OS Customization Workflow

The OS Customizer tool provides a consistent work flow to update the operating system on your SoC device. Two work flow variants exist to support how additional libraries and packages can be added into an OS. The first work flow uses a package management system built into the OS. The package management system automatically downloads, installs, and updates the OS without the need to recreate the firmware image. The second work flow uses an external build system to generate a new firmware image with the required libraries and packages.

Package Management System

The OS Customizer tool, with a package management system on the hardware board, uses the following process.

Select the hardware board to customize with MathWorks^® tools.
(Recommended) Create backup copy of current Operating System firmware image.
Connect the hardware board to the development computer or network. The hardware connection requires the device IP address, username, and password to test the connection.
Show data collected from the hardware board.
Show list and status of packages required by MathWorks products.
Prompted to install the missing packages.

In the event of an issue during the firmware update process, you will be provided the option to restore your firmware image to the original state using the OS Firmware Image Backup and Restoration.

Build System

The OS Customizer tool, without a package management system on the hardware board, uses the following process.

Select the hardware board to customize with MathWorks tools.
(Recommended) Create backup copy of current Operating System firmware image.
Connect the hardware board to the development computer or network.
Connect to a remote computer with the OS build system.
Provide OS build system details, including source folder and output folder.
Run the build system and generate the OS image.
Write the new OS firmware image to an SD card for installation on the hardware board.

In the event of an issue during the firmware update process, you will be provided the option to restore your firmware image to the original state using the OS Firmware Image Backup and Restoration.

OS Firmware Image Backup and Restoration

The OS Customizer tool allows the creation of a backup copy of the existing operating system firmware image prior to updating the OS. The backup copy can be used to restore your OS firmware image to its original state prior to using the OS Customizer tool. The OS Customizer tool automatically requests if you would like to create a backup copy of the OS firmware image. In the event of corruption of the OS firmware image during the update process, the OS Customizer tools allows you to restore your hardware and OS to the original state.

Requirements for Image Backup

Creating a backup of the OS firmware image requires the following:

Sufficient memory capacity on your development computer for the firmware image. The minimum capacity required is 8 GB for current MathWorks supported embedded hardware boards.
An SD or microSD card with a minimum of 8 GB of memory.
30 to 60 minutes to save the firmware image on the development computer.