Getting Started

For Vaaman, Vicharak has provided all the necessary accessories and information to get started with the board. This section will guide you through the initial setup process and provide you with the necessary information to get started with Vaaman.

What’s in the box?

1. Vaaman: The Vaaman is a single-board computer with on-board FPGA support. It is powered by the Rockchip RK3399 SoC, which features a dual-core Cortex-A72 processor and a quad-core Cortex-A53 processor. The board also features a 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, 16GB eMMC storage, and a 40-pin GPIO header. The board is pre-installed with Debian 11 (Bullseye) on its eMMC storage.

FPGA, or Field Programmable Gate Array, is a programmable logic processor that allows users to configure its functionality post manufacturing. Having an on-board FPGA support provides immense flexibility, enabling users to tailor the hardware’s behavior according to their specific needs.
2. 12V/5A Power Adapter with PD cable: The 12V/5A Power Adapter with PD (Power Delivery) cable is used to supply power to the Vaaman SBC. The PD cable connects the power adapter to the Vaaman, ensuring stable and efficient power delivery.

Power Delivery is a technology that allows for higher power levels to be delivered over a USB-C connection.
3. Pre-installed eMMC: The Vaaman comes with a pre-installed eMMC storage, which is used to store the operating system and other files. The eMMC storage is pre-installed with Debian 11 (Bullseye).
4. Heat Sink and Fan: The Vaaman comes with a heat sink and fan, As the board processes data and executes tasks, it generates heat. The heat sink dissipates this heat, preventing the board from overheating, while the fan enhances the cooling process.

The heat sink and fan are attached to the board using the screws provided in the box.

What else do you need?

1. Micro HDMI to HDMI cable or adapter

A good quality Micro HDMI to HDMI cable is required to connect the Vaaman to a monitor. The cable is not included in the box, and you need to purchase it separately. This is essential for the initial setup process when you need to connect the Vaaman to a monitor.

2. USB Keyboard and Mouse

A USB keyboard and mouse are required to interact with the Vaaman. We recommend using a wireless keyboard and mouse for easier access. This is essential for the initial setup process when you need to interact with the Vaaman using the display.

3. Monitor with HDMI input

A monitor with HDMI input is required to connect the Vaaman. The monitor is not included in the box, and you need to purchase it separately. This is essential for the initial setup process when you need to connect the Vaaman to a monitor.

4. USB-C to USB-A Male cable (optional)

A USB-C to USB-A Male cable is required to connect the Vaaman to your computer. This is optional and is only required if you want to connect the Vaaman to your computer. This is essential for the configuration and development process.

5. SD-card (optional)

An SD-card is required to flash the Vaaman with the latest image. This is optional as we already provide eMMC storage option.

Get at least a 16GB SD-card. We recommend using a good quality SD-card that supports UHS-I interface and has a read speed of at least 100MB/s.

6. Internet Connection (optional)

An internet connection is required to download the latest image and packages. Use a LAN cable or the existing on-board Wi-Fi module to connect the Vaaman to the internet.

This is optional as you can download the image and packages from another computer and transfer them to the Vaaman.

7. USB to TTL Serial Cable (optional)

A USB to TTL Serial Cable is required to connect the Vaaman to your computer to access the serial console. This is optional and is only required if you want to access the serial console for debugging purposes.

Note

The items listed above are not included in the box.

You can purchase them from the Vaaman Accessories page.

Getting Started with eMMC

Turning board on

Vaaman comes pre-loaded with Debian 11 (Bullseye) operating system on its eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard) storage, and it offers support for various boot modes, including SD-card and NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express).

If users wish to explore different operating systems, they must utilize the appropriate firmware to program the board accordingly.

In the boot priority, NVMe takes the highest precedence, followed by SD-card and eMMC. In practical terms, if there’s an NVMe drive connected to Vaaman, it will initiate the boot process from the NVMe drive. In the absence of an NVMe drive, the board will attempt to boot from an SD-card. Should there be no SD-card detected, the default boot destination becomes the eMMC storage.

For the purpose of this guide, we will focus on the eMMC storage and the pre-installed Debian 11 (Bullseye), omitting detailed instructions for NVMe and SD-card boot configurations. Connect the PD cable to the Vaaman board and the PD adapter to the power socket. Once the power is connected, the board will automatically turn on.

