How to Setup a USB 3G Modem – Linux / Raspberry Pi

How to setup a USB 3G Modem on Raspberry PI using usb_modeswitch and wvdial

 
Setting up a USB 3G/4G modem on a Raspberry Pi is not a simple task. There are many guides available using the now defunctsakis3g script, but getting my modem to work required a bit more understanding.

The main problem is that most USB modems act as two devices - a USB storage device and a USB modem. When plugged in to the Raspberry PI the device is usually in USB storage mode. There is a program calledusb_modeswitch that we can use to do the switching

The other missing part is a way to connect to the cellular network with the USB modem from the Raspberry. For this we will use the classic pppand wvdial programs.
Requirements

• Raspberry PI computer
• Raspbian OS installed
• USB 3G Modem
• 5V 1A power supply for the Raspberry PI
  ________________________________________

1. Install required software

• Connect your Raspberry PI to the internet via LAN or Wifi
• Open a terminal window and enter:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ppp wvdial
sudo aptitude install usb-modeswitch

2. Get the USB switching codes

• We need to get the codes of the USB device in USB storage mode and USB modem mode.
• Connect your USB modem and reboot the Raspberry PI without LAN or Wifi connection
• Once rebooted open a terminal window and enter:

lsusb

• The output will look similar to the screenshot below. Your modem should be listed as one of the USB devices. Note the numbers underlined. These are the device vendor and product codes.

• Make a note of these numbers. In this case it is 19d2:2000
• This value will later be used in the DefaultProduct value
• Then we need to soft reboot the Rapberry PI with the modem connected.
• Open a terminal window and enter:

sudo reboot

• Once rebooted open a terminal window and enter:

lsusb

• The output will look similar to the screenshot below. Your modem should be listed and if you are lucky the second set of numbers would have changed. This is usb_modeswitch doing it's job and switching the device to USB modem mode.

• Make a note of the new numbers. In this case it is 19d2:2002
• This value will be used later in the TargetProduct value

3. Create custom usb_modeswitch config file

• We need to create a custom config file for usb_modeswitch on the Raspberry PI because on a cold boot the device is not always active yet when usb_modeswitch runs on startup and the device is left in USB storage mode.
• We will extract some more information for our usb_modeswitch config file so that we can do the switching manually.
• Open a terminal window and enter the following replacing the codes 19d2 and 2000 with the codes you noted in step 2. Also note the added backslash.

cd /tmp
tar -xzvf /usr/share/usb_modeswitch/configPack.tar.gz 19d2\:2000

• Now open the extracted file with a text editor like leafpad replacing the codes noted in step 2.

nano 19d2:2000

• The content of the file should look something similar to the screenshot below.
• The parts we are interested in are shown in blue.

• Now open the /etc/usb_modeswitch.conf file and add the information obtained above to the file.
• Open a terminal window and enter:

sudo nano /etc/usb_modeswitch.conf

• Then add the following replacing the codes and MessageContent values with those of your device and save.

DefaultVendor=0x19d2
DefaultProduct=0x2000

TargetVendor=0x19d2
TargetProduct=0x2002

MessageContent="5553424312345678000000000000061e000000000000000000000000000000"
MessageContent2="5553424312345679000000000000061b000000020000000000000000000000"
MessageContent3="55534243123456702000000080000c85010101180101010101000000000000"

4. Create the wvdial config file

• The next step is to create a config file for wvdial so you can connect to your service provider.
• Open a terminal window and enter:

sudo nano /etc/wvdial.conf

• Replace the content of the file with the following.

[Dialer 3gconnect]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Init3 = AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet"
Stupid Mode = 1
Modem Type = Analog Modem
ISDN = 0
Phone = *99#
Modem = /dev/gsmmodem
Username = { }
Password = { }
Baud = 460800

For the portuguese mobile operators configurations just check: http://myhowtosandprojects.blogspot.pt/2012/04/configuracoes-3g-e-mms-portugal.html 

• Replace internet with your service provider's APN
• Replace the Phone number if you need to dial a different code to connect.
• Replace Username and Password if needed. To leave the username and password as blank use { }

5. Connect to the internet

• To connect we need to make sure the device is in modem mode.
• First get the actual modem state (CD-ROM):

lsusb

Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:9512 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:ec00 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 19d2:2000 ZTE WCDMA Technologies MSM MF627/MF628/MF628+/MF636+ HSDPA/HSUPA

• Open a terminal and enter:

sudo usb_modeswitch -c /etc/usb_modeswitch.conf

to change the from the CD-ROM mode to the modem mode

Now check that the mode switch occured:

lsusb

Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:9512 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:ec00 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 19d2:0031 ZTE WCDMA Technologies MSM MF110/MF627/MF636

• Then connect to the internet with:

wvdial 3gconnect

6. Problems

If you have problems with the “wvdial”, you shoul run

wvdialconf

this will scan your system for modems, if it finds one, it will do some tests to determine your modem’s parameters, and write them to a template config in /etc/wvdial.conf :

Editing `/etc/wvdial.conf'.

