You signed in with another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session.You signed out in another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session.You switched accounts on another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session.Dismiss alert
description: This article contains information about the fundamental concepts of the Portenta X8
5
+
description: 'This article contains information about the fundamental concepts of the Portenta X8.'
6
6
author: Benjamin Dannegård
7
7
hardware:
8
8
- hardware/04.pro/board/portenta-x8
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ software:
13
13
14
14
## Overview
15
15
16
-
The Portenta X8 is one of the more advanced boards available from Arduino. And with that comes some new concepts that are not standard for Arduino boards. In this article we will go through some of the foundations of the Portenta X8 and help you understand how the board works and how you can benefit from the advanced features of this board. You will learn about FoundriesFactory® and how containers on the Portenta X8 work.
16
+
The **Portenta** X8 is one of the more advanced boards available from Arduino. And with that comes some new concepts that are not standard for Arduino boards. In this article, we will go through some of the foundations of the Portenta X8 and help you understand how the board works and how you can benefit from its advanced features of this board. You will learn about FoundriesFactory® and how containers on the Portenta X8 work.
17
17
18
18
## Goals
19
19
@@ -22,60 +22,64 @@ The Portenta X8 is one of the more advanced boards available from Arduino. And w
If you need help with setting up your board then please have a look at the "Getting Started" tutorial. That tutorial will show you how to set up your board with FoundriesFactory and install containers on it.
30
+
If you need help setting up your board, please have a look at the "Getting Started" tutorial. That tutorial will show you how to set up your board with FoundriesFactory and install containers on it.
31
31
32
32
## Embedded Linux
33
33
34
-
To work in an embedded Linux environment there a few things to consider. When approaching linux-based embedded devices software solutions, you need to provide a base distribution, a mechanism to update it and some applications that can run on the board. The X8 uses a Linux distribution built with the Yocto Project® as the base platform, with applications that are installed and packaged as confined containers.
34
+
There are a few things to consider to work in an embedded Linux environment. When approaching Linux-based embedded devices software solutions, you need to provide a base distribution, a mechanism to update it, and some applications that can run on the board. The X8 uses a Linux distribution built with the Yocto Project® as the base platform, with applications that are installed and packaged as confined containers.
35
35
36
-
A ready-made Linux distribution that packages everything seems most attractive for end users but you need to find a distribution that implements the function that you need. If you need to tweak them you may end up in a mess of patches on the top of someone else's build system. On the other hand, a generic distribution has some problems since installing software over it may pollute the original system and cause issues when updating the base platform. For example you install a new application and the older one no longer works. In addition to that you have to implement a lot of things like cybersecurity functions and system updates. Finally, your solution may rely on a too "generic" distribution, with tons of software you don't need. So you may end up removing a lot of software on the target and also turning features on and off. Until you mess up things or you need to update the system and you restart with a new fresh image and restart everything from the beginning.
36
+
A readily-available Linux distribution that packages everything seems most attractive for end users but you need to find a distribution that implements the function that you need. If you need to tweak them, you may end up in a mess of patches on the top of someone else's build system. On the other hand, a generic distribution has some problems since installing software over it may pollute the original system and cause issues when updating the base platform. For example, if you install a new application, the older one no longer works.
37
+
38
+
In addition, you have to implement lots of things like cybersecurity functions and system updates. Finally, your solution may rely on a too "generic" distribution, with tons of software you don't need. So you may end up removing a lot of software on the target and turning features on and off. Until you break the configuration or need to update the system and begin restarting with a new fresh image, consequently beginning everything from zero again.
37
39
38
40
### Benefits of Foundries.io
39
41
40
-
Foundries.io™ basically created their generic-but-not-too-generic distribution based on Yocto with minimal software installed, by default implementing top level cybersecurity features like OP-TEE and OSTREE that makes their solution ideal for professional applications. A custom OTA system update mechanism which is based on a client running on target and a robust cloud server. And they married Docker-compose as a way to deploy a software solution to a target. This is like having an app store for a particular device with the difference that we're not installing an app but a container which may contain a whole distribution or a minimal distribution running only our app or our set of apps.
42
+
Foundries.io™ created their custom distribution based on Yocto with minimal software installed, by default implementing top-level cybersecurity features like OP-TEE and OSTREE that makes their solution ideal for professional applications.
