- Yes! But you will still need to ensure you isolate the 5v connection between the Raspberry Pi and host PC to prevent backpower issues that can cause instability or damage to either the host PC or the Pi. Power/Data cable + usb power blocker would work. Please see Variant #1 in the main getting started page for details.
### Do I need a power splitter? Why do I need one?
- Yes for RPi4, Yes and No for ZeroW - Yes if you want dedicated power, otherwise No
- Yes, otherwise you could back power the pi and or the target
- You can get a Y cable from amazon and mod one of the leads - Please see getting started guide - or see [non modding of Y cable](https://github.com/pikvm/pikvm#hardware-for-v2)
- You can also get a power splitter board from Tindi or PiShop [(Links provided under variants #3 & #4)](https://github.com/pikvm/pikvm#hardware-for-v2)
- If you have the v3 HAT - This is built in
### I can't get the KVM KB to work on my ZeroW!
Make sure that you did NOT modify your config.txt file, this is the default:
```
@ -67,34 +55,6 @@ Yes! And it's easy to do! Using a SSH session or the web terminal:
- Officially, no. You would be advised to make 2 seperate SD cards and swap them when needed. Unofficially yes and totally NOT supported. Please DM @srepac on discord for the script and directions.
### My Pi keeps disconnecting from my wireless! What do I do?
- You can try the following: Edit "/etc/conf.d/wireless-regdom" and look for your region and uncomment it. Example: WIRELESS_REGDOM="US"
### I want a static IP!!
- You can configure systemd-networkd for a static address for ethernet NIC. Config file is /etc/systemd/network/eth0.network
- For wireless adapter, config file is /etc/netctl/wlan0-<wifiname>
- See [this page](wifi.md) for details on how to get basic wireless config with DHCP going. Afterwards, you’ll need to edit the /etc/netctl/wlan0-<wifiname> file changing the IP=dhcp line with the following lines updated to reflect your network:
```
For /etc/systemd/network/eth0.network
[Match]
Name=eth0
[Network]
Address=192.168.X.XXX/24
Gateway=192.168.X.X
DNS=192.168.X.X
DNS=192.168.X.X
For /etc/netctl/wlan0-<wifiname>
IP=static
Address=('192.168.X.XXX/24')
Gateway=('192.168.X.X')
DNS=("192.168.X.X 1.0.0.1 1.1.1.1")
```
- You can also reserve the IP in your dhcp server (Quicker)
### Help! I ran out of space aka room! What now?
(This ONLY applies to the older flashed images and is no longer nessessary as the newer images had the main partition increased, as a result, the MSD partition was shrunk)
@ -120,72 +80,6 @@ rm -rf /var/cache/pacman/pkg/*
- Did you try different cables?
### HELP! I am getting a 500/503 error when I try and access the main KVM page!
- This is due to a bad line in your yaml file, here are some steps you can make to help in the future.
- Run ```kvmd -m```, this will display ALL kvmd settings, you can compare to your own. Make sure you are not doubling up on child/sub-child entries.
- Remember you need 4 space per child and 4 additional for each sub-child
- Make a .nanorc file and populate it with the following:
*set linenumbers* is optional
```
set linenumbers
set tabsize 4
set tabstospaces
```
- Now re-edit your override.yaml file and just use tab to get the right spacing, you might need to delete the current leading "spaces" to ensure proper formatting
### Can you use an iPad on PiKVM?
- Yes, with the correct hardware you can control an iPad
- Yes, activate VNC and use JUMP app(Full featured but more expensive), or bVNC(Not recommended, lack luster features but cheap). RealVNC does NOT work
### How do I add my own SSL cert?
- If you have a certificate(:exclamation:**Making a cert falls outside the scope of PIKVM - Please reference Linux documentation**:exclamation:), replace the public key in /etc/kvmd/nginx/ssl/server.crt and private key in /etc/kvmd/nginx/ssl/server.key and restart the kvmd-nginx service.
