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My Linux desktops configuration

• Linux kernels version 2.4.27, 2.6.8 or above, Debian distribution in its unstable (aka sid) flavor.
• On most of my Linux Debian machines, I prefer not to have to recompile the kernel, since the kernel-image-2.4* or kernel-image-2.6* pre-compiled kernels work wonderfully well. Indeed, they can be installed with a simple command like apt-get install kernel-image-2.4-686, will be updated like other packages with apt-get update && apt-get upgrade, and are always up-to-date concerning important stuff like security fixes. Moreover, they contain all the modules you could need, including the PPP, USB-NET, or masquerading modules that are used to talk to your iPAQ. If you want to know, I run the following on different computers:
  • a kernel-image-2.6-686 on a Pentium 4 (it ensures the latest 2.6 linux kernel is installed, and it's optimised for 686 i.e. Pentium Pro, Celeron, Pentium II and above),
  • a kernel-image-2.4-686 on many machines (Pentium II and III) where a 2.4 kernel is more appropriate that a 2.6 (it ensures the latest 2.4 linux kernel is installed and it's optimised for 686 as well),
  • a kernel-image-2.4-586tsc (with kernel-pcmcia-modules-2.4-586tsc) on a Pentium (I) MMX laptop (optimised for Pentium I aka "classic"),
• and in rare occasions I compile my kernel myself, with Debian tools help. To do that, (remembering you probably don't need to compile your kernel yourself, see above), I get a kernel source with Debian's kernel-source* packages (though you can get them through kernel.org or maybe your Linux distribution), extract it in /usr/src, and compile it with make-kpkg. Here is how to recompile a kernel the Debian way. Among other things selected by default, you will have to compile the following modules (putting 'm' in front of the corresponding option):
  • PPP (I don't use it anymore since USB works fine)
  • USB-NET
  • Netfilter/iptables bunch of modules, especially the NAT and masquerading ones

My iPAQs configurations

Serial connection, networking & PPP configuration

• To communicate with your iPAQ from your Linux PC, you probably want to install minicom (terminal application to communicate through serial links). Some notes:
  • The debian package minicom only suggests the lrzsz package, but we must install it to speak to the iPAQ. So if you have a Debian, type apt-get install minicom lrzsz to get a working serial communications environment. If you are using another Linux distribution, you'll notice quickly too if something is missing, and it's probably a missing lrzsz as well :-)
  • Run minicom -s as root to setup our connection. Options: Serial port, 115200 baud, no flow control, 8-N-1.
  • Launch minicom then set ymodem 1 to activate ymodem protocol (faster than xmodem, and uses CRC for error correction).
  • But minicom is still a pain to use (cursor not visible, not easy to transfert files, frequent bugs with the 'ATZ' that it sends at the beginning of the connection...) so you can connect your iPAQ to your desktop in TCP/IP over PPP (next paragraph) or in TCP/IP over USB (see USB Networking below).
• To have TCP/IP networking over your Serial Link (for example if you can use USB networking for one reason or another), please refer to this PPP How-to
  Note: you will be able to use pon ipaq as they say in the previous link, only once your user is a member of the dialout group).