Danger

12V Power Input only! Do not use 5V power input.

Using a 12V power input is crucial for the proper functioning of the Vaaman.
The board is designed to operate with a 12V power supply, and using a 5V power
input may lead to instability and potential damage.
Ensure that you use the provided 12V/5A Power Adapter with PD cable to
power the Vaaman SBC.

Vaaman is pre-installed with Debian 11 (Bullseye) on its eMMC storage. So, when you power on the board, it will boot from the eMMC storage by default.

Warning

Remove SD-card if inserted

Verify the power LED

Upon connecting the power cable, the activation of the Red LED serves as an immediate visual indicator of the board’s power status. This LED signifies that the Vaaman is receiving power, and its illumination provides users with a tangible confirmation of the successful power connection.

Verify the status LED

The activation of the blue LED, marked by a blinking pattern, signifies the completion of the booting process. This visual cue assures users that the Vaaman has successfully booted from its storage medium and is ready for further configuration.

Warning

Please ensure you wait for the system to complete its reboot.
This is necessary because the system requires configuration adjustments
before you proceed to the next step. Taking the time to allow the system to
finish restarting ensures that it is fully set up for the subsequent tasks.

Available Boot Modes

Booting from SD card

To boot from SD card, please follow below document.

Booting from SD-card

Booting from NVMe drive

To boot from NVMe, please follow below document.

Booting from NVMe drive

How to access your Vaaman board ?

There are multiple ways to access your Vaaman. You can connect the Vaaman SBC to a monitor using the micro HDMI port, or you can connect it to your computer headless using SSH or serial console.

For the initial setup process, we recommend connecting the Vaaman to a monitor using the micro HDMI port. Once the initial setup is complete, you can connect the Vaaman to your computer using the USB-C port.

Note

If you want to access the serial console, Skip to the Serial Console section.

If you want to access the Vaaman using SSH, Skip to the SSH section.

1. Using Micro HDMI port

Vaaman is equipped with a micro HDMI port, which allows for easy connection to a display. By using a micro HDMI to HDMI cable or adapter, users can connect Vaaman to a monitor or TV with an HDMI input.

This enables direct visual access to the graphical user interface (GUI) or command-line interface (CLI) on the connected display.

Caution

Only single Video port is available on Vaaman board.

Which means you can either use HDMI or DisplayPort or MIPI-DSI port at a time.

eDP port is already used internally for the MIPI to eDP bridge.

Connect the Micro HDMI to HDMI cable to the Vaaman and the monitor. Once the cable is connected, the Vaaman will automatically detect the monitor and display the output.

Check out Linux Start Guide

Once the Vaaman is connected to the monitor, you can follow the Linux Start Guide to complete the initial setup.

2. Using Serial Console

Vaaman also provides a serial interface, typically in the form of UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) pins.

Users can access the system’s console or terminal interface by connecting to these serial pins using a serial cable or adapter. This method is often used for debugging, troubleshooting, or accessing the system when other interfaces are not available.

Preparation

To access Vaaman through the serial interface, you will need the following:

A computer with a serial terminal application installed (such as PuTTY or minicom).
A USB to TTL serial cable or adapter (such as FTDI or PL2303).
Micro USB or USB-C cable.
A 4-pin jumper wire

Hardware Setup

Connect the USB to TTL serial cable or adapter to your computer.
Connect the serial cable or adapter to the Vaaman.

Serial FTDI Pin	Header GPIO Pin	Schematic Name
GND	Pin 6	GND
TX	Pin 8 (GPIO4_C4)	UART2DBG_TX
RX	Pin 10 (GPIO4_C3)	UART2DBG_RX

Note

When accessing Vaaman through the serial interface, it is important to configure the serial parameters correctly. For RK3399-based systems, the following parameters are typically used:

Baud rate: 1500000
Data bit: 8
Stop bit: 1
Parity check: none
Flow control: none

Warning

Durning the first boot you will see a warning on your serial console.
So, please ensure that you wait for the system to complete its reboot.
This is necessary because the system requires configuration adjustments
before you proceed to the next step. Taking the time to allow the system to
finish restarting ensures that it is fully set up for the subsequent tasks.