- It should look like the following:
```
cd /etc/kvmd/nginx
cat ssl.conf (Expection of what's inside the file)
### How do I emulate various USB devices on the target machine?
By default this is what is set:
```
otg:
manufacturer: PiKVM
max_power: 250
product: Composite KVM Device
product_id: 260
serial: CAFEBABE
udc: ''
user: kvmd
vendor_id: 7531
```
You can change how this is displayed with the following example:
```nano /etc/kvmd/override.yaml```
```
otg:
manufacturer: Corsair
product: Corsair Gaming RGB
serial:
vendor_id: 6940
product_id: 6973
```
Use the following USB Data Base to get the desired devices: ```https://the-sz.com/products/usbid/``` or ```https://devicehunt.com```
❗NOTE❗ You may need to include ```0x0``` in the id string's for it to work properly.
- Example:
- ```vendor_id: 0x06940```
### Things to do after initial install:
- Fix date: 'timedatectl list-timezones' then 'timedatectl set-timezone America/Los_Angeles' (Change to your location)
- Update PiKVM, follow #news on Discord for instructions
@ -204,10 +98,6 @@ nano /etc/fstab
```
### Can you run a desktop on pikvm?
- Yes BUT, its not recommended OR supported as this OS should be used in RO and it will need RW enabled all of the time. Instructions [here](https://www.linuxfordevices.com/tutorials/linux/how-to-install-gui-on-arch-linux)
### Troubleshooting
- :exclamation:**It is expected that you are aware of basic networking while working on this project and that you have read up on the project prior to going to Discord**:exclamation:
@ -14,31 +14,20 @@ As a first step, we recommend carefully reading our documentation on [GitHub](ht
??? question "How can I get the access to PiKVM in my local network over Internet?"
You can use port forwarding for port 443 on your router if it has an external IP address. In all other cases, you can use the excellent free VPN service [Tailscale](tailscale.md), which is configured on PiKVM with a [few simple commands](tailscale.md).
??? question "I want a static IP!!"
Please follow these instructions:
This is easier if you reserve the IP from your DHCP server
`nano /etc/systemd/network/eth0.network` or `nano /etc/netctl/wlan0-<wifiname>`
For /etc/systemd/network/eth0.network
```
[Match]
Name=eth0
??? question "I want a static IP"
* Edit file `/etc/systemd/network/eth0.network` for Ethernet or `wlan0.network` for Wi-Fi and edit the `[Network]` section:
```ini
[Network]
Address=192.168.X.XXX/24
Gateway=192.168.X.X
DNS=192.168.X.X
DNS=192.168.X.X
Address=192.168.x.x/24
Gateway=192.168.x.x
DNS=192.168.x.x
DNS=192.168.x.x
```
For /etc/netctl/wlan0-<wifiname>
```
IP=static
Address=('192.168.X.XXX/24')
Gateway=('192.168.X.X')
DNS=("192.168.X.X 1.0.0.1 1.1.1.1")
```
If you're using Wi-Fi but you don't have `/etc/systemd/network/wlan0.network` file, then first you will need to `migrate the Wi-Fi settings from `netctl` to `systemd-networkd`](wifi.md).
??? question "Can I use PiKVM for gaming?"
No, because:
@ -48,6 +37,7 @@ As a first step, we recommend carefully reading our documentation on [GitHub](ht
* General hardware video capture differs from software streaming and introduces additional latency.
* PiKVM can't transmit audio at this time. It will be available on PiKVM v3 HAT at some point in the future (implemented in the hardware, but doesn't have software support).
??? question "Can PiKVM do 4K video?"
* For HDMI-CSI bridge, no. There is not enough bandwidth in the CSI bus for that much data. 1080p50 will max out the bandwidth.
* For the USB capture devices: technically yes, they will downsample to something smaller to meet the USB 2.0 bandwidth limitations, so the source may be 4k, but the stream will not.
@ -61,20 +51,25 @@ As a first step, we recommend carefully reading our documentation on [GitHub](ht
100-200ms is very, very fast for this. But we are working to speed things up even more.
??? question "Does PiKVM support sound?"
At this time sound is not supported on any platform however, once sound is implimented, it will only be available for PiKVM v3 HAT. Due to a hardware bug in HDMI-CSI bridges, sound may or may not work.
??? question "Can I power the Pi via POE?"