USB networking

• First, run as root on your PC:
  • modprobe usbnet or insmod usbnet (if it does not work, get or recompile a kernel with USB Networking support enabled). Note: this will tell you if USB networking if really enabled in your Linux kernel, and launch your "usbnet" kernel driver; but you don't need to type this anymore since the driver will be automatically loaded when you'll connect your iPAQ to your PC.
  • apt-get install hotplug (or use your Linux distribution way of installing packages to get hotplug, if you don't already have it).
• Then plug the iPAQ into the USB cradle, which is plugged on the PC. You can check that a new network interface called usb0 has just appeared on the PC, typing /sbin/ifconfig -a.
  Note: some iPAQs become "frozen" at that point, but they will unfreeze as soon as the USB networking link is up, which is done by the following command.
• Now, if you don't have (yet) set up hotplug as explained below, type, on the PC and as root, ifconfig usb0 192.168.0.200. Note: 192.168.0.200 is the gateway IP address as given in /etc/network/interfaces on the iPAQ; if you change this file you will have to type a different IP address, but rembember it's quite practical to leave it in the default configuration.
• That's all! You can know ping you iPAQ (or connect to it through ssh or scp for example), typing ping 192.168.0.202 on the desktop.
  Advice: since you may have to type 192.168.0.200 and 192.168.0.202 quite often, it's much easier to give them aliases through your desktop /etc/hosts file. You can do that typing, as root (using pc for the PC USB interface and ip for the iPAQ address): echo "192.168.0.202 ip" >> /etc/hosts && echo "192.168.0.200 pc" >> /etc/hosts. Then you can replace any command like ping 192.168.0.202 (to ping your iPAQ) by ping ip.

• When you need to restore the connection:
  • If the iPAQ has been to standby mode, or if it has been unplugged of its craddle, you just need to type ifconfig usb0 192.168.0.200 to restore the connection. If it was on its craddle on standby mode, unplug and plug it again before typing this command.
  • If you have hotplug set up to automatically bring up the USB connection, there's no need to type ifconfig something, just plug the iPAQ on its cradle and you're set!

How to automatically set up the USB network link through hotplug

IP Forwarding and Masquerading

Now we want to have access the Internet from the iPAQ through our PC, and we do not have any spare IP address on our network.

Since we have a 2.4 (or 2.6) linux kernel on our desktop, we will be able to use netfilter (also known as iptables) (if the kernel options have been activated) to meet our needs.

• In this how-to, we see we just have to perform this on the PC:
• modprobe ip_tables then

• 16:23 root@dede /etc/default# iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 192.168.0.202 -j MASQUERADE
  16:32 root@dede /etc/default# iptables -L -t nat
  Chain PREROUTING (policy ACCEPT)
  target     prot opt source               destination
  
  Chain POSTROUTING (policy ACCEPT)
  target     prot opt source               destination
  MASQUERADE  all  --  192.168.0.202              anywhere
  
  Chain OUTPUT (policy ACCEPT)
  target     prot opt source               destination
              

• then finally echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
• Note: if you want this to be done automatically, put the following line in your /etc/network/interfaces below the definition of an interface like lo or eth0 if it's always up:

      up iptables -t nat -F && iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 192.168.0.202 -j MASQUERADE && echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

Synchronize data with the desktop

You won't be able to sync anything before you install and configure opie-security (it's included in the Opie 1 images).

You'll have to choose the IP address of the desktop network interface which points to the iPAQ, so it will be one of the IP addresses authorized by opie-security Sync configuration page:

Finally, you may try either MultiSync: a versatile synchronization tool for multiple platforms: Zaurus, iPAQ, Evolution, IrMC, Opie, Windows CE, etc. (link to how-to) or, if you are using the KDE desktop environment KitchenSync: a synchronizing tool between Opie and KDE (link to how-to).

Summary: what to do on a fresh iPAQ (PC side already configured)

