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Getting Started with NVIDIA Jetson Nano & Orin Nano

The NVIDIA Jetson series is widely used for AI, robotics, and edge computing applications. This guide covers setting up your Jetson Nano, Jetson Orin Nano, and other Jetson-based devices for development and industrial use.

Quick Setup: Installing the Operating System​

NVIDIA provides JetPack SDK, which includes Ubuntu-based Linux, CUDA, TensorRT, and other tools for AI development.

Option 1: Using NVIDIA SDK Manager​

  1. Download and install NVIDIA SDK Manager.
  2. Connect your Jetson device to your host PC via USB-C or micro-USB.
  3. Follow the SDK Manager prompts to:
    • Flash JetPack onto your Jetson device.
    • Install additional AI/ML frameworks as needed.

Option 2: Using a Pre-Flashed SD Card (Jetson Nano)​

  1. Download the Jetson Nano SD Card Image.
  2. Use Raspberry Pi Imager or dd to flash the image onto a microSD card.
  3. Insert the card into your Jetson Nano and power it on.

For more details, check the official Jetson documentation.

Industrial & Commercial Use Setup​

For production environments, optimizing for performance, reliability, and OTA updates is essential.

1. Storage Considerations​

Jetson Nano uses a microSD card by default, but for industrial use, higher-performance storage is preferred:

  • NVMe SSD (preferred for Jetson Orin Nano via M.2 slot).
  • eMMC (available on some Jetson models).
  • USB 3.0 SSDs (for Jetson Nano).

2. Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates with RAUC + Particle​

For long-term maintenance, OTA updates with RAUC and Particle’s update service ensure reliable firmware and OS upgrades.

  • Particle provides a hosted RAUC service, allowing seamless OS, kernel, and firmware updates.
  • A/B partitioning ensures safe updates with rollback functionality in case of failure.
  • Updates are cryptographically signed and distributed securely via Particle’s platform.

3. Configuring Bootloader & Firmware Updates​

Jetson devices use U-Boot as the bootloader and support firmware updates via flash.sh.

  • Update bootloader and firmware:

    sudo apt update
    sudo apt install nvidia-l4t-bootloader

    • Kernel and device tree updates require using flash.sh with custom parameters.

Refer to NVIDIA’s L4T documentation for bootloader and kernel customization.

Other Jetson Devices

This guide focuses on Jetson Nano and Jetson Orin Nano, but similar steps apply to: • Jetson Orin NX • Jetson AGX Orin • Jetson Xavier NX • Jetson TX2 (Legacy)

Older models may work but are not explicitly tested in this documentation. Let us know if you have feedback!