🛠 First connection and startup of the BPI-5202

Objectives

This tutorial guides you through the initial setup of the BPI-5202 board. You will learn to identify critical connectors, provide compliant power, and access the system via serial console to validate the LoongArch processor boot process.

Required Materials

• BPI-5202 Loongson 2K1000LAi Board
• 24V DC Power Supply (sufficient current, ideally 1A or more)
• USB-to-Serial Cable (FTDI or equivalent) for RS232 console
• Serial Terminal (PuTTY, Minicom, or Tera Term)
• HDMI Monitor (optional, for graphical verification)
• Bootable USB Drive (with system image provided by manufacturer)

Steps

1. Power Verification: The BPI-5202 operates exclusively on 24V DC. Ensure your source is stable. Incorrect voltage can damage SMEC98SP security chips. Connect positive (+) and negative (-) wires to the designated power terminal block.

1. Serial Console Connection: For industrial diagnostics, the isolated RS232 console is the primary interface. Connect your USB-to-Serial adapter to the board's RS232 port. Respect TX/RX pinout (crossed if necessary). Open your serial terminal with these settings: 115200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1).

1. Storage Insertion: Insert the USB drive containing the system image (Loongnix or KylinOS) into an available USB port. If using an SSD, ensure it is properly mounted on the dedicated connector before powering on.

1. Power On: Plug in the 24V power supply. Observe the status LEDs on the board. A steady green LED typically indicates correct power. The network LED may blink once the Ethernet link is established.

1. Bootloader Access: In the serial terminal, press a key as soon as the U-Boot prompt or LoongArch bootloader appears. You should see Linux kernel boot messages. If nothing displays, check serial connections and power supply.

1. Network Connection: Once the system boots, connect an Ethernet cable to the 1000M port. The system should assign an IP address via DHCP. Use the ip addr command in the serial console to confirm IP acquisition.

Verification

Successful initialization is confirmed by the login prompt in the serial terminal. Log in with default credentials provided by the distribution (often root/root or loongson/loongson). Run uname -m to verify the architecture is loongarch64. Check memory with free -h to confirm 4GB DDR3 detection.

Further Reading

Once the system is accessible, configure secondary network interfaces (100M) and test CAN2.0 ports with tools like can-utils. Explore GPIO modules to connect industrial sensors.