R5560SE Base SD Card Image

Name: R5560SE Base SD Card Image
Author: Nuclear Instruments

Complete, bootable SD card image of the base (controller) board of the R5560SE 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 analog front-end boards (including the firmware of their MAX10 FPGAs), 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

Product	Board	Variant	Device	Operating system
R5560SE	base (controller) board, Enclustra Mars ZX2	all (A, B)	Zynq 7010	PetaLinux 2020.1, root filesystem on the SD card

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

What's in this package

Artifact	File	OS / architecture	Visibility
`r5560se-base-image-sdcard`	`sdcard.img`	`linux-zynq` / `armhf`	internal
`r5560se-base-image-boot`	`boot.tar.gz`	`linux-zynq` / `armhf`	internal
`r5560se-base-image-rootfs`	`rootfs.tar.gz`	`linux-zynq` / `armhf`	internal

`sdcard.img`

Raw disk image with a partition table and two partitions:

Partition	Type	Size	Content
1 `boot`	FAT (`0x0C`), bootable	64 MB	`BOOT.BIN`, `image.ub`, `boot.scr`
2 `rootfs`	Linux (`0x83`), ext4	1 GB	root filesystem, mounted read/write as `/` (`/dev/mmcblk0p2`)

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

Component	Origin
first stage boot loader with USB support	`r5560x-base-fsbl-usb`
FPGA bitstream of the base board, loaded at boot	`r5560x-base-fpga`
U-Boot	`r5560se-base-petalinux`
device tree (`system.dtb`, load address `0x00100000`)	`r5560se-base-petalinux`

image.ub is the Linux kernel FIT image and boot.scr the U-Boot boot script, both from r5560se-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:

Path	Content
`/ni/software/r5560se_displayapp.elf`	base display and control application (touch display, rack I/O, clock, sync, pulser, DAQ management over PPP)
`/ni/software/nifwmanager.elf`	analog front-end FPGA firmware manager: checks the MAX10 FPGAs of the analog front-end boards over I2C at start-up and updates their firmware when an update file is present
`/ni/software/ni-dashboard`, `ni-dashboard-loop.sh`, `config.example.json`, `VERSION`, `keys/`	x5560 web dashboard server and the public keys used to verify signed update packets
`/ni/software/ni-dashboard-www/`	x5560 web dashboard user interface
`/ni/software/usb.sh`	USB network (RNDIS) gadget set-up
`/ni/software/display_logo.bin16`	boot logo of the base display
`/ni/settings/eth.json`	Ethernet settings: DHCP enabled; static values preset to `192.168.50.120` / `255.255.255.0` for use without DHCP
`/ni/settings/info.json`	board identity (serial number, model, installed DAQ modules); the image contains default values (model `R5560SE-A`)
`/ni/settings/afe.json`	default analog front-end settings of every channel (termination, divider, gain, offset, shaper)
`/ni/settings/router.json`	default clock / sync / LEMO output routing and pulser (1000 Hz, 250 ns)
`/ni/settings/udhcpd.conf`	DHCP server configuration of the USB network interface
`/ni/settings/legacy_web.json`	moves the internal web server of the display application to `127.0.0.1:8080`, behind the dashboard
`/ni/license`, `/ni/fwupgrade`, `/ni/firmware`, `/ni/www`	empty folders used by the instrument software
`/usr/share/ni/factory/ni-factory.tar.gz`	factory copy of `/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).

Download sdcard.img from NI Packages.
Write it to the SD card as a raw disk image, to the whole card (not to a partition).
Insert the SD card in the base board and power on the rack.
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 runs the analog front-end FPGA check ("Checking internal AFE FPGA status" on the display), and starts the display application and the web dashboard.
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.
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 r5560se-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

Package	Relation
`r5560se-base-petalinux`	operating system: U-Boot, device tree, kernel, boot script, root filesystem
`r5560x-base-fpga`	FPGA bitstream in `BOOT.BIN`
`r5560x-base-fsbl-usb`	first stage boot loader in `BOOT.BIN`
`r5560x-base-display-app`	display and control application
`r5560se-analog-fpga-fwmanager`	analog front-end FPGA firmware manager
`x5560-dashboard-backend`	web dashboard server
`x5560-dashboard-frontend`	web dashboard user interface
`r5560se-base-update-packet`	field update of the base software (keeps the settings)
`r5560se-a-daq-image`, `r5560se-b-daq-image`	images of the DAQ boards of the rack

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/r5560se/r5560se-base-image
For support contact Nuclear Instruments / CAEN support.

R5560SE Base SD Card Image

Bootable SD card image of the R5560SE base board (Enclustra Mars ZX2, Zynq 7010): boot partition with BOOT.BIN, kernel and boot script, and root filesystem with display app, analog FPGA manager and web app.

License:

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R5560SE Base SD Card Image

Compatibility