Running the Serial Console Program

PuTTY (GUI)

Download and install the PuTTY program.
Open the PuTTY program and configure the serial parameters as shown
in the image below.

Click on the Open button to open the serial console.
You will now be able to access the serial console.

TeraTerm (GUI)

Download and install the
TeraTerm program.
Open the TeraTerm program and configure the serial parameters.

On the Setup menu, click on Serial port.
Select the serial port number and configure the serial parameters as shown in the image below.

Click on the OK button to open the serial console.
You will now be able to access the serial console.

Linux GTK-Term (GUI)

Install the GTK-Term program using the following command:

sudo apt-get install gtkterm

Open the GTK-Term program and configure the serial parameters.

On the File menu, click on Port.
Select the serial port number and configure the serial parameters as shown in the image below.

Click on the OK button to open the serial console.
You will now be able to access the serial console.

Minicom (CLI)

Note

Read minicom configuration from Linux Minicom guide.

3. Using SSH

Vaaman supports SSH (Secure Shell), which allows for secure remote access to the system. By establishing an SSH connection, users can remotely connect to Vaaman from another device, such as a computer or smartphone, over a network. This method provides a secure command-line interface to administer, configure, and execute commands on the Vaaman.

Install OpenSSH server

You can install both OpenSSH components on Windows devices using the Windows Settings.

To install the OpenSSH components, follow these steps:

Open the Settings menu and click on Apps, then select Optional Features.
Look through the list to check if OpenSSH is already installed. If it’s not, at the top of the page, click on Add a feature and then:
- Find OpenSSH Client and click on Install.
- Find OpenSSH Server and click on Install.
After the installation process is complete, go back to Apps and Optional Features to verify that OpenSSH is listed.
Open the Services desktop app. (Click on Start, type services.msc in the search box, and then click on the Service app or press ENTER.)
In the details pane, double-click on OpenSSH SSH Server.
On the General tab, choose Automatic from the Startup type drop-down menu.
To start the service, click on Start.

Verify OpenSSH server

Once installed, you can connect to OpenSSH Server from a Windows device with the OpenSSH client installed.

From a PowerShell prompt, run the following command.

ssh username@ip_address

Example:

ssh vicharak@192.168.29.69

Tip

To find your IP address on Windows, use the following command: ipconfig

For Linux users, use the following command: ip a

Accessing Vaaman through SSH

To access Vaaman through SSH, you can use either of the following commands:

SSH using the IP address

ssh username@ip_address

Tip

Replace “username” with the appropriate username for Vaaman and “ip_address” with the actual IP address assigned to Vaaman on the network.

SSH using the PC name (hostname)

ssh username@pc-name.local

Tip

Replace “username” with the appropriate username for Vaaman and “pc-name” with the actual PC name assigned to Vaaman on the network.

For Linux users, you can find your username using whoami command and, hostname using cat /etc/hostname

4. Set up automatic Wi-Fi connection on boot

In the following example, we will set up automatic Wi-Fi connection on boot for the wlan0 interface. This will be useful if you are using a headless system. That means you will not need to connect a monitor, keyboard, or mouse to your system to connect to WiFi.

1. Edit the ** ``/usr/lib/vicharak-config/conf.d/before.txt`` ** file and add the following lines:

connect-wi-fi <network name> <password>

Example:

connect-wi-fi vicharak_5g vcaa_g123

2. Reboot the system.

Vaaman Boot modes

Boot Mode	Description
Normal Mode	Normal boot mode is the default boot mode. In this mode, the board boots from the eMMC or SD-card. Each partition loads in order and enters the system normally.
Loader Mode	Loader mode is used to upgrade the bootloader. In this mode, the bootloader will wait for the host command for firmware upgrade. On success, the board boots from the eMMC or SD-card, and the board enters the system normally.
Maskrom Mode	Maskrom mode is used to repair the board. In a situation where the bootloader is damaged, the board can enter the maskrom mode. In general, there is no need to enter Maskrom mode. In this mode, the bootrom code waits for the host to transmit the bootloader code through the USB-C port, load and run it. Learn more about maskrom mode.