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Get Pi-Cast Online

There are many ways to get your Pi-Cast online.

Revert the DHCP service setting on eth0

This step is only required for connect the Pi-Cast to the internet throuht RJ45 port or the USB3.0 Ethernet port. No need for Wi-Fi and cellalur connection.

Since connecting the Pi-Cast to the internet via the onboard USB3.0 ethernet or RJ45 port will requires the PC or router assigning an IP address to the Pi-Cast's eth0 network interface. This will conflict with the DHCP service we set for the eth0 network interface in the Setup the USB3.0 Ethernet section.

As theoretically, there can only be one DHCP service for assigning IP addresses on the same network. Therefore, we need to stop the DHCP service set for the eth0 network interface in the Setup the USB3.0 Ethernet section and configure the eth0 network interface to automatically obtain an IP address.

You can just skip the Setup the USB3.0 Ethernet section when using the official images from PiKVM website. If you are using the pre-build images for Pi-Cast, you can follow the below steps to disable the DHCP service that set up for the eth0 network interface.

  1. Mount the system as writeable. 
    rw
  2. Disable the dnsmasq service. 
    systemctl disable dnsmasq
  3. Change the setting from static IP to DHCP of the eth0 network interface. Change the [Network] section of the file /etc/systemd/network/eth0.network to the following content. 
    [Network]
DHCP=yes
DNSSEC=no
#Address=192.168.2.1/24

  4. Remount the system as read-only and reboot.

    ro&reboot&exit

RJ45 Ethernet port

Connect the Pi-Cast to the internet throught the RJ45 Ethernet port require install the accessorires Pi-Cast Hat or Pi-Cast KVM switcher.

After installing the accessories board with an RJ45 ethernet port on it, the next step is to change position #2(CM4 ethernet routing) of the dip switch into status ON. This will route the CM4 ethernet signal to the RJ45 ethernet port of the accessory board.

Then plug the RJ45 cable into the RJ45 ethernet port on the accessories board, you are ready to to go.

Though the USB3.0 Ethernet

  1. Identify the ethernet interface name. Goto "System Setting"->"General"->"About", scroll to the end of the page, click on "System Report".
    system setting system setting

    Click the "Ethernet" on the left tab. And all ethernet connections will show on the right. Find the one called "Pi-Cast KVM". The value of "BSD Device Name" is the ethernet interface name we want. In this case, the name is "en14". pi-cast kvm ethernet connection on macOS

  2. Goto "系统设置"->"通用"->"共享", click the info icon of Internet Sharing. Select the connection you want to share on the dropdown menu. Then click the check box on the "Pi-Cast KVM" connection. Click finish.

  3. Turn on the switch in Internet Sharing. A confirmed dailog will show up. Click On.
  4. Open the terminal and type in the below command to find the IP address assigned to the Pi-Cast.
sudo arp -i en14 -a

Output of sudo arp -i en14 -a

user@macOS ~ % sudo arp -i en14 -a
raspberrypi.local (169.254.219.83) at e4:5f:1:58:4b:c6 on en14 [ethernet]
? (239.255.255.250) at 1:0:5e:7f:ff:fa on en14 ifscope permanent [ethernet]
raspberrypi.local is the hostname of Pi-Cast, it may be different from different operating systems. For example, on PiKVM os the hostname is PiKVM.local

The IP address comes after the hostname is the IP address assigned to Pi-Cast. In this case, it's 169.254.219.83. Now you can use 169.254.219.83 to access your Pi-Cast.

Not write yet

Need to write sometime.

Not write yet

Need to write sometime.

Not write yet

Need to write sometime.

WiFi

Step by step - Advances users ONLY section

  1. Make filesystem writable using rw command.

  2. Create Wi-Fi settings file /etc/systemd/network/wlan0.network with following content:

    [Match]
Name=wlan0

[Network]
DHCP=yes
DNSSEC=no

# Use same IP by forcing to use MAC address for clientID
[DHCP]
ClientIdentifier=mac

  3. Set network ESSID and password:

    # wpa_passphrase 'MyNetwork' 'P@assw0rd' > /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-wlan0.conf

    Using Wi-Fi with hidden ESSID

    Add option scan_ssid=1 to /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-wlan0.conf

    Using 5GHz Wi-Fi in the USA

    Add option country=US to /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-wlan0.conf

  4. Enable WPA-supplicant service: 

    systemctl enable wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service

  5. Make filesystem read-only again using ro command

Useful console commands

  • iwconfig - Manipulate the basic wireless parameters.
  • iwlist - Allow's you to initiate scanning and list frequencies, bit-rates, encryption keys, etc.
  • iwspy - Displays per node link quality.
  • iwpriv - Allow's you to manipulate the Wireless Extensions specific to a driver (private).
Some examples 

# iw dev wlan0 scan | egrep "signal:|SSID:" | sed -e "s/\tsignal: //" -e "s/\tSSID: //" | awk '{ORS = (NR % 2 == 0)? "\n" : " "; print}' | sort

# iwlist wlan0 scan | egrep "Cell|ESSID|Signal|Rates"

# iwlist wlan0 scan

# iw wlan0 info

Additional resources

LTE/5G