Beaglebone black Wifi setup problem

[Cristian Mitu]

Hello guys,


I am looking for tutorials on how to install wifi on my BeagleBone Black. Problem is i need to do so without pluging in an Ethernet cable (because of a project restriction). I will be using Debian as an OS and i want to know if there is any way to install wifi without using the Ethernet adapter. If you have any solutions or tutorials to which you could direct me please tell me. I thank you in advance for your response.

[Robert Nelson]

Plug it in via eth0, set things up so wifi works, unplug eth0, deliver project.

Regards,

--
Robert Nelson
http://www.rcn-ee.com/

[Cristian Mitu]

That will be the last resort in case nothing else works. The reason why i prefer not to do that is because the BBB will be integrated into a system that will be one whole functional block and because of the design of the adapter board (which cannot be changed at this point ) i had to remove the Ethernet adapter from the board. I could put it back until i install WiFi but that would undesirable.

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[Robert Nelson]

On Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 1:53 PM, Cristian Mitu <cristi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> That will be the last resort in case nothing else works. The reason why i
> prefer not to do that is because the BBB will be integrated into a system
> that will be one whole functional block and because of the design of the
> adapter board (which cannot be changed at this point ) i had to remove the
> Ethernet adapter from the board. I could put it back until i install WiFi
> but that would undesirable.

so... get a 2nd bbb, leave the eth0 and get your software wifi setup
working first?

Don't paint yourself into a software corner when you don't have to...

[Cristian Mitu]

I understand and you are right, i wouldn't if my teacher didn't insist. So if there is a software work around i am willing to try it. Also what wifi adapter works best for debian , i have an asus USB-N13 802.11. Is that any good?

PS 

Sorry for being such a nag

[Robert Nelson]

On Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 2:11 PM, Cristian Mitu <cristi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I understand and you are right, i wouldn't if my teacher didn't insist. So
> if there is a software work around i am willing to try it. Also what wifi
> adapter works best for debian , i have an asus USB-N13 802.11. Is that any
> good?

Ah, class project!

Most wifi devices are supported out of the box. It's up to you to
configure it to work.

[george.alb...@gmail.com]

What about an ethernet-->USB connection? I have seen them at Fry's and Best Buy, where you can connect an ethernet cord to your USB socket. If you still have the USB socket, you might be able to do that...

[Cristian Mitu]

Is it possible to get internet through the mini USB and enable wifi through that?

[Robert Nelson]

On Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 2:42 PM, Cristian Mitu <cristi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is it possible to get internet through the mini USB and enable wifi through
> that?

In the factory images:

both usb0 (192.168.7.2) and usb gadget serial interfaces are active.

http://beagleboard.org/latest-images

[William Hermans]

Yeah, you get and use a serial debug cable, then log in via puTTY, or preferred ssh client. This assumes:

1) the Debian image used has ttyO0 setup properly.

2) All the drivers / software packages for wifi needed are already installed.

3) The Debian image used has openssh-server( or other applicable ssh server ) setup and running.

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[William Hermans]

Cristian, it is possible, but you need to understand how to setup internet connection sharing ( properly ) for your given host OS.

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[William Hermans]

3) The Debian image used has openssh-server( or other applicable ssh server ) setup and running.

This is wrong, sorry for the FUD. Brain fart.

[Cristian Mitu]

Hello William thanks for the response. So i can set up wifi by getting internet through USB?

I am a just starting with this and i really need an alternative to the Ethernet. If you can direct me to a tutorial or documentation on this  i would be grateful.

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[William Hermans]

Cristian, which host operating system are you using ? OSX ? Windows ? or Linux ?

There have been posts on these boards on how people are having problems setting this up on Windows. but I have no personal hands on with this, and do attribute these problems to user error.

Anyway first step is to make sure you can communicate between the beagleboard black, and the host system. Once that is done, go find and read a guide or two on setting up connection sharing for your given host OS.

Just keep in mind that nothing you're going to find on the internet is going to give you exact steps for your given situation. So think for yourself, and outside of the box. Then I am sure you'll figure it all out. This is not meant as in insult by the way . . . you are in school to learn right ?

[Cristian Mitu]

Oh don't worry i didn't take it as an insult, thinking outside of the box is good advice for anyone i would say. And yes i am a student on my masters.

Regarding the OS i am using Windows but i also have linux installed on my computer. 

[William Hermans]

Windows how to NDIS connection sharing or perhaps Windows NDIS connection sharing would be two keyword searches I'd start with first. You may have to even use different keyword searches, but you get the idea.

Just make sure you can communicate with your BBB via ssh( from Windows ) first, and consistently.

[Cristian Mitu]

Ok thank you, i will look into it.

[John Syn]

From: William Hermans <yyr...@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "beagl...@googlegroups.com" <beagl...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Friday, July 4, 2014 at 1:40 PM
To: "beagl...@googlegroups.com" <beagl...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [beagleboard] Beaglebone black Wifi setup problem

Windows how to NDIS connection sharing or perhaps Windows NDIS connection sharing would be two keyword searches I'd start with first. You may have to even use different keyword searches, but you get the idea.

