R5560 Base SD Card Image

Complete, bootable SD card image of the base (controller) board of the R5560 rack digitizer. The base board is an Enclustra Mars ZX2 module with a Zynq 7010; it drives the touch display, the rack I/O, clock, sync and pulser routing, the internal PPP links to the DAQ boards and the x5560 web dashboard. Use this image to program a new SD card for the base board or to restore a base board to its factory software. The DAQ boards of the rack have their own images.

Compatibility

Not for: the R5560SE base board (use r5560se-base-image) and the DAQ boards (use r5560-a-daq-image, r5560-b-daq-image or r5560-d-daq-image according to the variant). A complete R5560 needs this base image and the DAQ image of its variant.

What's in this package

sdcard.img

Raw disk image with a partition table and two partitions:

BOOT.BIN is the Zynq boot image. It contains, in this order:

image.ub is the Linux kernel FIT image and boot.scr the U-Boot boot script, both from r5560-base-petalinux.

boot.tar.gz and rootfs.tar.gz

The same content as the two partitions, as archives: boot.tar.gz holds BOOT.BIN, image.ub and boot.scr; rootfs.tar.gz is the complete root filesystem described below.

Root filesystem

The PetaLinux 2020.1 root filesystem of the base board, plus the instrument software in /ni:

How to install

The image replaces everything on the SD card of the base board, including the settings stored in /ni (network, routing, pulser, accounts of the dashboard).

1. Download sdcard.img from NI Packages.
2. Write it to the SD card as a raw disk image, to the whole card (not to a partition).
3. Insert the SD card in the base board and power on the rack.
4. At start-up the board restores /ni from the factory copy if needed, brings up the PPP links to the four DAQ slots, Ethernet (DHCP) and the USB network interface, then starts the display application and the web dashboard.
5. Open http://<base-ip>/ or https://<base-ip>/ in a browser (the network settings of the base can be checked on the base touch display). Log in as root (administrator) or user (operator) with the factory default password: the dashboard forces a password change at the first login (at least 8 characters, not the default, not the user name). The root password is also the operating system root password.
6. On Device Status check model, FPGA firmware and the dashboard and operating system versions. On the Rack page check that the DAQ boards are listed.

To update the software of a base board that is already working, use the update packet r5560-base-update-packet instead: it keeps the settings.

Requirements

• An SD card larger than the image (64 MB boot partition plus 1 GB root filesystem).
• A computer with an SD card reader and a tool that writes raw disk images.
• For the dashboard: a browser on a PC that reaches the base board over Ethernet.

Versioning and releases

• Versions use the date format YYYY.MM.DD.NN (for example 2026.10.11.00).
• Every release lists its changes in the changelog shown with the release on this portal.
• Release channel on this portal: stable.
• On the board, the Device Status page of the dashboard shows the dashboard and operating system versions.

Related packages

Known limitations and notes

• Writing the image erases the SD card: all settings and dashboard accounts return to the factory state, including the factory default password.
• The factory copy of /ni inside the root filesystem is the one of this image: an update packet installed later does not change it. If /ni is ever restored from the factory copy, apply the update packet again.
• During the first 3 seconds of the start-up the serial console offers an emergency mode (any key) that starts plain Linux without the instrument software.

Source and support

• Development repository: https://gitlab.lanni/nuclear-instruments/prodotti/x5560/fw-sw/r5560/r5560-base-image
• For support contact Nuclear Instruments / CAEN support.