Install Linux for B&R 12 using Live Utils

[rafael.laury]

Introduction

This page details the process to install Linux for B&R 12 onto a B&R APC/PPC using the “B&R Live Utils” OS recovery tool.

Background

The installation method for Linux for B&R 12 and newer versions has been changed from the previous “BRLINST” to the new “B&R Live Utils” solution. In the B&R Linux 12 User’s Manual, it states the following in “Chapter 3 - Installation” on Page 9 of the Linux for B&R User’s Manual:

B&R Live Utils is a Linux-based live OS environment used for performing various maintenance tasks. B&R Live Utils can be downloaded from the B&R website and put onto a USB drive to create a bootable USB drive. Linux images can be installed by downloading them, copying them to the Live Utils USB drive (IMAGES folder), and then installing it by selecting the B&R Live Utils USB from the Boot Manager of the PC. This procedure is described in detail below.

Compatibility

The following are the B&R PCs that support installing B&R Linux 12 (from Page 7 of the Linux for B&R 12 User’s Manual):

Downloads

Here are the download links for the manuals, software, and OS images needed to complete the procedure.

• B&R Live Utils User’s Manual: https://www.br-automation.com/en-us/downloads/software/operating-systems/linux-for-br-12/br-live-utils-users-manual/

• B&R Live Utils: https://www.br-automation.com/en-us/downloads/software/operating-systems/linux-for-br-12/br-live-utils/

• Linux for B&R 12 User’s Manual: https://www.br-automation.com/en-us/downloads/software/operating-systems/linux-for-br-12/linux-for-br-12-users-manual/

• Linux for B&R 12 Recovery Image (login required): https://www.br-automation.com/en-us/downloads/software/operating-systems/linux-for-br-12/linux-for-br-12-recovery-image/

Procedure

Here are the steps to install Linux for B&R 12 using B&R Live Utils (as described in the “3 Installation > 3.1 Quick guide” section on the Page 7 of the “Live Utils User’s Manual”).

1. Create a USB data storage medium named BNRLIVE with the FAT32 file system.

   1. You can change the name of the USB drive with right-click > Properties. If needed, you can format it to FAT32 with right-click > Format.

      

   2. Note: the name will not update in the list of drives until you Eject > Unplug and then replug the USB drive, but you can be sure that the name has been updated after hitting “Apply”.

2. Download the B&R Live Utils ZIP folder from the B&R website at this link: https://www.br-automation.com/en-us/downloads/software/operating-systems/linux-for-br-12/br-live-utils/

3. Unzip the contents of the downloaded ZIP file onto the empty “BNRLIVE” USB flash drive.

   

4. Download the Linux for B&R 12 recovery image from the B&R website at this link: https://www.br-automation.com/en-us/downloads/software/operating-systems/linux-for-br-12/linux-for-br-12-recovery-image/

5. Unzip the Linux for B&R 12 image into the IMAGES folder on the BNRLIVE USB drive.

   

6. Eject the USB drive and insert it into the PC.

7. On the target PC, select the UEFI boot entry of the USB flash drive via the boot menu (F2/F5/DEL after reboot to get to BIOS and then select “Boot Manager”) and boot from it.

   
   

8. Follow the steps to install B&R Linux 12.

   1. Once B&R Live Utils loads up, accept the EULA by selecting “accept”.

      

   2. Select “Install a Linux for B&R image to a disk”

      

   3. Select the B&R Linux 12 image (“brl-12_1.1.0+20250219/brl-12.img.gz”)

      

   4. Select the hard disk to install B&R Linux 12 to (in this case a 32 GB CFast card)

      

   5. Select free space to reserve at the end of the disk. In this case, 8 GB was selected.

      

   6. Select “Yes” to commence the installation of B&R Linux 12. This will take a few minutes.

      

   7. After it has completed, you will see the note “Task exited successfully”. Select “Go back to the main menu”.

      

   8. On the B&R Live Utils main menu, select “Reboot”. Once the PC turns off and reboots, remove the BNRLIVE USB drive from the PC.

      

   9. After the reboot, you should see the “Initial Setup” screen come up. Proceed through the setup menu to complete the setup of Linux (including time/date settings, login credentials, etc.).

      

   10. At the end of the setup, the PC will reboot, and once it comes back up you should see a prompt to log in. Log in with the user credentials you defined.

       

9. You have successfully installed B&R Linux 12 using B&R Live Utils. Congrats!

Other Resources

To learn how to install older versions of Linux using the BRLINST tool, check out this B&R Community post: https://community.br-automation.com/t/how-to-install-b-r-linux-debian-10-debian-11-debian-12/4408