Move base firmware bootstrap from notes to proper markdown document

README.md

@@ -8,6 +8,16 @@ This is very much a Work In Progress project. Early prototype builds (see [notes
 
 Additional tuning, documentation and integrations will be added to the repo over time.
 
+# IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
+
+## SSL Support
+
+The PiFrame project does **NOT** use SSL for anything unless it's a default setting for a given service. We have optimized the project to be managed via a trusted LAN and/or VPN solution (for multiple frames).
+
+Use acme.sh + vhosts + nginx if you really want SSL. There is plenty of great information online how to set up acme.sh + nginx + vhosts + SSL if you want to go this route.
+
+We will not discuss, entertain or bother debating our decision regarding SSL. It's an additional layer of complexity and not strictly required for the purposes of this project.
+
 # Licensing
 
 Unless otherwise stated all source code is licensed under the [Apache 2 License](LICENSE-APACHE-2.0.txt).

docs/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# General Documentation
+
+This folder contains a bunch of general information on how to get the base of a PiFrame deployed.
+
+* [Base Firmware](base.md)

docs/base.md

@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+# Base Firmware Setup
+
+The ```PiFrame``` uses Arch Linux at its core. This document will outline a way to setup a micro sd card with Arch Linux. 
+
+# Please Note
+
+We assume you're going to use the Raspberry Pi itself for setting up an Arch Linux environment. In order to do this properly and safely, you'll need 2 micro sd cards and a USB to micro sd card adapter.
+
+# Setup an Ubuntu SD Card
+
+The first step is to setup a basic Ubuntu boot environment for the Raspberry Pi, we will use this to boot strap (initialize) the Arch Linux micro sd card. This Ubuntu micro sd card can also be used to recover a broken Arch Linux system if necessary.
+
+1. Download Ubuntu from their main [download site](https://ubuntu.com/download/raspberry-pi/thank-you?version=20.04&architecture=arm64+raspi) and flash it to the sd card. There are a lot of guides on how to do this online.
+1. Boot the Ubuntu installation
+1. Check the ip address with ```ip addr`` and ssh into the environment if desired. This step can be skipped if you have a keyboard/monitor setup.
+1. Login to the Ubuntu envrionment
+1. Open a terminal
+1. Run ```sudo -sHu root``` to elevate your privileges
+
+# Prep / install arch linux on micro sd card
+
+## Inspiration and Further Reading
+
+- [https://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv8/broadcom/raspberry-pi-4#installation](https://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv8/broadcom/raspberry-pi-4#installation)
+- [https://github.com/phortx/Raspberry-Pi-Setup-Guide](https://github.com/phortx/Raspberry-Pi-Setup-Guide)
+
+## Arch Linux Disk Setup
+
+Run the following commands to prep the Arch Linux micro sd card. Please note the device nodes like ```/dev/sda``` may be different depending on the usb adapter used.
+
+``` sh
+
+parted /dev/sda
+mklabel msdos
+mkpart
+    p
+    [enter]
+    1
+    100M
+mkpart
+    p
+    [enter]
+    100M
+    -1
+set 1 boot on
+set 1 lba on
+q
+
+mkfs.vat /dev/sda1
+mkfs.btrfs /dev/sda2
+
+```
+
+## Arch Linux Bootstrap
+
+Run the following commands to bootstrap (initialize) a fundamental Arch Linux installation.
+
+``` sh
+
+mkdir /mnt/arch
+mount -o nodiratime,noatime,compress /dev/sda2 /mnt/arch
+mkdir /mnt/arch/boot
+mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/arch/boot
+cd /mnt/arch
+wget http://os.archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-rpi-4-latest.tar.gz
+tar -xpf ArchLinuxARM-rpi-4-latest.tar.gz
+rm ArchLinuxARM-rpi-4-latest.tar.gz
+
+```
+
+## Tweak Bootstrapped System
+
+The following commands will tweak the base Arch Linux distro to facilitate the needs of a photo fram as well as tune some of the debugging that's present in the default setup.
+
+``` sh
+
+cat > /mnt/arch/boot/config.txt <<EOF
+# KmN: Borrowed some stuff from majaro
+# See /boot/overlays/README for all available options
+
+gpu_mem=512
+dtoverlay=miniuart-bt
+initramfs initramfs-linux.img followkernel
+disable_overscan=1
+
+#enable vc4
+dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
+max_framebuffers=1
+EOF
+
+nano -w /mnt/arch/boot/cmdline.txt
+    root=mmcblk0p2 rootflags=nodiratime,noatime,compress rw rootwait
+    remove kgdboc=ttyAMA0,115200 
+    
+
+parted /dev/sda
+set 1 boot on
+set 1 lba on
+set 2 lba on
+
+```
+
+## Boot Arch Linux
+
+That should do it for the bootstrapping process. You can now shutdown the Ubuntu environment via ```systemctl poweroff```, swap the micro sd cards and boot into the Arch Linux environment.
+
+You should not need the Ubuntu micro sd card at this point unless you need to recover or fix a broken Arch Linux installation.