Vicharak Linux Start Guide

Vicharak Provides multiple linux distributions for Vaaman SBC such as Debian, Ubuntu, Armbian, etc. This guide will help you to get started with Vicharak linux systems.

System Management

Set host name and password

Note

If you have installed Vicharak Debian or Ubuntu system from the official website, the default account name and password is:

username: vicharak

password: 12345

Vicharak Configuration Tool

Vicharak linux systems includes vicharak-config tool which is purely written using shell scripts that allows users to configure and setup their linux system configuration.

It provides a TUI interface to configure different linux specific configurations. Use sudo vicharak-config to get started.

It is supported on all Debian based systems such as Debian buster/bullseye, Ubuntu focal/jammy and other third party systems such as Armbian.

Refer to

Vicharak config tool guide for more detailed information.

Set up automatic Wi-Fi connection on boot

In the following example, we will set up automatic Wi-Fi connection on boot for the wlan0 interface. This will be useful if you are using a headless system. That means you will not need to connect a monitor, keyboard, or mouse to your system to connect to Wi-Fi.

1. Edit the /userdata/before.txt file and add the following lines:

connect_wi-fi <network name> <password>

Example:

connect_wi-fi my-wifi-network my-wifi-password

2. Reboot the system.


Debugging

UART Serial Console

Windows users refer to

Getting Started with Vaaman UART Serial Console

Preparation

To access Vaaman SBC through the serial interface, A USB to UART serial cable or adapter is required.

Get arduino compatible FTDI from here

Hardware Setup

  1. Connect the USB to UART serial cable or adapter to your computer.

  2. Connect the serial cable or adapter to the Vaaman SBC.

Serial FTDI Pin

Header GPIO Pin

Schematic Name

GND

Pin 6

GND

TX

Pin 8 (GPIO4_C4)

UART2DBG_TX

RX

Pin 10 (GPIO4_C3)

UART2DBG_RX

../../../../../_images/vaaman-serial-uart-pins.webp

Serial Console Programs

Install GTK-Term

You can install GTK-Term by executing the following command:

Debian/Ubuntu

Fedora

Arch Linux

sudo apt update

sudo dnf update

sudo pacman -Syu

sudo apt install gtkterm

sudo dnf install gtkterm

sudo pacman -S gtkterm

Setting up GTK-Term

Run GTK-Term by executing the following command:

sudo gtkterm

Configure GTK-Term

To access the configuration settings for GTK-Term, you can follow either of these methods:

Click on the Configuration menu and select Port.

OR

Press Ctrl+Shift+S.

By using either of these methods, you will be able to access the configuration settings in GTK-Term, where you can make adjustments to the port settings for your serial connection, as shown in the image below:

../../../../../_images/gtkterm-configuration.webp

Note

Ensure that the cable is properly connected to the appropriate serial port on both devices.

Install Minicom

For Linux we will use Minicom. Install it with:

sudo apt install minicom

For other Linux distributions, please refer to the following table for the equivalent package names.

Debian/Ubuntu

Fedora

Arch Linux

sudo apt update

sudo dnf update

sudo pacman -Syu

sudo apt install minicom

sudo dnf install minicom

sudo pacman -S minicom

Setting up Minicom

  • Connect the USB to UART converter to your computer and run the following command to find the port name:

sudo minicom -s

Select Serial port setup and press Enter.

+-----[configuration]------+
| Filenames and paths      |
| File transfer protocols  |
| **Serial port setup**    |
| Modem and dialing        |
| Screen and keyboard      |
| Save setup as dfl        |
| Save setup as..          |
| Exit                     |
| Exit from Minicom        |
+--------------------------+

Change the port name to the one you found in the previous step.

For example, if the port name is /dev/modem, then change it to /dev/ttyUSB0.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A -    Serial Device      : /dev/ttyUSB0                              |
| B - Lockfile Location     : /var/lock                                 |
| C -   Callin Program      :                                           |
| D -  Callout Program      :                                           |
| E -    Bps/Par/Bits       : 115200 8N1                                |
| F - Hardware Flow Control : Yes                                       |
| G - Software Flow Control : No                                        |
|                                                                       |
|    Change which setting?                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
        | Screen and keyboard      |
        | Save setup as dfl        |
        | Save setup as..          |
        | Exit                     |
        | Exit from Minicom        |
        +--------------------------+

Configure baud rate of serial console according to your USB-UART converter.

