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nfs-utils for PetaLinux on Zedboard

Former Member

I am trying to run a NFS server on my Zedboard.  I am using a CentOS VM and have installed Petalinx 2013.04 and ISE 14.7.  I've downloaded the source tarball for nfs-utils but I'm not sure if I should build it as a kernel module or an application?  But my main problem is, I'm not sure where to start when it comes to cross-compiling the source code to run on the Zedboard in PetaLinux.  I would appreciate any support, I have until the end of the week to provide some results.  Thank you.

  • 0

    John,

      The usual reason for employing NFS is to have the root file system on the development machine exposed to the target, so it's easy to change applications and test on the fly without having to reconfigure the target.   Is that what you are trying to do, or are you really wanting the server on the ZedBoard?   Normally, the server runs on the development host and the client on the target.  Configuring an NFS client under PetaLinux is a configuration change only.

    Ron

  • 0

    I am really wanting the NFS server on the ZedBoard.  I want the ZedBoard to host the files and allow clients to access the files through NFS.  There will be several NFS threads running simultaneously, but for now I'm just trying to get the server built into the ZedBoard image and transfer files over a single NFS thread. 

    Thank you for your help.

  • 0

    OK, that's not something I've attempted by there are a couple of things I can suggest.  I think the server would be built as a kernel module, and if you look at UG 1144 there are some sections that explain how to use pre-built kernel modules, or to create and install custom kernel modules using the PetaLinux tool chain.   That is the current version (2014.4) however, so not sure how well these apply to older versions of the tool chain.

    Another possible option is the 2013.4 version of Ubuntu that is posted as a Zedboard reference design.  Since this gives you a desktop environment (you don't need to run the GUI, you can interact from a command line) you should be able to download and install the NFS server modules just as you would on a PC (assuming your target is connected to the Internet, of course). 

    If anyone else has any experience doing this, feel free to chime in!

    And let me know how you make out with either of these options, or something else you can come up with.

    Ron

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    This test is to determine the Ethernet throughput for the ZedBoard running and NFS server, so I think the additional overhead of running Ubuntu may yield lower results than running what I assume in a minimal PetaLinux OS.  I am cross compiling the nfs-utils now, unfortunately having to also cross-compile some of the dependancies (libwrap and libevent so far).  I will then try to load this into PetaLinux as a pre-built module.  Looking at UG1144 on page 63, I see the steps for including a prebuilt module.  Now I just need to hurry and compile this prebuilt module for nfs-utils, and find its .ko file.  My question is, will I have to copy over additional files, like the libwrap and libevent that were needed during ./configure or do I simply copy over the nfs-utils output from make?  Thank you for your help, as you can see, I'm new to all of this but I'm trying to keep chugging along.  :)

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    Sounds like you're making progress, and you are discovering some of the challenges of working with open source tools and software.  I believe you will probably have what you need with the NFS module, but it is often really difficult to know if there are any dependencies until you actually try it out for yourself.  Then you just follow down each broken path to determine dependencies and you follow the same procedure to locate the software, compile and install the new module.

    You're doing great, but you need to be a realistic about the time it takes to work through areas that are new to you with open source projects.  The information is all out there, but often it takes some trial and error before it all makes sense.

    Good luck!   Hopefully you can soon post that you have a solution!

    Ron