Enter the username: ?
root
?
By default, the
root
user's password is left blank. Press the
Enter
key when prompted for a password.
You should now be presented with a shell prompt similar to the following:
root@ni-n3xx-<motherboard serial #>:~#
Using the default configuration, the serial console will show all kernel log messages (which are not available when using SSH), and give access to the
boot loader (U-boot prompt). This can be used to debug kernel or boot-loader issues more efficiently than when logged in via SSH.
Using the Serial Console interface, it is possible to connect to the STM32 microcontroller with the command below. The STM32 controls the power
sequencing and several other low level device operations.
$ sudo screen /dev/serial/by-id/usb-Silicon_Labs_CP2105_Dual_USB_to_UART_Bridge_Controller_007F6CB5-if01-port0 115200
The STM32 interface provides a very simple prompt. The command
help
will list all available commands. A direct connection to the microcontroller can
be used to hard-reset the device without physically accessing it (i.e., emulating a power button press) and other low-level diagnostics.
By default, the RJ45 1Gb management interface is configured to be assigned a DHCP IP address.
If you have access to a network which provides a DHCP server (such as a common router's LAN), attach the RJ45 1Gb port to this network. Details vary
by vendor, however, most router management interfaces will provide a list of attached devices to the LAN including their IP address.
Without access to a router management interface, you can identify the IP address by connecting to the ARM CPU via Serial Console as detailed in the
section above and running the command
ip a
:
Example Output:
# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue qlen 1000
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast qlen 1000
link/ether 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.1.151/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global dynamic eth0
valid_lft 42865sec preferred_lft 42865sec
3: sfp0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 9000 qdisc pfifo_fast qlen 1000
link/ether 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.10.2/24 brd 192.168.10.255 scope global sfp0
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
4: sfp1: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 9000 qdisc pfifo_fast qlen 1000
link/ether 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
If you do not have access to a network with a DHCP server, you can create one using the Linux utility
dnsmasq
:
$ sudo dnsmasq -i <ETHERNET_ADAPTER_NAME> --dhcp-range=192.168.1.151,192.168.1.254 --except-interface=lo --bind-dynamic --no-daemon
NOTE: Modify the value
<ETHERNET_ADAPTER_NAME>
to match the interface you would like to create a DHCP server on.
After the device has obtained an IP address, you can remotely log into it from a Linux or macOS system with SSH, as shown below:
$ ssh [email protected]
NOTE: The IP address may vary depending on your network setup.
NOTE: The
root
password default password is empty/blank.
On Microsoft Windows, the SSH connection can be established using the third-party program ?Putty?.
After logging in, you should be presented with a shell like the following:
root@ni-n3xx-<motherboard serial #>:~#
Before operating the device, it is? ?strongly? recommended to update to the latest version of the Embedded Linux file system. If you are operating the
device in Network Mode, the version of UHD running on the host machine and N3xx USRP must match.
There is two ways to update the file system for the N3xx USRP:
1. Mender
2. Physically remove microSD card from device and write a new file system to the microSD card.
The SD Card is divided into four partitions. There is two root file system partitions, a boot partition and a data partition.
Any data you would like to preserve through Mender updates should be saved to the
data
partition, which is mounted at
/data
.
Mender is third-party software that enables remote updating of the root file system without physically accessing the device (see also the Mender website
). Mender can be executed locally on the device, or a Mender server can be set up which can be used to remotely update an arbitrary
number of USRP devices. Users can host their own local Mender server, or use servers hosted by Mender as a paid service; contact Mender for more
information.
When updating the file system using Mender, the tool will overwrite the root file system partition that is not currently mounted. Any data stored in the root
partitions will be permanently lost with a Mender update.
After updating a partition with Mender, it will reboot into the newly updated partition. Only if the update is confirmed by the user, the update will be made
permanent. This means that if an update fails, the device will be always able to reboot into the partition from which the update was originally launched,
which presumably is in a working state. Another update can be launched now to correct the previous, failed update, until it works.
