board/aarch64: update bpi-r3 readme

[skip ci]

Signed-off-by: Joachim Wiberg <[email protected]>

Author: troglobit

board/aarch64/bananapi-bpi-r3/README.md

@@ -1,59 +1,122 @@
-# Banana Pi R3
+# Banana Pi BPI-R3
 
-## Support level
-Full support for all Infix enabled features including switched ethernet ports, WiFi,
-and SFP interfaces. The board includes comprehensive hardware support for
-MediaTek MT7986 SoC features.
+<img src="bananapi-bpi-r3.webp" alt="The board" width=800 padding=10>
 
-### Hardware features
-The Banana Pi R3 is a high-performance networking board featuring:
-- MediaTek MT7986 ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core processor
-- 4x Gigabit LAN ports (lan1-lan4)
-- 1x Gigabit WAN port
-- 2x SFP ports (sfp1, sfp2) for fiber connectivity
-- Dual WiFi interfaces (wifi0 for 2.4GHz, wifi1 for 5GHz)
-- USB support
-- SD card boot support
+## Overview
 
-### Network configuration
-The board comes preconfigured with:
-- 4 switched LAN ports for internal networking
-- Dedicated WAN port with DHCP client enabled
-- SFP ports for high-speed fiber connections
-- Dual WiFi interfaces for wireless connectivity
+The Banana Pi R3 is a high-performance networking board with full Infix
+support for all enabled features including switched Ethernet ports, WiFi,
+and SFP interfaces.
 
-### Installing Infix on eMMC
+### Hardware Features
 
-> [!IMPORTANT]
-> No standard eMMC image exist yet, you have to create it your own
-> from the SD card image by replacing fip.bin in the SD card image to
-> the eMMC variant.
+- MediaTek MT7986 ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core processor @ 2.0 GHz
+- 2 GB DDR4 RAM
+- 8 GB eMMC storage + microSD card slot
+- 5x Gigabit Ethernet ports (4x LAN, 1x WAN)
+- 2x SFP cages for fiber connectivity (1G/2.5G)
+- Dual-band WiFi (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz)
+- USB 3.0 port
+- Mini PCIe slot
 
-This guide describes how to install Infix on the internal eMMC storage of your BPI-R3.
-The installation process requires a FTDI cable for console access, SD
-card with Infix, a USB drive with the necessary bootloaders and eMMC
-system image, and involves configuring the board's boot switches.
+### Default Network Configuration
 
-#### Required files
+Infix comes preconfigured with:
 
-Download the following files and place them on a FAT32-formatted USB drive:
+- **LAN ports** (lan1-lan4): Bridged for internal networking
+- **WAN port**: DHCP client enabled for internet connectivity
+- **SFP ports** (sfp1, sfp2): Available for configuration
+- **WiFi interfaces** (wifi0, wifi1): Available for configuration
 
-1. **NAND bootloader files** (for initial setup):
-   - [bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img](https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img)
-   - [bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin](https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin)
+## Getting Started
 
-2. **eMMC bootloader files**:
-   - Download and extract [bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz](https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz)
-   - This contains `bl2.img` and `fip.bin` for eMMC boot
+### Quick Start with SD Card
 
-3. **System image**:
-   - `infix-bpi-r3-emmc.img` - The Infix system image for eMMC
+The easiest way to get started is using an SD card:
 
-#### Installation steps
+1. **Download the SD card image:** [infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img][2]
+2. **Flash the image to an SD card:** see [this guide][0]
+3. **Set boot switches:**
+   - Set DIP switches to **0000** (SD card boot mode)
+   - Switch positions are on the underside of the board near the SD slot
+4. **Boot the board:**
+   - Insert the SD card
+   - Connect power
+   - Connect to LAN port or console (115200 8N1)
+   - Default login: `admin` / `admin`
 
