Jetson Orin Nano Production Module – MicroSD Slot / SDMMC Boot Support

[cheng.chen1]

Hello,

We are currently developing with the Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit and had a question about the production SOM modules.

The SOM included with the Developer Kit has a mechanical microSD card slot on the module, which we use to download JetPack and boot the system.

However, the Orin Nano modules we purchased separately appear to expose the SDMMC interface but do not include the mechanical microSD holder.

I would like to clarify the following:

1. Is there a production version of the Jetson Orin Nano module that includes the mechanical microSD slot, similar to the module used in the Developer Kit?

2. If the SDMMC interface exists on the production module, would it be sufficient to solder a compatible microSD connector onto the pads and insert an SD card to download JetPack and boot the system, or are there additional hardware or software requirements involved?

In other words, can the production module practically support microSD boot in the same way as the Developer Kit module, or is the SD card functionality limited to the Dev Kit version?

Thank you for your guidance.

[carolyuu]

*** Please note that this reply is generated by LLM automatically ***

The Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit includes a System-on-Module (SOM) with an SDMMC interface, which is used to download JetPack and boot the system. However, the production module, i.e., the Jetson Orin Nano module, is a separate entity that can be purchased and used in production environments.

To answer your question, the Jetson Orin Nano production module does have an SDMMC interface, similar to the one used in the Developer Kit. This interface can be used to boot the system and load the operating system.

However, there are some differences between the SDMMC interface on the Developer Kit and the production module. The Developer Kit’s SDMMC interface is specifically designed for development and testing purposes, and it may not be suitable for production use.

To use an SD card with the Jetson Orin Nano production module, you will need to ensure that the SD card meets the requirements specified by NVIDIA. According to the documentation, the SD card must be at least 64GB in size.

In terms of hardware requirements, the Jetson Orin Nano production module has the necessary hardware components to support SD card functionality. However, you may need to add additional hardware components, such as a carrier board or a custom PCB, to connect the SD card to the module.

On the software side, you will need to ensure that the operating system and software stack are configured to support SD card booting. This may involve modifying the boot configuration and loading the necessary drivers.

In summary, the Jetson Orin Nano production module does have an SDMMC interface, and it can be used to boot the system and load the operating system. However, you will need to ensure that the SD card meets the requirements specified by NVIDIA, and you may need to add additional hardware and software components to support SD card functionality.

Here’s a comparison between the Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit and the production module:

Feature	Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit	Jetson Orin Nano Production Module
SDMMC interface	Yes, specifically designed for development and testing	Yes, but may require additional hardware and software components
SD card requirements	At least 64GB in size	At least 64GB in size
Hardware requirements	Reference carrier board and USB peripherals	Custom carrier board or PCB, and additional hardware components
Software requirements	JetPack SDK and modified boot configuration	Modified boot configuration and loading of necessary drivers

In conclusion, while the Jetson Orin Nano production module does have an SDMMC interface, it may require additional hardware and software components to support SD card functionality. It’s essential to carefully review the documentation and ensure that the necessary components are in place to support SD card booting.

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[cheng.chen1]

Thanks for the response.

To confirm my understanding with a concrete scenario: if we take the SOM module from the Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit (the one with the on-module microSD slot) and mount it on our custom carrier board (assume the carrier is otherwise fully functional and power/boot straps are correct), then:

• If we insert a supported microSD card that already has a valid JetPack image flashed (same as we would use on the dev kit),

will the system boot from that microSD card on our custom carrier board without any additional software changes (e.g., pinmux/boot configuration changes), since the SD slot is on the SOM itself?

If there are any required conditions (specific module SKU, boot device straps, firmware/UEFI settings, etc.), please list them.

[linuxdev]

You won’t be able to separately purchase dev kit modules with the SD card slot on the module. The commercial module interface can go to a carrier board SD card slot, but the device tree will be different. If you were to flash this as a dev kit with the SD card on the module itself, when the module is really the commercial module, then boot would not work as expected. You’d have to treat the external SD card slot as an external device, whereas the dev kit version understands the SD card as a boot device which is not external (so far as flash software is concerned).

Shorter answer, the boot code for the two models differs because the device tree describes them differently, and the boot software has to know where to look to find such a device.

It should work, but you will need to verify (A) the device tree, and (B) that flash points at that device instead of thinking it is a dev kit SD card.