Scanning your serial ports for a modem.

ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 9600 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- and failed too at 115200, giving up.
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- OK
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z -- OK
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 -- ERROR
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 &C1 -- ERROR
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 &D2 -- ERROR
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyUSB1<*1>: Modem Identifier: ATI -- Manufacturer: ZTE INCORPORATED
ttyUSB1<*1>: Speed 9600: AT -- OK
ttyUSB1<*1>: Max speed is 9600; that should be safe.
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 -- ERROR
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 &C1 -- ERROR
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 &D2 -- ERROR
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: Modem Identifier: ATI -- Manufacturer: ZTE INCORPORATED
ttyUSB2<*1>: Speed 9600: AT -- OK
ttyUSB2<*1>: Max speed is 9600; that should be safe.
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0 -- OK

Found a modem on /dev/ttyUSB1.
Modem configuration written to /etc/wvdial.conf.
ttyUSB1<Info>: Speed 9600; init "ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0"
ttyUSB2<Info>: Speed 9600; init "ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0"

You config template should look something like this:

[Dialer Defaults]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0
Modem Type = Analog Modem
; Phone = <Target Phone Number>
ISDN = 0
; Password = <Your Password>
; Username = <Your Login Name>
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB1
Baud = 9600

go to step 4 and change:

[Dialer 3gconnect]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 +FCLASS=0
Init3 = AT+CGDCONT=1,"ip","internet"
Stupid Mode = 1
Modem Type = Analog Modem
ISDN = 0
Phone = *99#
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB1
Username = tmn
Password = tmn
Baud = 9600

and then try again:

wvdial 3gconnect

Base on: http://www.thefanclub.co.za/how-to/how-setup-usb-3g-modem-raspberry-pi-using-usbmodeswitch-and-wvdial

Related Info:

• http://contribdoc.caixamagica.pt/index.php/Liga%C3%A7%C3%A3o_%C3%A0_Internet_via_placa_USB_ZTE_MF620_da_TMN (Caixa Mágica)
• http://forum.zwame.pt/showthread.php?t=286792 (TMN CFG)
• http://raspberrytuga.blogspot.pt/2013/05/ligando-uma-pen-banda-larga-ao.html (Alternative method (TMN): gnokii)
• http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1147685
• http://ellanos.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/configurando-un-modem-zte-mf626-en-debian-squeeze-2/
• http://lgallardo.com/en/2009/12/17/automontaje-del-modem-zte-mf626-en-debian/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WvDial
  

Setting up Wifi via the Command Line – Linux/Raspberry Pi (WPA2)

The Raspberry Pi has many great features straight out of the box,  unfortunately WiFi is not one of them, in this guide I’ll show you how I WiFi equipped my Raspberry PI for only a fiver.
We will be assuming that you have a head less setup (without a monitor) so the guide should work for everyone, either via SSH (remote) or via a local terminal session if you do have a monitor.
Also its worth noting that some WiFi adapters will require a powered USB hub between the Raspberry PI and the USB module, the one used below doesn’t due to it’s power consumption assuming you don’t have anything else drawing large currents from the USB power.

1. What you will need…

• Raspberry Pi, with Wheezy
• Internet Connection (via the ethernet port to begin with)
• WiFi network to test on
• USB WiFi Dongle, either of the below work:
• Amazon Link (USA Amazon)
• Amazon Link or Amazon Link (UK Amazon)

2. Update the OS

There are so many times you will run into a bug when installing something new and find out that it would have worked if your system was up to date, taking no risks here so get your system updated

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Due to the RAM/CPU power on the Pi’s, this might take a while, brew anyone? 
  
 
3. Reboot

Power down the device, install your WiFi USB module and turn it back on.