-**Step 1: Flash NAND bootloader**
+### Boot Switch Reference
 
-Boot from SD card and break into U-Boot by pressing Ctrl-C during startup:
+The BPI-R3 has a 4-position DIP switch that controls boot media:
+
+<img align="right" src="bootstrap-switch.webp" alt="DIP switches" width=200 padding=10>
+
+| Position | Mode        | Description                           |
+|----------|-------------|---------------------------------------|
+| 0000     | SD card     | Boot from microSD card (recommended)  |
+| 0110     | eMMC        | Boot from internal eMMC storage       |
+| 0101     | SPI NAND    | Boot from SPI NAND (advanced users)   |
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> Switch position is read from left to right: "0" = OFF, "1" = ON.  
+> When the DIP switch is in the "UP" position it is OFF(0).
+
+## Advanced: Installing to eMMC
+
+For production deployments or better performance, you can install Infix
+to the internal eMMC storage. This is more complex but provides faster
+boot times and eliminates the external SD card.
+
+### Why Use eMMC?
+
+**Advantages:**
+
+- Faster boot and better performance
+- No external SD card to manage
+- More robust for industrial/embedded deployments
+
+**Disadvantages:**
+
+- More complex installation process
+- Requires intermediate NAND boot step
+- Harder to recover from errors
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+- FTDI USB-to-serial cable (3.3V) for console access
+- microSD card with Infix (for initial boot)
+- USB flash drive (FAT32 formatted)
+- Downloaded files (see below)
+
+### Required Files
+
+Download and place these files on a FAT32-formatted USB drive:
+
+1. **Intermediate NAND bootloader** (from Frank-W's U-Boot):
+   - [bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img][5] (BL2 loader)
+   - [bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin][6] (FIP image)
+2. **Infix eMMC image:**
+   - [infix-bpi-r3-emmc.img][3] (Complete system image)
+3. **eMMC bootloader** (extracted from):
+   - [bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz][4]
+   - Extract `bl2.img` from the tarball to your USB drive
+
+> [!WARNING]
+> The following process involves multiple boot mode changes.  Take your
+> time verify each step carefully.
+
+### Installation Steps
+
+#### Step 1: Boot from SD card
+
+1. Set boot switches to **0000** (SD card mode)
+2. Insert SD card with Infix
+3. Power on and break into U-Boot (press Ctrl-C during boot)
+
+#### Step 2: Flash intermediate NAND bootloader
+
+This step installs a temporary bootloader to NAND that will help us
+flash the eMMC. From the U-Boot prompt:
 
 ```
 usb start
@@ -64,9 +127,13 @@ fatload usb 0:1 0x50000000 bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin
 mtd write spi-nand0 0x50000000 0x380000 0x200000
 ```
 
-Power off the board and set the boot switch to **0101** (NAND boot mode), then power on.
+#### Step 3: Boot from NAND
+
+1. Power off the board
+2. Set boot switches to **0101** (NAND mode)
+3. Power on - you should boot into U-Boot again
 
-**Step 2: Flash system to eMMC**
+#### Step 4: Write Infix image to eMMC
 
 From the U-Boot prompt:
 
@@ -77,9 +144,11 @@ setexpr blocks ${filesize} / 0x200
 mmc write 0x50000000 0x0 ${blocks}
 ```
 
-**Step 3: Configure eMMC bootloader**
+This writes the complete Infix system (partitions, rootfs, etc.) to eMMC.
 
-Write the eMMC bootloader and configure the boot partition:
+#### Step 5: Configure eMMC boot
+
+Now configure the eMMC boot partition and write the bootloader:
 
 ```
 mmc partconf 0 1 1 1
@@ -90,8 +159,72 @@ mmc partconf 0 1 1 0
 mmc bootbus 0 0 0 0
 ```
 
-Power off the board, set the boot switch to **0110** (eMMC boot mode), and power on.
-Your BPI-R3 should now boot Infix from the internal eMMC storage.
+#### Step 6: Boot from eMMC
+
+1. Power off the board
+2. Set boot switches to **0110** (eMMC mode)
+3. Remove SD card (optional, but recommended to verify eMMC boot)
+4. Power on
+
+Your BPI-R3 should now boot Infix from internal eMMC storage!
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Board won't boot
+
+- Verify boot switch positions (check twice!)
+- Ensure power supply provides adequate current (12V/2A recommended)
+- Try booting from SD card with switches at **0000**
+
+### Can't break into U-Boot
+
+- Ensure serial console is connected properly (115200 8N1, 3.3V)
+- Press Ctrl-C immediately when you see boot messages
+- Try power cycling and pressing Ctrl-C repeatedly
+
+### eMMC boot fails after installation
+
+- Boot from NAND (**0101**) and verify eMMC image was written
+- Check USB drive contents - ensure all files are present
+- Re-run Step 5 (eMMC boot configuration)
+
+### Reverting to SD card
+
+Simply set boot switches back to **0000** and boot from SD card. The
+eMMC installation does not affect SD card functionality.
+
+## Additional Resources
+
+- [Infix Documentation][1]
+- [Official BPI-R3 Wiki][7]
+- [Release Downloads][8]
+
+## Building Custom Images
+
+See the main Infix documentation for building from source. To build both
+SD card and eMMC images locally:
+
+```bash
+# Build bootloaders for both SD and eMMC
+make x-bpi-r3-sd-boot
+make x-bpi-r3-emmc-boot
+
+# Build main system
+make aarch64
+
+# Create SD card image
+./utils/mkimage.sh -od bananapi-bpi-r3
+
+# Create eMMC image
+./utils/mkimage.sh -odt emmc bananapi-bpi-r3
+```
 
-### Pre-built images
-SD card image: [infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img](https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img)
+[0]: https://kernelkit.org/posts/flashing-sdcard/
+[1]: https://kernelkit.org/infix/latest/
+[2]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/infix-bpi-r3-sdcard.img
+[3]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/infix-bpi-r3-emmc.img
+[4]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/download/latest-boot/bpi-r3-emmc-boot-2025.01-latest.tar.gz
+[5]: https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_bl2.img
+[6]: https://github.com/frank-w/u-boot/releases/download/CI-BUILD-2025-10-bpi-2025.10-2025-10-13_1032/bpi-r3_spim-nand_fip.bin
+[7]: https://wiki.banana-pi.org/Banana_Pi_BPI-R3
+[8]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/tag/latest-boot