• Plug the iPAQ into the cradle, which should be connected to your PC USB port.
• On your PC:
  • ifconfig usb0 192.168.0.200 only if you did not apply this automatic USB network configuration by hotplug - if you did, usb0 will be automatically set up!.
    Advice: since you may have to type 192.168.0.200 and 192.168.0.202 quite often, it's much easier to give them aliases through your desktop /etc/hosts file. You can do that typing, as root (using pc for the PC USB interface and ip for the iPAQ address): echo "192.168.0.202 ip" >> /etc/hosts && echo "192.168.0.200 pc" >> /etc/hosts. Then you can replace any command like ping 192.168.0.202 (to ping your iPAQ) by ping ip.
  • If this is a reinstall (or any other reason for the iPAQ SSH server to have a new public key), ssh will complain that the iPAQ public key has changed, unless you remove its fingerprint from your ~/.ssh/known_hosts with cat ~/.ssh/known_hosts |sed '/^192.168.0.202/d' > ~/.ssh/tmp && mv -f ~/.ssh/tmp ~/.ssh/known_hosts (or cat ~/.ssh/known_hosts |sed '/^ip/d' > ~/.ssh/tmp && mv -f ~/.ssh/tmp ~/.ssh/known_hosts if you followed my advice on aliasing the iPAQ IP address to ip).
  • Teach your iPAQ some DNS servers addresses, for example by typing this on your PC: scp /etc/resolv.conf root@192.168.0.202:/etc/resolv.conf
• Generally, it's a good idea to stop Opie before upgrading, with /etc/init.d/opie stop for example. Now we can take all the steps to get an up-to-date operating system...

How to fix Familiar 0.7.2 ipkg

• Check your Internet connectivity with ping www.google.com,
• Disable temporarily the Familiar 0.7.2, stable feed address and put the Familiar unstable feed address instead: mv /etc/ipkg/base.conf /root/ && echo "src base http://familiar.handhelds.org/feeds/unstable" > /etc/ipkg/base.conf,
• Launch ipkg update (no output is normal here),
• Run ipkg install ipkg (or ipkg -V 3 install ipkg if you really want a lot of output) and check if the output looks like this:

  ~ # ipkg install ipkg
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch all 1
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch any 1
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch noarch 1
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch arm 10
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch armv4l 20
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch ipaqsa 30
  update-alternatives: Linking //usr/bin/ipkg to /usr/bin/ipkg-cl
  SIGSEGV

  • If you did not get the SIGSEGV error code after Linking //usr/bin/ipkg to /usr/bin/ipkg-cl, your ipkg might already be upgraded! You can test that running ipkg status ipkg && ipkg status libipkg. If you see two paragraphs (one for ipkg and one for libipkg, both having a Version: 0.99.X line with X > 120, and each of them having a line like Status: install user installed or Status: install ok installed, it means you are done, and you can jump to the end of this section, where you set your Familiar feed address back to the stable one again.
  • If you did get a SIGSEGV error code (which means ipkg produced a very abnormal segmentation fault), or if you don't pass the requirements of the previous paragraph, follow on to have a completely fixed ipkg...
• First, let make sure /usr/bin/ipkg points, as it should, to /usr/bin/ipkg-cl, typing: ln -sf /usr/bin/ipkg-cl /usr/bin/ipkg.
• Now we can check we have a newer /usr/bin/ipkg version:

  ~ # ipkg -v
  ipkg version 0.99.117

  but the installation above is not finished, so the packages database does not know ipkg is installed, plus libipkg has not been upgraded and should be,
• So we launch ipkg install ipkg again, and here is the beginning of the output (I cut some uninteresting file lists creating reports):

  Upgrading ipkg on root from 0.99.105 to 0.99.117...
  Downloading http://familiar.handhelds.org/feeds/unstable/ipkg_0.99.117_arm.ipk
  Installing libipkg (0.99.117) to root...
  Downloading http://familiar.handhelds.org/feeds/unstable/libipkg_0.99.117_arm.ipk
  Package libipkg wants to install file /usr/lib/libipkg.so.0
  	But that file is already provided by package libipkg
  Package libipkg wants to install file /usr/lib/libipkg.so.0.0.0
  	But that file is already provided by package libipkg
  Package libipkg wants to install file /usr/lib/libipkg.so
  	But that file is already provided by package libipkg
  pkg_write_changed_filelists: saving changed filelists
      creating apmd.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/apmd.list file for pkg apmd
      creating dhcpcd.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/dhcpcd.list file for pkg dhcpcd
      [...]
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/zlib1g.list file for pkg zlib1g