43
+
44
+
A custom Over-The-Air (OTA) system update mechanism that is based on a client running on target and a robust cloud server. And they married Docker-compose as a way to deploy a software solution to a target. This is like having an app store for a particular device with the difference that we're not installing an app but a container that may contain a whole distribution or a minimal distribution running only our app or our set of apps.
41
45
42
-
In addition to that they developed the cloud side as well. In a nutshell you can use what's called FoundriesFactory, a cloud DevSecOps subscription service to build, test, deploy, and maintain secure, updatable IoT and Edge products. It provides a unique id and automatic builds of the base system and containers for this system in one place. Let's now take a look at the Foundries.io Factory page.
46
+
Additionally, they developed the cloud side as well. You can use what's called FoundriesFactory, a cloud DevSecOps subscription service to build, test, deploy, and maintain secure, updatable IoT and Edge products. It provides a unique id and automatic builds of the base system and containers for this system in one place. Let's now take a look at the Foundries.io Factory page.
43
47
44
48
### Foundries.io Factory
45
49
46
-
With the help of the Arduino Cloud integration with Foundries.io, you can easily create your Factory right from the Arduino Cloud page. You can set your Factory's platform and name. The platform here will be the Portenta X8.
50
+
With the help of the Arduino Cloud integration with *Foundries.io*, you can easily create your Factory right from the Arduino Cloud page. You can set your Factory's platform and name. The Portenta X8 will be the platform in this case.
47
51
48
52
49
53
50
-
Your Factory page allows you to add members, so that you can easily keep track of the members of your team that should have access to the Portenta X8's that are linked to your Factory. You can also set up teams for better management. On the page you can also find a list of all devices linked to the Factory, along with their name and version of container that is currently uploaded to the board. On the containers page you can find all the different versions of containers uploaded to the Factory.
54
+
Your Factory page allows you to add members so that you can easily keep track of the members of your team that should have access to the Portenta X8's that are linked to your Factory. You can also set up teams for better management. On the page, you can also find a list of all devices linked to the Factory, along with their name and version of the container currently uploaded to the board. On the containers page, you can find all the different versions of containers uploaded to the Factory.
51
55
52
56
On the "source" page of your Factory, you can find the four repositories that are used to customize the images. These are:
53
57
54
58
-**ci-scripts.git**: Scripts that define the platform and container build jobs to the FoundriesFactory continuous integration system.
55
59
-**lmp-manifest.git**: The repo manifest for the platform build. It defines which layer versions are included in the platform image. This includes **meta-partner-arduino**, the layer containing Arduino specific customizations (machine definition, device drivers, etc).
56
-
-**meta-subscriber-overrides.git**: OE layer that defines what is included into your Factory image. You can add boardspecific customizations and overrides, add and remove packages provided in the default Linux microPlatform base.
57
-
-**containers.git**: This is where containers and docker-compose apps are defined. It allows you to define what containers to build, and how to orchestrate them on the platform.
60
+
-**meta-subscriber-overrides.git**: OE layer that defines what is included in your Factory image. You can add board-specific customizations and overrides. Also, add and remove packages provided in the default Linux microPlatform base.
61
+
-**containers.git**: This is where containers and docker-compose apps are defined. It allows us to define what containers to build, and how to orchestrate them on the platform.
58
62
59
-
While the "targets" page contains the images built by the Continuous integration system each time something is committed in the repositories. Committing to **lmp-manifest.git** or **meta-subscriber-overrides.git** repositories will create a platform target, while committing to **containers.git** will create a container target. These targets will generate the artifacts for the platforms as specified in the **ci-scripts.git**, including all the required files to program the target in case of platform builds. You can inspect your FoundriesFactory targets in the "targets" page.
63
+
While the "targets" page contains the images built by the Continuous integration system each time something commits in the repositories. Committing to **lmp-manifest.git** or **meta-subscriber-overrides.git** repositories will create a platform target while committing to **containers.git** will create a container target. These targets will generate the artifacts for the platforms as specified in the **ci-scripts.git**, including all the required files to program the target in case of platform builds. You can inspect your FoundriesFactory targets on the "targets" page.
