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Reliance Edge Quick-Start Guide

note

Please read the supplied README.md file before using Reliance Edge.

This guide leads you step-by-step through the process of compiling and running Reliance Edge and its accompanying tools on a Windows system. Although Reliance Edge is not designed to be a file system for the Windows platform, following this guide can help you learn how to use the product. The testing and host tools that are compiled are also useful with any port of Reliance Edge.

warning

The fsstress and redfmt tools clear all data from the given file or drive. Be careful not to accidentally specify a drive letter, PhysicalDrive name, or sensitive file name as the device parameter.

Requirements​

  • A computer running Windows 7 or higher, connected to the Internet

Building the Reliance Edge Win32 Project​

First, you will build the tests that are bundled with the product, allowing you to run Reliance Edge on a Windows computer.

  1. Download and install Microsoft Visual Studio Community edition (free).

    note

    Most recent versions of Visual Studio also work. Visual Studio 2005 and earlier are not compatible. The package titled "Visual Studio Express for Windows" is not compatible.

  2. Download and install the GNU Make utility for Windows (free).

    • Download the setup package listed as "Complete package, except sources".

  3. Add make.exe to the %PATH%.

    • Open the Start menu and type "path" in the search box.
    • Click on the entry "Edit environment variables for your account".
    • Find the user variable "Path"; click it and click "Edit".
    • Add the path to the GNU make.exe file. On a normal installation, this path will be similar to: C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\bin
    • Click OK on the dialog and the Environment Variables window.

  4. Download the Reliance Edge source code.

    • Go to the Reliance Edge GitHub page (github.com/tuxera/reliance-edge) and click on the release tab.

    • Click on a source code download link from the latest stable release. Once complete, unzip the downloaded file.

    note

    If you have Git installed, you may prefer to clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/tuxera/reliance-edge.git

  5. Open the Visual Studio Command Prompt from the Start menu. Use the cd command to set the working directory to the directory projects\win32, within the Reliance Edge source code folder.

  6. Run make.

  7. Run the following command to perform a quick test and ensure the file system works.

    fsstress 0 --dev=img.bin -v -n 100
    note

    This command runs a stress test on volume zero using the file img.bin as a disk image (the file will be created if it does not exist). This command specifies verbose output (-v) and performs 100 file system operations (-n 100). If it is successful, the last line it will print is "fsstress end, return 0".

Building the Win32 Host Tools​

  1. From the same Visual Studio command prompt, run cd host to set the working directory to projects\win32\host.

  2. Run make.

  3. Format a disk image using the following command:

    redfmt 0 --dev=img.bin

What's Next?​

This section introduces the steps needed to get Reliance Edge running on an embedded device. Further information about development for Reliance Edge can be found in the Developer's Guide (the user manual), available from Tuxera: contact support@tuxera.com for details.

The projects you just built use Reliance Edge as a file system on a Windows computer using Windows drivers and file systems to access the storage media. This proves the functionality of Reliance Edge but is a far cry from the IoT devices that it targets. Several steps are needed to set up a Reliance Edge project for an embedded (or IoT) device.

Reliance Edge has an extensive set of compile time configuration options, which include various storage media properties. The configuration values are set by the project in the files redconf.h and redconf.c. The Reliance Edge Configuration Utility provides a graphical user interface for easily setting up these values. The tool is available from Tuxera: contact support@tuxera.com for details. See the "Product Configuration" section of the Developer's Guide for more information.

The interface between Reliance Edge and the underlying storage media drivers must also be set up for a project. Instructions for this procedure are given in the "Porting Guide" section of the Developer's Guide.

If you have further questions about setting up your Reliance Edge project, contact support@tuxera.com.