Install Ubuntu on the StarFive VisionFive

Using the pre-installed server image

This board is no longer supported beyond 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish).

  1. Download one of the supported images:

  2. Flash the pre-installed server image to a microSD card (see Flash images to a microSD card)

  3. Insert the microSD card into the board

  4. Connect a USB UART adapter to the UART on the GPIO header (see UART console and Connect to a UART console); early boot output is only available on the serial console

  5. Power on the board

  6. Wait for an output line confirming that cloud-init has finished running; this service is responsible for generating SSH keys, and creating the default user:

    [  150.053340] cloud-init[1274]: Cloud-init v. 23.1.1-0ubuntu2 finished at Mon, 03 Apr 2023 11:14:35 +0000. Datasource DataSourceNoCloud [seed=/var/lib/cloud/seed/nocloud-net][dsmode=net].  Up 150.00 seconds

  7. Login with the user ubuntu and the default password ubuntu; you will be asked to choose a new password

Wireless LAN

To use the wireless LAN you have to configure netplan. Find below a simple example of a Netplan configuration file that must be stored in /etc/netplan directory with the extension *.yaml:

network:
version: 2
renderer: networkd
wifis:
    wlan0:
    dhcp4: yes
    dhcp6: yes
    access-points:
        "YOUR_SSID":
        password: "YOUR_PASSWORD"

Either reboot or execute the following commands to apply the configuration:

sudo netplan apply
sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd.service

Bluetooth

The firmware required to use Bluetooth is only available in a PPA:

  1. Add the RISC-V PPA:

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-risc-v-team/release

  2. Install the required packages:

    sudo apt install linux-firmware-starfive brcm-patchram-plus-starfive

Cloud-init seed

Sample files for a cloud-init seed are present on the FAT partition labeled “CIDATA”. See Configure your board for headless use for more information.

UART console

The UART console is accessible via the GPIO header. Assuming the typical coloring of USB to TTL serial adapters the following connections have to be made:

Board

Adapter

GND, pin 6

GND, black

TX, pin 8

RX, white

RX, pin 10

TX, green

Connect with the following settings (see Connect to a UART console):

  • 115200 baud

  • 8 data bits

  • no parity

  • 1 stop bit

  • no flow control