60
64
61
65
## Containers
62
66
63
-
Containers allow for easy deployment of Linuxbased processes, uploaded through git, which can then be tracked on your Factory page. A Linux container are processes that are isolated from the rest of the system. A container is an image file that contains all the files that are necessary to run it. This makes the Linux containers portable and consistent throughout development, testing and production. Making them much quicker to use than development pipelines that rely on replicating traditional testing environments.
67
+
Containers allow for easy deployment of Linux-based processes, uploaded through git, which can then be tracked on your Factory page. A Linux container is a process isolated from the rest of the system. A container is an image file conformed of the necessary files to run it. This makes the Linux containers portable and consistent throughout development, testing, and production. Making them much quicker to use than development pipelines that rely on replicating traditional testing environments.
64
68
65
-
Foundries.io provides a service that builds images using the Yocto Project and specifically built around the Linux microPlatform (LmP) distribution they maintain. LmP contains an extensive set of software components needed for IoT applications.
69
+
*Foundries.io* provides a service that builds images using the Yocto Project and is specifically built around the Linux microPlatform (LmP) distribution they maintain. LmP contains an extensive set of software components needed for IoT applications.
66
70
67
-
Using [fioctl](https://docs.foundries.io/latest/getting-started/install-fioctl/index.html) allows you to manage your boards through CLI. This will make it possible for you to easily upload containers to a board that is linked to your Factory. When the board is online and connected to the Factory you can easily push new apps to the board. Using fioctl command lines you only need to state the Factory, board and app.
71
+
Using [fioctl](https://docs.foundries.io/latest/getting-started/install-fioctl/index.html) allows you to manage your boards through CLI. It makes it easy to upload containers to a board linked to your Factory. When the board is online and connected to the Factory, you can easily push new apps to the board. Using the fioctl command lines, you only need to state the Factory, board, and app.
68
72
69
73
### Benefits of Containers
70
74
71
-
For example if you are developing an application on a laptop and your environment has a specific configuration. Other developers may have slightly different configurations. The application will rely on your configuration and is dependent on specific files, libraries and dependencies. While your business has development and production environments with their own configurations and supporting files. You would want to emulate that environment as much as possible locally.
75
+
For example, if you are developing an application on a laptop and your environment has a specific configuration. Other developers may have slightly different configurations. The application will rely on your configuration and be dependent on specific files, libraries, and dependencies. On the other hand, your business has development and production environments with their configurations and supporting files. You would want to emulate that environment as much as possible locally.
72
76
73
-
With containers you can make your app work across environments, pass quality assurance and get it deployed as fast and easy as possible.
77
+
With containers, you can make your app work across environments, pass quality assurance and deploy as fast as possible effortlessly.
74
78
75
-
The contents of a container image can be compared to a an installation of a Linux distribution complete with RPM packages, configuration files, etc. However, a container image distribution is easier to install rather than a new copy of the operating system.
79
+
The container image contents can be compared to an installation of a Linux distribution complete with RPM packages, configuration files, etc. However, a container image distribution is easier to install than setting a whole new copy of the operating system.
76
80
77
-
A Linux container is a good solution for solutions that require portability, configurability and isolation. The idea behind Linux containers is to be able to develop solutions faster to meet business needs as they arise. In certain scenarios, like when real-time data streaming is implemented, containers are the only way to provide the scalability that the application needs. Regardless of the infrastructure onsite, in the cloud, or a mix of both.
81
+
A Linux container is a good solution that requires portability, configurability, and isolation. The idea behind Linux containers is to help develop solutions faster to meet business needs as they arise. In certain scenarios, when real-time data streaming is implemented, containers are a dominant solution to provide the scalability that the application needs. Regardless of the infrastructure on-site, in the cloud, or a mix of both.
78
82
79
83
## Conclusion
80
84
81
-
Now you should have a better understanding of how the Portenta X8 works with factories and containers. This article also gives a better picture of how to utilize the Portenta X8 to its full potential. Be sure to check out our other tutorials with the Portenta X8 to see how to practically use factories and containers.
85
+
In this tutorial, we have expanded on how the Portenta X8 works with factories and containers. This article also gives a better picture of how to utilize the Portenta X8 to its full potential. Please check out our other tutorials with the Portenta X8 to see how factories and containers are applied in a real-world example.
0 commit comments