OS Differences

There are some things about the new Yocto OS that make it easy to distinguish from the Buildroot OS, which makes it easy to determine whether an OS update succeeded.

Here are some ways to check, both from the app and the command line.

App Differences

Version 2.0.0 is the first general Yocto release. But, there are corresponding Buildroot packages for each version, so observing that the app is version 2.0.0 or newer does not necessarily mean the display is running on Yocto.

App Version Number

To make it easier to figure out from just the version number, all displays running Buildroot with version 2.2.2 or newer will have a -B suffix on the version number.

To check the version number:

1. Go to Menu > Diagnostics > About in the app.
2. Look at the value in the “Version” readout.
3. If it is 2.x.x, then the display is running on Yocto. If it is 2.x.x-B, then the display is running on Buildroot.

Yocto Version Number Display

Starting with app version 2.4.0, the Yocto version number is displayed in the app on Yocto devices.

To check the version number:*

1. Go to Menu > Diagnostics > About in the app.
2. If you are on Yocto, there will be a “Yocto Version” readout. If there is none, you are on Buildroot.

If the display is running a version older than 2.2.2, use any of the command-line checks below to determine which OS is running.

Filesystem Differences

There are many differences in the file structures of the two operating systems. Here are a few easy ones.

Keep in mind that, because these are just files, someone could have changed things from the defaults given here. Run multiple checks to make sure things match up.

The rw_data partition

Yocto has a structure that prevents the filesystem from filling up and going into read-only mode. It separates the OS-level files from the files the user can edit.

This way, even if the user-editable files are filled up, the OS can still run like normal.

To check for this structure:

1. Run lsblk. If one of the entries in the MOUNTPOINT column is /rw_data, the display is on Yocto.
2. Run ls /rw_data. If opt and etc do not show up, the display is on Buildroot.

Settings file location

The location of the settings file moved in the process of the Yocto update, so we can check its location to see which OS is in use.

• For pump operators:
  • Run find / -name "settings.ini". Both systems will have one in /opt, but Yocto will also have one at /rw_data/opt/BambauerPump/bin.
• For power-pack operators:
  • Run find / -name "power-pack.ini". Both systems will have one in /root, but Yocto will also have one at /rw_data/opt/PowerPackDisplay/bin.

Startup script name

Yocto has a slightly different system for running apps than Buildroot, so we can look at how apps are run to figure out which OS is in use.

1. Run ls /etc/systemd/system/startup-app*.service. There should be one file that matches.
2. For Yocto it will be startup-app@.service, while for Buildroot it will be startup-app.service.

Supported Command Differences

The two operating systems also have different command suites available.

For each of the following, run <command> --help to test whether it’s available on the current OS. If it is, that is the OS in use.

• Yocto has dpkg
• Buildroot has opkg and nano