talos-rpi5/README.md
Mathias Beaulieu-Duncan f3132a310e Update NVMe boot status: dd + EEPROM config approach
NVMe kernel driver is already built-in (CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NVME=y). The
expected approach is simply dd'ing the metal image to NVMe and setting
EEPROM BOOT_ORDER=0xf416 + PCIE_PROBE=1. Pending hardware validation.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-13 19:57:01 -05:00

108 lines
5.8 KiB
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# Talos CM5 Builder
Custom Talos Linux images for Raspberry Pi 5 / CM5 on Compute Blade hardware.
<a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/docker/v/svrnty/talos-rpi5?sort=semver&label=talos-rpi5&logo=docker&arch=arm64" alt="Docker Hub"></a>
<a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/docker/pulls/svrnty/talos-rpi5?logo=docker" alt="Docker Pulls"></a>
<a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/docker/image-size/svrnty/talos-rpi5?sort=semver&logo=docker&arch=arm64" alt="Docker Image Size"></a>
The official Talos Image Factory does not support CM5 — the mainline kernel lacks CM5 device trees and RP1 driver support. This builder uses the RPi downstream kernel (via [talos-rpi5/talos-builder](https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder) patches) to produce working CM5 images with our extensions and overclock config.
## Current versions
| Component | Version |
|-----------|---------|
| Talos Linux | <a href="https://github.com/siderolabs/talos" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/talos-v1.12.3-blue?logo=kubernetes&logoColor=white" alt="Talos version"></a> |
| RPi Kernel | <a href="https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/kernel-6.12.47-blue?logo=linux&logoColor=white" alt="Kernel version"></a> |
| iscsi-tools | <a href="https://github.com/siderolabs/extensions" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/iscsi--tools-v0.1.6-blue?logo=docker" alt="iscsi-tools version"></a> |
| util-linux-tools | <a href="https://github.com/siderolabs/extensions" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/util--linux--tools-2.40.4-blue?logo=docker" alt="util-linux-tools version"></a> |
## Image tags
Release images are published to <a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><code>docker.io/svrnty/talos-rpi5</code></a> with the format:
```
v<talos>-k<kernel>-<revision>
```
For example: `v1.12.3-k6.12.47-2`
| Segment | Meaning |
|---------|---------|
| `v1.12.3` | Upstream Talos Linux version |
| `k6.12.47` | RPi downstream kernel version |
| `2` | Build revision (bumped for config/patch changes on the same upstream versions) |
## Usage
### Install from raw disk image
Download `metal-arm64.raw.zst` from the [latest release](../../releases/latest) and flash to eMMC:
```bash
zstd -d metal-arm64.raw.zst -o metal-arm64.raw
# Flash to eMMC/SD via your preferred tool (dd, balenaEtcher, etc.)
```
### Upgrade an existing node
```bash
talosctl upgrade --image docker.io/svrnty/talos-rpi5:v1.12.3-k6.12.47-2
```
> **Note:** In-place upgrades use GRUB with `--no-nvram` to work around the RPi5/CM5 `SetVariableRT` firmware limitation. This patch is included but not yet tested in production — re-flashing the disk image is the proven fallback.
```bash
# Fallback: re-flash method
zstd -d metal-arm64.raw.zst -o metal-arm64.raw
# Flash to eMMC/SD via your preferred tool
```
### What's included
- RPi downstream kernel with CM5/RP1 support (4K page size, aligned with upstream Talos)
- GRUB bootloader with `--no-nvram` for reliable `talosctl upgrade` on RPi5/CM5
- Overclock: 2.6GHz (`arm_freq=2600`, `over_voltage_delta=50000`, `arm_boost=1`)
- Extensions: `iscsi-tools`, `util-linux-tools`
## Known issues
### ~~No serial console output after boot~~ (Fixed)
The overlay was using `console=ttyAMA0` (GPIO 14/15 UART) but the RPi5/CM5 debug UART is `ttyAMA10`. Fixed by switching to `console=ttyAMA10,115200` and adding `earlycon=pl011,0x107d001000,115200n8` for early boot output. Also added `[pi5] enable_uart=0` to `config.txt` to match upstream and avoid U-Boot compatibility issues.
*Upstream: <a href="https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder/issues/4" target="_blank">talos-builder#4</a>*
### Install disk config ignored on SBCs
Talos ignores the `machine.install.disk` config field on SBC platforms. You **must flash the disk image directly** to your target disk (eMMC, SD, NVMe). For NVMe boot, `dd` the metal image to the NVMe drive and configure the EEPROM boot order (`BOOT_ORDER=0xf416`, `PCIE_PROBE=1`).
*Upstream: <a href="https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder/issues/22" target="_blank">talos-builder#22</a>*
## Roadmap
This project targets production-ready Talos clusters on RPi5/CM5 hardware.
| Status | Milestone | Description |
|--------|-----------|-------------|
| Untested | **4K page size** | Aligned with upstream Talos kernel config. Reduces memory overhead and improves workload compatibility (Longhorn, jemalloc, F2FS, etc.). |
| Untested | **Reliable in-place upgrades** | Force GRUB bootloader with `--no-nvram` on arm64 to work around the `SetVariableRT` firmware limitation (<a href="https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder/issues/21" target="_blank">talos-builder#21</a>). |
| Untested | **Serial console fix** | Use correct debug UART (`ttyAMA10`) with `earlycon` for early boot output. |
| Untested | **NVMe boot support** | `dd` image to NVMe + set EEPROM `BOOT_ORDER=0xf416` and `PCIE_PROBE=1`. Kernel has `CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NVME=y` built-in. |
## Building
For local builds, CI/CD setup, runner configuration, and project structure, see [TECHNICAL.md](TECHNICAL.md).
## License
This project is licensed under the [Mozilla Public License 2.0](LICENSE).
It builds upon the following MPL 2.0 licensed upstream projects:
- [siderolabs/talos](https://github.com/siderolabs/talos) — Talos Linux OS
- [siderolabs/pkgs](https://github.com/siderolabs/pkgs) — Talos package definitions
- [talos-rpi5/sbc-raspberrypi5](https://github.com/talos-rpi5/sbc-raspberrypi5) — Raspberry Pi 5 SBC overlay
Our patches to these projects are in the `patches/` directory and are distributed under the same MPL 2.0 terms.