4. Setup the interface configuration

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Normally your base configuration will look something like this?

  allow-hotplug wlan0
 
  iface wlan0 inet manual
  wpa-roam /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

  iface default inet dhcp

Assuming you have a DHCP server on your LAN (normally your DSL/Cable router) use the following configuration, your SSID and password will be put in the wpa_supplicant.conf later on in this guide.

## FILE: /etc/network/interfaces ##
  allow-hotplug wlan0
 
  iface wlan0 inet manual
  wpa-roam /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

  iface wlan0 inet dhcp

If you don’t have a DHCP server, or if you want to just statically assign the IP address you can use the following, however update the IP, Netmask and Gateway to match your network.

## FILE: /etc/network/interfaces ##
  allow-hotplug wlan0
 
  iface wlan0 inet manual                           
  wpa-roam /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
   
  iface wlan0 inet static
  network 192.168.1.0
  address 192.168.1.249
  netmask 255.255.255.0
  gateway 192.168.1.254
  broadcast 192.168.1.255 

5. Setup the WPA configuration

Finally you will want to edit the WPA configuration as below, don’t forget to update it for your SSID and WPA password!

## FILE: /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf ##
  network={
  ssid="SSID-GOES-HERE"
  proto=RSN
  key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
  pairwise=CCMP TKIP
  group=CCMP TKIP
  psk="WIFI-PASSWORD-GOES-HERE"
  }

6. Final Reboot

Ok that should be it, do a final reboot remove the wired ethernet cable and your IP should automatically come onto the network as a normal WiFi device.

OR do the the following if you don’t want to reboot:

sudo ifdown wlan0
sudo ifup wlan0   

Problems?

First

This device should work out of the box, if for any reason it doesn’t you will want to do the following:

sudo wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80256631/install-rtl8188cus-latest.sh -O /boot/install-rtl8188cus-latest.sh

sudo /boot/install-rtl8188cus-latest.sh

Now go back to step 3 and try again.

Second

Run the below command, you should see your WiFi device there? If not there could be an issue with the hardware, try it in another PC…

lsusb

You should see a line that looks like this:

Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0bda:8189 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8187B Wireless 802.11g Network adapter.

Based On: http://pingbin.com/2012/12/setup-wifi-raspberry-pi/

 

About WPA2 (aka IEEE 802.11i-2004) & WPA SUPLICANT

Short for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2, the follow on security method to WPA for wireless networks that provides stronger data protection and network access control.

It provides enterprise and consumer Wi-Fi users with a high level of assurance that only authorized users can access their wireless networks.

Based on the IEEE 802.11i standard, WPA2 provides government grade security by implementing the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) FIPS 140-2 compliant AES encryption algorithm and 802.1x-based authentication.  [Adapted from Wi-Fi.org]

There are two versions of WPA2:

• WPA2-Personal (password)
• WPA2-Enterprise (server authentication)

WPA2-Personal protects unauthorized network access by utilizing a set-up password. WPA2-Enterprise verifies network users through a server. WPA2 is backward compatible with WPA.

LINKS

• http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/WPA2.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wpa_supplicant
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplicant_(computer)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11i

Setting up Wifi via the Command Line – Linux/Raspberry Pi (WPA aka WPA1)

Setting up Wifi with the Command Line

Created by Simon Monk

This tutorial works best if your router is broadcasting the SSID. Make sure you have "Broadcast SSID" set up on your router! This may not work with "private" SSID setups

Setting up WiFi in Occidentalis, is also pretty straight forward. You just need to add the name of your wireless network (its SSID) and your password to a configuration file.

Step 1.

Boot the Raspberry Pi without the WiFi adapter plugged in.

Step 2.

Open a Terminal session by clicking on the LXTerminal icon, and enter the following command into it:

Copy Code

1. sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback
iface eth0 inet dhcp

allow-hotplug wlan0
auto wlan0

iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid "ssid"
wpa-psk "password"

If you are using a 'hidden' SSID, try the following (hat-tip to http://www.dafinga.net/2013/01/how-to-setup-raspberry-pi-with-hidden.html)

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback
iface eth0 inet dhcp

auto wlan0
allow-hotplug wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-scan-ssid 1
wpa-ap-scan 1
wpa-key-mgmt WPA-PSK
wpa-proto RSN WPA
wpa-pairwise CCMP TKIP
wpa-group CCMP TKIP
wpa-ssid "My Secret SSID"
wpa-psk "My SSID PSK"

iface default inet dhcp

Step 3.

