Very stupid SDK question

Does the SDK install on the NX development hardware or on a host machine with the NX as a target machine? If the latter, what architecture/os for the host? I’m confused about the development model. Thanks.

Hi Whichway,

The JetPack SDK is the most comprehensive solution for building AI applications. Use NVIDIA SDK Manager to flash your Jetson developer kit with the latest OS image, install developer tools for both host computer and developer kit, and install the libraries and APIs, samples, and documentation needed to jumpstart your development environment.

https://docs.nvidia.com/sdk-manager/index.html

Which are which?

The SDK Manager is installed on your host computer. With your DevKit hardware connected to the host, the SDK Manager will install on the host all the tools needed to flash the DevKit, then it will flash the DevKit with the OS image, then install more tools on it so you can develop your own AI, Multimedia, etc apps on it.

1 Like

FYI, flashing occurs with the Jetson in recovery mode. In that mode the Jetson becomes a custom USB device. The “driver” package on a Linux host PC understands that device, and can flash it. JetPack/SDK Manager is more or less a front end to download and run the driver package during a flash.

JetPack/SDKM has an added function of downloading and installing optional packages (e.g., CUDA). The packages which SDKM can install can go to either the host PC or a fully booted Jetson. The host may have CUDA or other applications set up, and this is one way to do so on the host PC, but you don’t have to have a Linux PC other than for flash.

Note that the GUI requires an Ubuntu desktop PC host, but some command line functionality works from any flavor of Linux. The current host PC recommendation is Ubuntu 18.04. VMs tend to fail, but in cases where the user works to configure USB correctly, a VM could work. Native Ubuntu 18.04 makes life simpler.

Got it. Thanks.

Does the SDK Manager have more than JetPack 4.4? I can see how SDK manager is useful for future releases, but is it necessary for this initial rollout?

SDK Manager is basically a newer generation of JetPack, but is perhaps a bit smarter about network downloads. Using SDKM results in JetPack being installed (or at least the content).

You can always flash on command line without JetPack/SDKM (with the combination of driver package and sample rootfs, which JetPack/SDKM downloads for you), and on more recent releases the flashed Jetson can install extras via the “apt-get” mechanism, but the initial install of those optional packages is typically done via JetPack/SDKM. Older releases were not capable of using “apt-get” to install the optional packages, and for those releases this is why JetPack/SDKM is mandatory. If you see “SDK Manager”, then just treat it as if it is “JetPack”, but with some added networking abilities. If you just want to flash without JetPack/SDKM, then download the “driver package” and “sample root filesytem” (there are a few steps to set up with this, but it is actually very simple).

1 Like