Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Issue Date: 2016-06-06 The purpose of this application note is to provide users of FTDI chips with a simple procedure to install FTDI drivers for FTDI devices used with Linux. Use of FTDI devices in life support and/or safety applications is entirely at the user’s risk, and the user agrees to defend, indemnify and hold FTDI harmless from any and all damages, claims, suits or expense resulting from such use. Future Technology Devices International Limited (FTDI) Unit 1, 2 Seaward Place, Glasgow G41 1HH, United Kingdom Tel.: +44 (0) 141 429 2777 Fax: + 44 (0) 141 429 2758 Web Site: http://ftdichip.com Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.1 Overview .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.2 Scope ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.2.1 Features ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.2.2 Enhancement ................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2 Example Circuit ............................................................................................................................... 2 3 Example Program ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 4 Contact Information........................................................................................................................ 7 Appendix A – References ........................................................................................................................ 8 Document References......................................................................................................................... 8 Acronyms and Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 8 Appendix B – List of Tables & Figures ..................................................................................................... 9 List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................... 9 List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Appendix C – Revision History .............................................................................................................. 10 Product Page Document Feedback 1 Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 1 Introduction The purpose of this application note is to provide users of FTDI chips with a simple procedure to install FTDI drivers for FTDI devices using Linux. 1.1 Overview FTDI has two types of drivers for all supported operating systems. These are the virtual COM port driver (VCP) and the D2XX API driver. Since the FTDI VCP driver is built into the Linux kernel, this document will focus on the installation of the D2XX driver. To ensure all FTDI devices have VCP driver support, FTDI recommends installing the latest kernel release on the Linux system. In Linux, the VCP drivers will appear as /dev/ttyUSBx. How to verify the built-in COM port: Plug in a FTDI based design/module/cable Open a terminal window, and enter dmesg | grep FTDI The output on the terminal window should contain the following: [10170.987708] USB Serial support registered for FTDI USB Serial Device [10170.987915] ftdi_sio 9-1:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected [10170.991172] usb 9-1: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0 [10170.991219] ftdi_sio: v1.6.0:USB FTDI Serial Converters Driver In Linux, the VCP driver and D2XX driver are incompatible with each other. When a FTDI device is plugged in, the VCP driver must be unloaded before a D2XX application can be run. Use the remove module (rmmod) command to do this: sudo rmmod ftdi_sio sudo rmmod usbserial When the FTDI device is power cycled or reset the VCP driver will be reloaded. The rmmod process must be repeated each time this occurs. It is possible to write a simple script that unloads the VCP driver before running the D2XX application. Product Page Document Feedback 2 Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 2 Installing the D2XX driver Download a suitable Linux D2XX driver from the FTDI D2XX driver web page. The driver files are contained in a tar gzip file. Each CPU architecture has a separate driver file. The options are: x86 – for 32-bit IA-32 CPUs, x64 – for 64-bit Intel-64 (x86-64) CPUs, ARM – for ARM CPUs, choice of hard-float, soft-float. MIPS32 – choice of hard-float and soft-float. Note that the ARM architecture is backward compatible but v5, v6 and v7 options are available. The ARM v5 driver is suitable for Raspberry Pi. The archives contain the D2XX driver and directory of sample code. Most Linux distributions have utilities for extracting tar gzip archive files, such as the Archive Manager in Ubuntu. Figure 2.1 shows a screen capture showing the contents of the tar gzip archive. The version number is used in the driver file names and will change on each release. In this document it is assumed to be version 1.1.12 and in the instructions the version number is italicized. Replace the version number with the version numbers used in the release. It is possible to have