This opens an editor screen of the wifi configuration file you need to change.

The two places where you need to make a change are on the last two lines. Change the file so that it looks like this:

Of course, you should put in your network and password! Note that you need to keep the double-quote characters around your wireless network name and password.

This kind of editor does not let you use the mouse. Instead, use the cursor keys to move around the file.

Step 4.

When you have finished press [ctrl]x. This will ask if you want to save the modified files.

Press 'Y' and then Return to save the file with the same name.

Step 5.

Shut down your Raspberry Pi, plug the WiFi adapter in and start it up again. You should find that the Raspberry Pi connects using the WiFi adapter as it boots up.

Taken From: http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruits-raspberry-pi-lesson-3-network-setup/setting-up-wifi-with-occidentalis

Linux – Start / Stop Services (Boot + Runlevel)

How-To: Managing services with update-rc.d

Linux services can be started, stopped and reloaded with the use of scripts stocked in /etc/init.d/.

However, during start up or when changing runlevel, those scripts are searched in /etc/rcX.d/ where X is the runlevel number.

This tutorial will explain how one can activate, deactivate or modify a service start up.

When installing a new service under debian, the default is to enable it. So for instance, if you just installed apache2package, after you installed it, apache service will be started and so will it be upon the next reboots.

If you do not use apache all the time, you might want to disable this service from starting up upon boot up and simply start it manually when you actually need it by running this command:

# /etc/init.d/apache2 start

As you can see in the output below, the scripts are in init.d but the boot process executes the scripts on rcX.d (X is the runlevel), so we have symbolic links in rcX.d that point to the scripts on init.d. For something, not to be exectuted at boot, we have to destroy the symbolic links at rcX.d, this can either be done manually or via the update-rc.d  

You could either disable this service on boot up by removing manually, any symbolic links in /etc/rcX.d/SYYapache2 or by using update-rc.d.

The advantage of using update-rc.d is that it will take care of removing/adding any required links to /etc/init.d automatically.
Taking apache2 as an example, let’s examine how /etc/rcX.d is looking like:

# ls -l /etc/rc?.d/*apache2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-07-05 22:51 /etc/rc0.d/K91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-07-05 22:51 /etc/rc1.d/K91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-07-05 22:51 /etc/rc2.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-07-05 22:51 /etc/rc3.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-07-05 22:51 /etc/rc4.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-07-05 22:51 /etc/rc5.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-07-05 22:51 /etc/rc6.d/K91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2

As you can see, for runlevels 0, 1 and 6 there is a K (aka Kill) at the beginning of the link, for runlevels 2, 3, 4 and 5, there is a S (aka Start). Those two letters stands for Kill and Start.
On Debian and Ubuntu, runlevels 2, 3, 4 and 5 are multi-users runlevels.

- Runlevel 0 is Halt.
- Runlevel 1 is single user mode
- Runlevel 6 is reboot

1. Removing a Service

If you want to totally disable apache2 service by hand, you would need to delete every single link in /etc/rcX.d/. Using update-rc.d it is as simple as:

# update-rc.d -f apache2 remove

The use of -f is to force the removal of the symlinks even if there is still /etc/init.d/apache2.

Note: This command will only disable the service until next time the service is upgraded. If you want to make sure the service won’t be re-enabled upon upgrade, you should also type the following:

# update-rc.d apache2 stop 80 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 .

2. Adding a service

2.1. Default priorities

Now, if you want to re-add (enable) this service to be started on boot up, you can simply use:

# update-rc.d apache2 defaults

Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/apache2 …
/etc/rc0.d/K20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc1.d/K20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc6.d/K20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc2.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc3.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc4.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc5.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2

2.2. Custom priorities

But as you can see, the default value is 20 which is pretty different than 91 … a S20 link is started before a S91 and K91 is kill before K20.
To force apache2 to be started with priorities 91 for both Start and Kill, we need to use the following command:

# update-rc.d apache2 defaults 91

Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/apache2 …
/etc/rc0.d/K91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc1.d/K91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc6.d/K91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc2.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc3.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc4.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc5.d/S91apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2

2.3. Different priorities for Start and Kill

Alternatively, if you want to set different priorities for Start and Kill, let say Start with 20 and Kill with 80, you will need to run:

# update-rc.d apache2 defaults 20 80

Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/apache2 …
/etc/rc0.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc1.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc6.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc2.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc3.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc4.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc5.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2