Just make sure you can communicate with your BBB via ssh( from Windows ) first, and consistently.

Windows? Really!

There are so many things that can go wrong with Windows (/r/n instead of /n, NTFS isn’t case sensitive vs Linux file system which is case sensitive, etc). If you have to use a windows machine, then install a virtual machine and then install Debian or Ubuntu and save yourself a tone of problems. 

Windows; you should be ashamed of yourself ;-)

Yeah, I hate windows. 

Regards,

John

[William Hermans]

John, being that he is a student and working on a project assigned to him by his professor. He may not have any option. He may not be allowed to use a virtual machine.

I could say that any OS is only as good as the user using it. So in this context when you ( or any one for that matter ) says that "Windows sucks". This tells me they do not understand how Windows works, or how to use it. Windows definitely is not without it's flaws, but which OS has none ? Hint: they all have flaws, and ALL can be rooted, work improperly, or generally be a pain in the backside if we do not take the time to learn how to use them properly. Then if we don't, does this mean the OS is at fault ?

Windows works perfectly fine as a desktop, and in many cases as a workstation. Market share alone should speak volumes.But in the end it is just another closed source OS, that costs money, with millions of users that just want to use it, while not having to learn *how* it works.

Your points of interest are also moot. If you know a potential issue exists, deal with it. Don't complain about it.

 

[Cristian Mitu]

It's ok even if i have problems with Windows i can switch to Linux. Anyway thanks for the responses, you guys are very helpful.

[John Syn]

From: William Hermans <yyr...@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "beagl...@googlegroups.com" <beagl...@googlegroups.com>

Date: Friday, July 4, 2014 at 8:26 PM

To: "beagl...@googlegroups.com" <beagl...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [beagleboard] Beaglebone black Wifi setup problem

John, being that he is a student and working on a project assigned to him by his professor. He may not have any option. He may not be allowed to use a virtual machine.

I could say that any OS is only as good as the user using it. So in this context when you ( or any one for that matter ) says that "Windows sucks". This tells me they do not understand how Windows works, or how to use it. Windows definitely is not without it's flaws, but which OS has none ? Hint: they all have flaws, and ALL can be rooted, work improperly, or generally be a pain in the backside if we do not take the time to learn how to use them properly. Then if we don't, does this mean the OS is at fault ?

Windows works perfectly fine as a desktop, and in many cases as a workstation. Market share alone should speak volumes.But in the end it is just another closed source OS, that costs money, with millions of users that just want to use it, while not having to learn *how* it works.

Your points of interest are also moot. If you know a potential issue exists, deal with it. Don't complain about it.

Don’t take me so seriously. I was just poking a little fun for giving instructions on how to develop Linux solutions with Windows.

[William Hermans]

Cristian,

Sure, use what you feel most comfortable with. Personally, I do use Windows( Win 7 x64 ultimate ) as my own primary desktop / workstation system, and find it very useful for many things. However there are times that I need Linux, so I do run Debian in a virtual machine as a support system( on a different host ).

Personally, I do not like many OSes, and Linux distro's for my own reasons. But I will not presume to tell people what they can / should use for their own purposes.

Anyhow, I am fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Windows so if you have any very specific questions I may very well know the answer. Just keep in mind that I obviously don't know everything, and I have very limited hands on with what you're trying to achieve. I do know that network connection sharing works reasonably well once you get it setup correctly. So that should not be much of a problem.

[Cristian Mitu]

Thank you very much  for your support William, if i have any problems i will contact you ( hopefully without being too pesky :-) ). Anyway i imagine i will be visiting the forum often these days in order to get the beaglebone to work with what i need. I am very glad that i am using a platform that has so much support.

Regards,

Cristian

[William Hermans]

Yeah, you get and use a serial debug cable, then log in via puTTY, or preferred ssh client. This assumes:

1) the Debian image used has ttyO0 setup properly.

2) All the drivers / software packages for wifi needed are already installed.

3) The Debian image used has openssh-server( or other applicable ssh server ) setup and running.

Sorry to keep posting and semi side tracking the post here but this i posted above is semi wrong. SO in case someone else is trying to glean useful information off of my post here.

What I mean is that using Windows as a host system, an FTDI serial<->USB or similar device will present its self as a COM( serial ) device in hardware manager. puTTY can also communicate using this serial connection ( but not all ssh clients can ). I think Paralax made a similar app for Windows that does communicate via serial only.

I probably had 500 other things on my mind the time i made this post. Sorry about that. But points #1, and #2 are still valid.

[Cristian Mitu]

Don't worry about it this can help get my debian up and running so it's ok. Almost finished with the board design so i can get to work on beagle.

[Cristian Mitu]

Yes but even if i were to use the ethernet connection itself , beacuse of the internet connection types around here it would be really hard to get internet through it.