multiple versions of the driver co-existing on a single system allowing control over which versions to use for an application. Click on Extract and save all the files to your desired target directory. Figure 2.1 Contents of D2XX driver archive As an alternative, you can use the Linux gunzip and tar commands to extract the driver files. Open a Linux terminal window and enter: gunzip libftd2xx1.1.12.tar.gz tar –xvf libftd2xx1.1.12.tar 2.1 Linux Shared Object and Static Library Install Open a Linux terminal window at the location where the driver files were extracted. Product Page Document Feedback 3 Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 2.1.1 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 Native Compiling In this section the driver statically linked libraries and shared objects are copied to the /usr/local/lib area for use by the native compiler. All driver files are copied and symbolic links created using the Linux sudo command for root permissions. sudo cp /releases/build/lib* /usr/local/lib Make the following symbolic links and permission modifications in /usr/local/lib: cd /usr/local/lib sudo ln –s libftd2xx.so.1.1.12 libftd2xx.so sudo chmod 0755 libftd2xx.so.1.1.12 The symbolic link is used to select a default driver file. Any program can be linked against a specific version of the library by using a version numbered library file. 2.1.2 Cross Compiling To use the driver when cross compiling it must be copied to a suitable library path used by the cross compiler. There are several options for this depending on the cross compiler and user preferences. In this section the path to run the cross compiler will replace the phrase “arch-gcc” in commands. The compiler library search path can be found by running the compiler gcc utility with the “-printsearch-dirs” option only. The following command will format the output for display. arch-gcc -print-search-dirs | grep libraries | sed 's/:/\n/g' The output is a list of library search paths (in order) where the driver files can be placed and they will be found automatically by the cross compiler. Typically these are in the “/opt” area. Often one directory will end in “/usr/lib”, if this exists then this would be the preferred location. Alternatively they can be installed at an arbitrary location such as /usr/local/arch/lib. The path does not need to be on the libraries search path. In the commands following, the full path to the library directory will be written as “arch-lib”. sudo cp /releases/build/lib* arch-lib cd arch-lib sudo ln –s libftd2xx.so.1.1.12 libftd2xx.so sudo chmod 0755 libftd2xx.so.1.1.12 The example code assumes a native compilation environment and therefore needs to be updated to reflect the new location of the libraries and path of the cross compiler. Within the examples directory there are 2 files which need modified. The “Makefile” will need modified to change the “CC” definition to point to the cross compiler. CC=arch-gcc The “Rules.make” file will also need modified to change the “CC” definition to point to the cross compiler and if the driver files are not placed in the library search path then the location added as a rpath. Note the comma after “-Wl”. CC=arch-gcc CFLAGS=-Wall -Wextra -L. -lftd2xx -lpthread -ldl -lrt -Wl,-rpath,arch-lib If the driver files are incorrectly installed or the linker cannot find them on the search path then the error message “ld: cannot find -lftd2xx” will be reported. Product Page Document Feedback 4 Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 3 Compiling and Running Sample D2XX Applications FTDI provides both Shared Object (.so) and Static linked (.a) D2XX libraries. installation procedures for these libraries on native systems. Here are the 3.1 Building and Running the Shared Object Examples To verify the D2XX driver install, compile and run the EEPROM read sample program. Make sure the Linux system has the gcc compiler installed. cd release/examples Compile and link the examples. make –B Change to the read example directory. cd eeprom/read The name of the executable file is read. Plug in the FTDI based device. Remove the VCP driver as described in section 1.1: sudo rmmod ftdi_sio sudo rmmod usbserial Run the sample application: sudo ./read The read application will list the configuration descriptors of the attached FTDI device as follows: opening port 0 ftHandle0 = 0x8e89220 Signature1 = 0 Signature2 = -1 Version = 2 VendorId = 0x0403 ProductId = 0x6001 Manufacturer = FTDI ManufacturerId = FT Description = USB-Serial Converter SerialNumber = FTG5FL9U 3.2 Building and Running the Static Library Example The static library example is simple to run and execute. cd release/examples/static Remove any previous library built for another target. rm lib* Copy the static library to current directory from the copy in the driver distribution file. This could also be copied from /usr/local/lib or the cross compiler library used in section 2.1.2. cp ../../build/libftd2xx.a . Compile and link the example. Product Page