4.2.3.1. FSBL Fallback Mechanism

We developed a modification of Xilinx First Stage Boot Loader (FSBL) to support a fallback boot to a valid known BOOT.BIN file. The idea is to have a mechanism to allow the boards boot using a known BOOT.BIN file after a failed boot due to the usage of a wrong/corrupted BOOT.BIN. Fallback mechanism operational flow is the following:

  • Does the FLBK.TXT file exist in the root of the BOOT partition?
  • Yes. Enter in fallback mode and boot using the FLBK.BIN file
  • No. Create the FLBK.TXT file and follow with a regular boot (usually using the BOOT.BIN file).
  • The OS should mount the boot partition and remove the FLBK.TXT file after each boot (aka a successful boot).

4.2.3.1.1. FSBL Patch

FSBL Patch file (fsbl_patch_v010.diff)

In addition to the patch, the read-only filesystem protection must be disabled before the BOOT.BIN generation to allow the fallback mechanism work. This can be done by editing the xparameters.h file (components/bootloader/zynqmp_fsbl/zynqmp_fsbl_bsp/psu_cortexa53_0/include/xparameters.h) and removing any definition of FILE_SYSTEM_READ_ONLY pre-processor variable. Note that this header is re-generated/updated by petalinux tools in some steps. We need to ensure that it is properly edited when the bootloader is compiled, usually during the petalinux-build step.

4.2.3.1.2. System cleanup service

Systemctl service (remove-fsbl-flbk.service)

This service mounts the boot partition and removes the FSBL.TXT file created by the BSC FSBL. If the file is not removed, the next boot will use the FLBK.BIN file instead of BOOT.BIN. To install the service, copy the service file in the /etc/systemd/system/ folder and enable it with the following commands (they may require root privileges):

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable remove-fsbl-flbk.service
systemctl start remove-fsbl-flbk.service