• The warnings above may seem unimportant, but they are! It means neither libipkg nor ipkg have been installed or upgraded, because of some files libipkg has to replace (you can see their version number is still ...105 and not ...117 with ipkg status). We now have to force libipkg install with the command: ipkg -force-overwrite install libipkg.
• One last time we have to run ipkg install ipkg, here is the output:

  Upgrading ipkg on root from 0.99.105 to 0.99.117...
  Downloading http://familiar.handhelds.org/feeds/unstable/ipkg_0.99.117_arm.ipk
  Installing libipkg (0.99.117) to root...
  Downloading http://familiar.handhelds.org/feeds/unstable/libipkg_0.99.117_arm.ipk
      creating libipkg.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/libipkg.list file for pkg libipkg
      creating ipkg.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/ipkg.list file for pkg ipkg
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch all 1
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch any 1
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch noarch 1
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch arm 10
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch armv4l 20
  /etc/ipkg/familiar-ipaqsa.conf:arch ipaqsa 30
  update-alternatives: Linking //usr/bin/ipkg to /usr/bin/ipkg-cl
  pkg_write_changed_filelists: saving changed filelists
      creating ipkg.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/ipkg.list file for pkg ipkg
      creating libipkg.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/libipkg.list file for pkg libipkg

• Now ipkg 0.99.117 and the libipkg of the same version are correctly installed!

  ~ # ipkg status ipkg && ipkg status libipkg
  Package: ipkg
  Version: 0.99.117
  Depends: libc6, libipkg
  Status: install user installed
  Section: base
  Architecture: arm
  maintainer: Jamey Hicks <jamey%40handhelds.org>
  Size: 16550
  Filename: ipkg_0.99.117_arm.ipk
  Source: http://www.handhelds.org/packages/ipkg/ipkg-0.99.117.tar.gz
  Description: lightweight package management system
   ipkg is the Itsy Package Management System, for handling
  
  Package: libipkg
  Version: 0.99.117
  Depends: libc6, libc6, wget, sed, fileutils
  Status: install ok installed
  Section: base
  Architecture: arm
  maintainer: Jamey Hicks <jamey%40handhelds.org>
  Size: 54834
  Filename: libipkg_0.99.117_arm.ipk
  Source: http://www.handhelds.org/packages/ipkg/ipkg-0.99.117.tar.gz
  Description: lightweight package management system
   ipkg is the Itsy Package Management System, for handling

• Now, let's not forget to put the original, stable Familiar 0.7.2 feed address back in the right place: mv /root/base.conf /etc/ipkg/,
• Now we can make a real Familiar 0.7.2 with our brand new ipkg, and it will work perfectly!

  ~ # ipkg update && ipkg upgrade
  Downloading http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/ipaq/5thtoe/Packages
  Updated list of available packages in /usr/lib/ipkg/lists/5thtoe
  Downloading http://familiar.handhelds.org/releases/v0.7.2/base/armv4l/Packages
  Updated list of available packages in /usr/lib/ipkg/lists/base
  Downloading http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/ipaq/1.0.2/Packages
  Updated list of available packages in /usr/lib/ipkg/lists/opie
  Upgrading libqte2 on root from 1:2.3.7-5 to 1:2.3.7-5.1...
  Downloading http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/ipaq/1.0.2/libqte2_2.3.7-5.1_arm.ipk
      creating libqte2.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/libqte2.list file for pkg libqte2
  pkg_write_changed_filelists: saving changed filelists
      creating libqte2.list file
      creating /usr/lib/ipkg/info/libqte2.list file for pkg libqte2

  Fewww, now we can see we have a clean, updated install :)

Once ipkg is upgraded...