Configure and Press Enter to save the settings.

+-----------------+---------[Comm Parameters]----------+----------------+
| A -    Serial De|                                    |                |
| B - Lockfile Loc|     Current: 1500000 8N1           |                |
| C -   Callin Pro| Speed            Parity      Data  |                |
| D -  Callout Pro| A: <next>        L: None     S: 5  |                |
| E -    Bps/Par/B| B: <prev>        M: Even     T: 6  |                |
| F - Hardware Flo| C:   9600        N: Odd      U: 7  |                |
| G - Software Flo| D:  38400        O: Mark     V: 8  |                |
|                 | E: 115200        P: Space          |                |
|    Change which |                                    |                |
+-----------------| Stopbits                           |----------------+
        | Screen a| W: 1             Q: 8-N-1          |
        | Save set| X: 2             R: 7-E-1          |
        | Save set|                                    |
        | Exit    |                                    |
        | Exit fro| Choice, or <Enter> to exit?        |
        +---------+------------------------------------+

Select Save setup as dfl and press Enter.

+-----[configuration]------+
| Filenames and paths      |
| File transfer protocols  |
| Serial port setup        |
| Modem and dialing        |
| Screen and keyboard      |
| **Save setup as dfl**    |
| Save setup as..          |
| Exit                     |
| Exit from Minicom        |
+--------------------------+

Save the settings as a different profile

If you want to save the settings as a different profile, select Save setup as.. and press Enter.

+-----[configuration]------+
| Filenames and paths      |
| File transfer protocols  |
| Serial port setup        |
| Modem and dialing        |
| Screen and keyboard      |
| Save setup as dfl        |
| **Save setup as..**      |
| Exit                     |
| Exit from Minicom        |
+--------------------------+

Select Exit and press Enter

+-----[configuration]------+
| Filenames and paths      |
| File transfer protocols  |
| Serial port setup        |
| Modem and dialing        |
| Screen and keyboard      |
| Save setup as dfl        |
| Save setup as..          |
| **Exit**                 |
| Exit from Minicom        |
+--------------------------+

On successful configuration, you will see the following screen:

Welcome to minicom 2.8
OPTIONS: I18n
Compiled on Jan  9 2021, 12:42:45.
Port /dev/ttyUSB0, 16:33:28
Press CTRL-A Z for help on special keys

To exit Minicom, press Ctrl-A followed by X.

Alternatives to Minicom

SSH Tutorial

Windows users refer to

Getting Started with Vaaman Using SSH

SSH Client installation

This guide will cover the installation of default openssh-server.

Debian/Ubuntu

Fedora

Arch Linux

sudo apt update

sudo dnf update

sudo pacman -Syu

sudo apt install openssh-client

sudo dnf install openssh-client

sudo pacman -S openssh

SSH Server installation

Debian/Ubuntu

Fedora

Arch Linux

sudo apt update

sudo dnf update

sudo pacman -Syu

sudo apt install openssh-server

sudo dnf install openssh-server

sudo pacman -S openssh

SSH Server Configuration

Enable SSH service to start on boot

sudo systemctl enable ssh

Start SSH service

sudo systemctl start ssh

Check SSH service status

sudo systemctl status ssh

Note

If it is active and running, you should see a active (running) message.

Check SSH service port

sudo netstat -tulpn | grep ssh

Avahi-daemon installation and configuration

You can install Avahi-daemon using the following commands:

Debian/Ubuntu

Fedora

Arch Linux

sudo apt update

sudo dnf update

sudo pacman -Syu

sudo apt install avahi-daemon

sudo dnf install avahi-daemon

sudo pacman -S avahi

After the installation, Avahi-daemon should start automatically. If it does not, you can start it manually by running:

sudo systemctl start avahi-daemon

Verify its status by running:

sudo systemctl status avahi-daemon

Access Vaaman SBC through SSH

you can use either of the following commands:

SSH using the IP address

ssh username@ip_address

Tip

Replace “username” with the appropriate username for Vaaman and “ip_address” with the actual IP address assigned to Vaaman on the network.

SSH using the PC name (hostname)

ssh username@pc-name.local

Tip

Replace “username” with the appropriate username for Vaaman and “pc-name” with the actual PC name assigned to Vaaman on the network.