3. Specifying custom runlevels

Finally, if you only want to Start and Kill on specific runlevels, like for instance starting apache with priority 20 on runlevels 2, 3, 4 and 5 and Kill with priority 80 on runlevels 0, 1 and 6:

# update-rc.d apache2 start 20 2 3 4 5 . stop 80 0 1 6 .

Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/apache2 …
/etc/rc0.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc1.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc6.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc2.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc3.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc4.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc5.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2

Or, to start with priority 20 for runlevel 2, 3 and 4 and priority 30 for runlevel 5 and kill with priority 80 for runlevel 0, 1 and 6:

# update-rc.d apache2 start 20 2 3 4 . start 30 5 . stop 80 0 1 6 .

Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/apache2 …
/etc/rc0.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc1.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc6.d/K80apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc2.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc3.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc4.d/S20apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2
/etc/rc5.d/S30apache2 -> ../init.d/apache2

Based On: http://www.debuntu.org/how-to-managing-services-with-update-rc-d/

Raspberry Pi – Specs and Features (Summary)

This is not an howto or a project per se, but it will definitly be reference in upcoming howto’s and projects.


What I present here is a summary of the Raspberry Pi specs and features:

Model A 
- 256MB RAM
- one USB port
- no Ethernet 
- Power: 500 mA  model

Model B
  - 512MB RAM
  - 2 USB ports
  - Ethernet port
  - Power: 700-1000mA

Model A&B
- Main Specs
   - 700 Mhz (Most devices will run happily at 800MHz)
   - 8 dedicated GPIO pins
   - UART (Rs232)
   - i2c bus
   - SPI bus with two chip selects (also in arduino)
   - i2s audio
   - Power - 3v3, 5v, and ground.
   - If you dont use UART, i2c, etc (and use all for GPIO)
      - Revision 1 - 17 GPIOs
      - Revision 2 - 21 GPIOs.
   - GPIOs can theoretically be expanded indefinitely by I2C or SPI bus.
 
- Physical     - Measures 85.60mm x 56mm x 21mm
    - It weighs 45g.

- Network
    - 100 Mbps (model B only)
    - Ethernet is attached via the USB 2.0 bus (Gigabit not possible)
    - No netbooting or pxe
   
 - Power
    - Tension: 4,75 Volts - 5,24 Volts (You can test it on the TP2 and TP1 contacts)
    - Maximum Power - 1 Amp (1000 mA)
    - GPIO pins can draw 50mA safely (all)
    - Individual GPIO pin can only safely draw 16mA
    - Camera module requires 250mA
    - Keyboards and mice can take as little as 100mA or over 1000mA!!! (be aware, and chose low power keyboards an mice)

- Video       
   - Raspberry Pi can record and play h.264 (mp4/mkv)    
   - Two additional codecs can be purchased (RBPi Store):
      - MPEG-2 - DVDs Codec
      - VC-1     - BlueRay Codec (Microsoft format - Blu-ray discs, Windows Media, Slingbox, and HD-DVDs)

- No real time clock (RTC)

- Camera Board (Omnivision 5647)
    - Is the only camera module that is compatible
    - Connects via the CSI-2 camera port using short ribbon cable
    - The  ribbon cable can be up to 4 meters
    - Connects to the Image System Pipeline (ISP)
    - Camera module (Omnivision 5647) specs are:
       - Photo - 5MP (2592×1944 pixels)
       - Video - 1080p 30Fps 1920x1080x30fps)
       - Power - 250mA

Based On: http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs#introShares

Raspberry Pi Remote Desktop - via VNC (TightVNC)

So you’ve got your Raspberry Pi setup, but what if you don’t have a dedicated monitor to use with it (for example, mine’s connected to my TV). How can you use it without disrupting your setup? VNC (Virtual Network Computing) allows you to see your Pi’s desktop and control it remotely using another computer running Mac OS X, Windows or Linux (and other devices too).

The VNC server software runs on your RPi, access it by running VNC client software on your other device.