• Upgrade with ipkg update && ipkg upgrade if you have not followed the ipkg upgrade instructions above (but then your package manager might still be broken ;-)
• If you installed, like me, a bootstrap image without Opie, you can install Opie now!
  • First, configure the Opie feeds addresses in your PDA, typing for example echo "src opie-testing http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/testing/familiar/gcc2" >> /etc/ipkg/opie.conf && echo "src opie-unstable http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/unstable/familiar/gcc2" >> /etc/ipkg/opie.conf && echo "src fifthtoe http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/5thtoe" >> /etc/ipkg/opie.conf or putting the following lines in /etc/ipkg/opie.conf on your PDA with any text editor, which will give the same result:

    src opie-testing http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/testing/familiar/gcc2
    src opie-unstable http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/unstable/familiar/gcc2
    src fifthtoe http://opie.handhelds.org/feed/5thtoe

  • Run now ipkg update for these new feeds to be taken into account.
  • Then you can install Opie (through the task-opie-minimal meta-package) and some basic Opie applications with something like: ipkg install timezones task-opie-minimal opie-console libopiesecurity2 opie-security opie-multiauth-pinplugin opie-multiauth-bluepingplugin opie-style-flat opie-deco-flat opie-keyboard opie-multikey opie-keyboard opie-clock opie-clockapplet opie-light-and-power
• The you can install some other useful packages not included by default, for example ipkg install vim less scap opie-screenshotapplet konqueror libpng3. Note: libpng3 is in fact a missing dependency of the konqueror package aka Konqueror Embedded. Here is a Familiar-based handhelds packages search engine, and here is a presentation of several Opie applications if you want to go further.
• Reboot and check nothing seems broken... (if you have problems opie@handhelds.org mailing list is here to help)
• The following is optional, especially for a first install or if you don't know what key-pair based SSH authentication is or don't plan to use it: The SSH server shipped with Familiar 0.7.2 is Dropbear 0.36, an smaller server than the traditional OpenSSH sshd one, but you might prefer the latter; for example it implements public key authentication (though latest Dropbear versions should do that too). You can replace dropbear (and scp, which is contained in sshd) by sshd with the command: ipkg remove dropbear && ipkg remove libcrypto && ipkg remove task-bootstrap && ipkg remove scp && ipkg install sshd, then reboot (through Opie menus or typing reboot) to allow dropbear to close for a last time and sshd to start after the reboot.
• Optional too, if you want to speed up SSH connections establishment on slow iPAQs: Make a new 768 bits long SSH key, faster than the 1024 default one: if your SSH server is sshd, type ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 768 -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key -N '' or if you are still using Dropbear as your SSH server, dropbearkey -t rsa -f /etc/dropbear_rsa_host_key -s 768 .
• If you use sshd (it won't work with dropbear but I'm not sure why), export your SSH public key on the iPAQ with: ssh-copy-id -i pathToYourId.Pub 192.168.0.202 (considering you have generated, with ssh-keygen for example, a key pair on your desktop). Then operations such as ssh root@192.168.0.202 or scp localfile root@192.168.0.202:/pathWhereToPutTheFile won't need you to type the root password (rootme by default) anymore (more details about public key SSH authentication here).

How to install and configure a VNC server on your iPAQ

Must-see reference

Useful links for Windows™ users

For Windows 2000 users

• PDF guide which describes pretty well what Opie, GPE and Familiar are, and how to install Familiar and Opie with only a Windows desktop (through ActiveSync and Hyperterminal, then installing Bahia driver for USB).
• Wiki web page explaining how to connect iPAQs to Windows 2000 through serial line.
• Wiki web page explaining the same thing as the previous link, but there seems to be more details and features here, and the document is slightly more recent.
• Routing an USB or serial iPAQ over a Windows 2000 box to the Internet is possible! Here are the instructions, thanks to f_x help:
  1. Create a text file e.g. named routing.reg, containing:

     REGEDIT4
     
     [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
     "IPEnableRouter"=dword:00000001

  2. Boot the Windows 2000 machine,
  3. Define the Windows 2000 machine IP address (on the USB or serial side) as the default gateway on the iPAQ (in /etc/network/interface),
  4. Surf the web :-)

For Windows XP users