOME/l4t-gcc/aarch64--glibc--stable-2022.08-1/bin/aarch64-buildroot-linux-gnu-  
export KERNEL_HEADERS=$PWD/kernel/kernel-jammy-src  
export INSTALL_MOD_PATH=$PWD/Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/

Full Compilation (includes kernel, modules, and device tree):

./nvbuild.sh

Partial Compilation Methods:

  1. Compile the kernel:
cd Linux_for_Tegra/source  
./nvbuild.sh -o $PWD/kernel_output
  1. Compile Out-of-Tree Modules:
cd Linux_for_Tegra/source  
make modules  

# Install module drivers into rootfs  
sudo -E make modules_install
  1. Compile the device tree:
cd Linux_for_Tegra/source  
make dtbs

Updating the Kernel and Device Tree (Without Flashing)​

  1. Check the /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf file to confirm the paths of the current IMAGE and DTB (see LINUX and FDT entries in the example below):
TIMEOUT 30  
DEFAULT primary  

MENU TITLE L4T boot options  

LABEL primary  
      MENU LABEL primary kernel  
      LINUX /boot/Image  
      FDT /boot/dtb/kernel_tegra234-NG45XX-p3768-0000+p3767-0003-nv-super.dtb  
      INITRD /boot/initrd  
      APPEND ${cbootargs} root=PARTUUID=756c2935-3ec5-487a-96c8-424f306ca235 rw rootwait rootfstype=ext4 mminit_loglevel=4 console=ttyTCU0,115200 firmware_class.path=/etc/firmware fbcon=map:0 nospectre_bhb video=efifb:off console=tty0  
      OVERLAYS /boot/tegra234-p3767-camera-p3768-imx678-C.dtbo
  1. Back up the original kernel image:
sudo cp /boot/Image /boot/Image.backup  
sudo cp /boot/dtb/kernel_tegra234-NG45XX-p3768-0000+p3767-0003-nv-super.dtb /boot/dtb/kernel_tegra234-NG45XX-p3768-0000+p3767-0003-nv-super.dtb.backup
  1. Use scp to copy the newly compiled IMAGE and DTB to the paths above:
sudo cp $HOME/Image /boot/Image.backup  
sudo cp $HOME/kernel_tegra234-NG45XX-p3768-0000+p3767-0003-nv-super.dtb /boot/dtb/kernel_tegra234-NG45XX-p3768-0000+p3767-0003-nv-super.dtb

2. Remote Debugging Methods​

Prerequisites​

Complete the AIBOX network configuration as follows:

  1. Click the Ethernet icon in the top-right corner → Select "Wired Settings".

  1. In the network settings window, select the current wired connection.

  2. Click the gear icon for detailed settings:

    • Under the IPv4 tab, select Manual configuration.

    • Enter the static IP address, subnet mask, and gateway. For example:

      • Address: 192.168.231.100

      • Netmask: 255.255.255.0

      • Gateway: 192.168.231.1

    • In the DNS section, enter DNS server addresses (e.g., 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).

    • Click Apply to save the settings.

  1. Restart the network to apply the new settings.

Network Verification

  1. Open a terminal and verify connectivity with:

SSH Access​

  1. On a Windows PC, press Win + R to open the "Run" dialog.

  2. Enter powershell and press Enter.

  3. Connect to the AIBOX via SSH:

# Connect to AIBOX  
ssh username@aibox-ip  
# Execute remote commands  
ssh username@aibox-ip "uname -a"

RDP Remote Desktop Access​

  1. Start the JETSON terminal and install the following:
sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install tightvncserver xrdp 
sudo systemctl enable xrdp  
sudo systemctl start xrdp
  1. Then, on Windows, start "Remote Desktop Connection" and enter the IP address of the JETSON.

    Remote_Desktop_IP

  1. Click "Connect" and enter the username and password.

    Remote_Desktop_Login

  2. If you see the screen below, it indicates a successful connection. Remote_Desktop

References​

Kernel Customization — NVIDIA Jetson Linux Developer Guide 1 documentation