The VNC Server

There are various guides for this online, most suggest using the TightVNC server software, here’s my summarised need to know version, run all commands from the command line:

1. Install tight VNC: “sudo apt-get install tightvncserver”
2. Run the program: “tightvncserver”, and it will start a new session with 1024x728 and 24 bit colour:

pi@raspberrypi ~ $ sudo tightvncserver

New 'X' desktop is raspberrypi:1

Starting applications specified in /root/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /root/.vnc/raspberrypi:1.log

the :1 (aka session number) means port 5901

• If you  run the program: “tightvncserver” again, and it will start a another session with 1024x728 and 24 bit colour:

pi@raspberrypi ~ $ sudo tightvncserver

New 'X' desktop is raspberrypi:2

Starting applications specified in /root/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /root/.vnc/raspberrypi:2.log

the :2 (aka session number) means port 5902

• If you  want to start a custom VNC session: “vncserver :3 -geometry 640x480 -depth 24”

vncserver :3 -geometry 640x480 -depth 24

New 'X' desktop is raspberrypi:3

Starting applications specified in /home/pi/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /home/pi/.vnc/raspberrypi:3.log

the :3 (aka session number) means port 5903

Notes:

• Configure the session’s resolution after the -geometry argument. In the above 1024x768 is used. The RPi is capable of full HD so you could try 1920x1080.
• Colour depth is specified by the -depth argument. In the above exampe, 24-bit colour depth is used. You could use 16-bit instead to reduce network traffic.
• You can start more than one VNC session by running subsequent vncserver commands, just increment the first digit: e.g “vncserver :2 …” for a second, ”vncserver :3 …” for a third (I don’t know how many the RPi could handle).
• You can set this to run at start up, see the eLinux wiki tutorial, or look for a later post on this blog on automatic login which can start the VNC session with less effort.

The VNC Server (Connect To Your Raspberry PI)

There are lots of VNC clients you can use, depending on your platform. I’m using Apple’s Remote Desktop software which is incredibly powerful (especially when administering Macs) but is overkill if you are just using it with your RPi. TightVNC has a free client application, there’s a native Windows version and a surprisingly good (but limited) Java version, which should run on any desktop/laptop system. A Google search should find you a suitable app for your own system.

To connect to your RPi:

1. Get your RPi’s IP address by running “ip addr show” or “ifconfig”. The IP address with be shown as highlighted in the image below.
2. Connect your client to the IP address obtained from 1.
3. Use port “590x”, where “x” is the session number seen in the previous section. If this doesn’t work, enter the IP address followed by “:x”, e.g. “192.168.1.50:1” (works on TigthVNC).

Based On: http://gettingstartedwithraspberrypi.tumblr.com/post/24142374137/setting-up-a-vnc-server

Make a Cisco Unified Communication Manager Bootable ISO

How to make Cisco Unified Communication Manager bootable ISO from non-bootable image on Linux

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Here are the exact steps that help you to make bootable CUCM ISO image from non-bootable ISO image on Linux. If you want to do the same on Windows I strongly recommend to read this tutorial. I could not write my tutorial without reading it first.

Introduction
Typically, non-bootable CUCM images are those available for download on Cisco website. I used Linux Fedora 17 and mkisofs to create bootable CUCM ISO image but feel free to use any Linux distro with genisoimage installed. On Fedora you have to install a package genisoimage to get mkisofs installed.

Used software
Linux Fedora 17 x86-64 with installed genisoimage utility
CUCM 9.1.2 - UCSInstall_UCOS_9.1.2.10000-28.sgn.iso

1. Install genisomage

$ sudo yum install genisomage

Create directory where non-bootable CUCM ISO image will be mounted.

$ mkdir -p ~/temp/extract

2. Create directory where the content of mounted non-bootable ISO image will be copied

$ mkdir -p ~/temp2/

3. Mount non-bootable DVD ISO image

$ sudo mount -t iso9660 ~/Downloads/UCSInstall_UCOS_9.1.2.10000-28.sgn.iso ~/temp/extract

4. Copy the content of mounted ISO image to directory ~/temp2

$ cp -rv ~/temp/extract/ ~/temp2

5.  Create bootable ISO image

cd ~/temp2/extract

mkisofs -o ../UCSInstall_UCOS_9.1.2.10000-28.sgn-bootable.iso -R -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 32 -boot-info-table -b isolinux/isolinux.bin .

End.

Reference
http://htluo.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/how-to-make-non-bootable-iso-image.html
http://www.ipcommute.co.uk/technical-articles/17–creating-isolinux-boot-dvds-with-free-software-cucm-uccx-cups.html

 

Taken From: http://brezular.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/how-to-make-cisco-unified-communication-manager-bootable-iso-from-non-bootable-image-on-linux/