Document Feedback 5 Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 make –B Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 <ret> Run the test program. sudo ./static_link This application will write and read 16 bytes to port 0 of any FTDI USB ->UART device with a loopback connector attached: Device 0 Serial Number - FTVESNIO Opened device FTVESNIO FT_Read read 16 bytes Closed device FTVESNIO Product Page Document Feedback 6 Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 4 Contact Information Head Office – Glasgow, UK Branch Office – Tigard, Oregon, USA Future Technology Devices International Limited Unit 1, 2 Seaward Place, Centurion Business Park Glasgow G41 1HH United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 141 429 2777 Fax: +44 (0) 141 429 2758 Future Technology Devices International Limited (USA) 7130 SW Fir Loop Tigard, OR 97223-8160 USA Tel: +1 (503) 547 0988 Fax: +1 (503) 547 0987 E-mail (Sales) E-mail (Support) E-mail (General Enquiries) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] E-Mail (Sales) E-Mail (Support) E-Mail (General Enquiries) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Branch Office – Taipei, Taiwan Branch Office – Shanghai, China Future Technology Devices International Limited (Taiwan) 2F, No. 516, Sec. 1, NeiHu Road Taipei 114 Taiwan , R.O.C. Tel: +886 (0) 2 8797 1330 Fax: +886 (0) 2 8751 9737 Future Technology Devices International Limited (China) Room 1103, No. 666 West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200052 China Tel: +86 21 62351596 Fax: +86 21 62351595 E-mail (Sales) E-mail (Support) E-mail (General Enquiries) E-mail (Sales) E-mail (Support) E-mail (General Enquiries) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Web Site http://ftdichip.com Distributor and Sales Representatives Please visit the Sales Network page of the FTDI Web site for the contact details of our distributor(s) and sales representative(s) in your country. System and equipment manufacturers and designers are responsible to ensure that their systems, and any Future Technology Devices International Ltd (FTDI) devices incorporated in their systems, meet all applicable safety, regulatory and system-level performance requirements. All application-related information in this document (including application descriptions, suggested FTDI devices and other materials) is provided for reference only. While FTDI has taken care to assure it is accurate, this information is subject to customer confirmation, and FTDI disclaims all liability for system designs and for any applications assistance provided by FTDI. Use of FTDI devices in life support and/or safety applications is entirely at the user’s risk, and the user agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless FTDI from any and all damages, claims, suits or expense resulting from such use. This document is subject to change without notice. No freedom to use patents or other intellectual property rights is implied by the publication of this document. Neither the whole nor any part of the information contained in, or the product described in this document, may be adapted or reproduced in any material or electronic form without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. Future Technology Devices International Ltd, Unit 1, 2 Seaward Place, Centurion Business Park, Glasgow G41 1HH, United Kingdom. Scotland Registered Company Number: SC136640 Product Page Document Feedback 7 Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 Appendix A – References Document References Replace this text. List FTDI and external datasheets, application notes, website links and other documents. Notice the hyperlink in the example. AN_146 USB Hardware Design Guides for FTDI ICs Acronyms and Abbreviations Terms USB USB-IF Description Universal Serial Bus USB Implementers Forum NOTE – put terms in alphabetical order. 8 Product Page Document Feedback Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 Appendix B – List of Tables & Figures List of Tables Table 1.1 Sample Table Caption ................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 3.1 Another Sample Table Caption .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. List of Figures Figure 2.1 Sample Figure Caption ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 9 Product Page Document Feedback Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited Application Note AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Version 2.0 Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 Appendix C – Revision History Document Title: AN_220 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Linux Document Reference No.: FT_000723 Clearance No.: FTDI# 302 Product Page: http://www.ftdichip.com/FTProducts.htm Document Feedback: Send Feedback Revision Changes Date 1.0 Initial Release 2012-07-11 1.1 Updated release 2016-04-05 2.0 Added cross compiler help 2016-06-06 10 Product Page Document Feedback Copyright © Future Technology Devices International Limited