Installing VxWorks 6.7 on LEON SPARC: Step-by-Step Guide

This guide walks you through installing the Cobham Gaisler VxWorks 6.7 Source Distribution, which includes:

• A SPARC port of the VxWorks 6.7 kernel
• Generic BSPs (with and without MMU)
• Several board-specific BSPs
• The GNU GCC LEON toolchain
• LEON plug-ins for the Workbench IDE

The process includes installing the Wind River VxWorks platform, service pack, toolchain, LEON distribution, building the SPARC/LEON kernel, and updating Workbench build rules.

Prerequisites

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• Wind River VxWorks General Purpose Platform (GPP) 3.7 with full kernel sources
• A valid Wind River source license
• Installed Workbench 3.1 (other versions not supported)

⚠️ Note: The Cobham Gaisler VxWorks distribution must match the Wind River version (e.g., 6.7 with 6.7). Mixing 6.5 and 6.7 is not supported.

Default installation paths:

• Windows: C:\WindRiver6.7
• Linux: /opt/WindRiver6.7

Step 1: Install VxWorks 6.7 Service Pack 1

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The LEON VxWorks distribution is built against Service Pack 1.
Download: DVD-R138711.1-6-01.zip from Wind River Support.

When installing:

• Deselect “Check online for latest updates” to prevent version mismatches.

Step 2: Install the GNU GCC LEON Toolchain

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The LEON distribution requires its own GNU GCC toolchain (not Wind River’s).

Download from Gaisler’s protected area.

Install location must be:

• Windows: C:\opt
• Linux: /opt

Windows Installation

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Two options:

1. Installer:
   Run sparc-wrs-vxworks-4.1-x.y.z-mingw.exe
   Installs to C:\opt\sparc-wrs-vxworks-mingw and updates PATH.

   

   Log out and back in to refresh PATH.

2. Manual:
   Extract sparc-wrs-vxworks-4.1-x.y.z-mingw.zip into C:\opt
   Update PATH manually in system environment variables.

Linux Installation

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cd /opt
tar -xf sparc-wrs-vxworks-4.1-x.y.z-linux.tar.bz2
export PATH=/opt/sparc-wrs-vxworks/bin:$PATH

Step 3: Install the LEON VxWorks Distribution

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The distribution is provided as a password-protected zip (request password from support@gaisler.com).

Windows

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• Use installer dist-x.y.z/install/setup-6.7-x.y.z.exe
• Enter your Wind River path
• Backup created under grbck and grbck.new

Linux

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Run the installation script:

cd dist-x.y.z
bash ./install/install.sh /opt/WindRiver6.7

Steps performed automatically:

• Uninstall old LEON distribution
• Install LEON plug-ins for Workbench
• Install BSP & SPARC sources
• Update Makefile

Backups are stored as .grbak and .grnew files.

Manual Installation (Advanced)

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• Extract VxWorks 6.7 SPARC/LEON sources
• Install Workbench plug-ins (SPARC-specific)
• Configure environment variables

Step 4: Build the LEON VxWorks Kernel & Libraries

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Extract the distribution:

gunzip dist-vxworks-6.7-x.y.z.tar.gz
tar -xf dist-vxworks-6.7-x.y.z.tar

Available TOOL variants:

Build on Windows

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• Use GUI builder: dist-x.y.z/install/compile-6.7.exe

• Or use Wind River Shell:

C:\WindRiver\wrenv.exe -p vxworks-6.7 sh
cd dist-x.y.z
make multibuild TOOLS="gnu gnuv8"

Build on Linux

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/opt/WindRiver/wrenv.sh -p vxworks-6.7 sh
cd dist-x.y.z
make multibuild TOOLS="gnu gnuv8"

Build logs are generated as:

• loc_sparc-compile-TOOL.out
• loc_lib-compile_usrtool_TOOL_tool_TOOL.out

Step 5: Update Workbench Build Rules

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To enable RTP and Downloadable Kernel Module (DKM) projects:

1. Open Workbench → Window > Preferences > Wind River > Build > Build Properties
2. Select each build rule and click Restore Defaults

Final Notes

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• Installation and build are now complete
• Refer to the Getting Started Guide in the docs directory for running projects on LEON hardware
• For support, contact: support@gaisler.com