Yes! But you will still need to ensure you isolate the 5v connection between the Raspberry Pi and host PC to prevent backpower issues that can cause instability or damage to either the host PC or the Pi. Power/Data cable + usb power blocker would work. Please see Variant #1 in the main getting started page for details.
??? question "Can I power the Pi via PoE?"
Yes! But you will still need to ensure you isolate the 5v connection between the Raspberry Pi and host PC to prevent backpower issues that can cause instability or damage to either the host PC or the Pi. Power/Data cable + USB power blocker would work.
??? question "Do I need a power splitter? Why do I need one?"
Yes for RPi4 - Please see the main readme for splitter types listed under V2 Hardware
Yes for 0w/02w, if using dedicated power you still need to split the power from the data towards the target. If using the target for power, this is not needed.
This is not needed if you have a v3 hat.
* Yes for RPi4 - Please see the main readme for splitter types listed under V2 Hardware
* Yes for Zero W and Zero W 2, if using dedicated power you still need to split the power from the data towards the target. If using the target for power, this is not needed.
* This is not needed if you have a v3 hat.
??? question "Can I use PiKVM with non-Raspberry boards (Orange, Nano, etc)?"
Yes, but you will have to prepare the operating system yourself. As for the PiKVM software, you will need to replace some config files (such as UDEV rules). If you are a developer or an experienced system administrator, you will not have any problems with this. In addition, we are open to patches. If you need help with this, please contact us via [Discord](https://discord.gg/bpmXfz5).
??? question "Is PiKVM OS its own custom distro?"
No. PiKVM OS is an [Arch Linux ARM](https://archlinuxarm.org) with our own repository for KVM-related packages. We distribute OS images (that is, our Arch Linux ARM build) to simplify installation, since PiKVM requires some tuning of the OS and special partitioning of the memory card.
@ -88,61 +83,51 @@ As a first step, we recommend carefully reading our documentation on [GitHub](ht
However, we plan to provide an alternative OS image based on Raspbian in the future - now it is quite stable.
??? question "Can you use an iPad on PiKVM?"
Yes, with the correct hardware you can control an iPad
Yes, activate VNC and use JUMP app(Full featured but more expensive), or bVNC(Not recommended, lack luster features but cheap). RealVNC does NOT work
??? question "Can I use an iPad on PiKVM?"
* Yes, with the correct hardware you can control an iPad.
* In the opposite sense - yes, use VNC and use JUMP app (fully-featured but more expensive), or bVNC (cheap). RealVNC does NOT work.
??? question "How do I add my own SSL cert?"
If you have a certificate(:exclamation:**Making a cert falls outside the scope of PIKVM - Please reference Linux documentation**:exclamation:), replace the public key in /etc/kvmd/nginx/ssl/server.crt and private key in /etc/kvmd/nginx/ssl/server.key and restart the kvmd-nginx service.
It should look like the following:
```
cd /etc/kvmd/nginx
cat ssl.conf (Expection of what's inside the file)
If you have a certificate (making a cert falls outside the scope of PiKVM - please reference OpenSSL documentation), replace keys in `/etc/kvmd/nginx/ssl`, edit `/etc/kvmd/nginx/ssl.conf` if necessary and restart `kvmd-nginx` service.
??? question "How do I emulate various USB devices on the target machine?"
By default this is what is set:
```
otg:
manufacturer: PiKVM
max_power: 250
product: Composite KVM Device
product_id: 260
serial: CAFEBABE
udc: ''
user: kvmd
vendor_id: 7531
```
You can change how this is displayed with the following example:
`nano /etc/kvmd/override.yaml`
```
otg:
manufacturer: Corsair
product: Corsair Gaming RGB
serial:
vendor_id: 6940
product_id: 6973
```
Use the following USB Data Base to get the desired devices: ```https://the-sz.com/products/usbid/``` or ```https://devicehunt.com```
❗NOTE❗ You may need to include ```0x0``` in the id string's for it to work properly.
- Example:
- ```vendor_id: 0x06940```
??? question "Can you run a desktop on pikvm?"
Yes BUT, its not recommended OR supported as this OS should be used in RO and it will need RW enabled all of the time. Instructions [here](https://www.linuxfordevices.com/tutorials/linux/how-to-install-gui-on-arch-linux)
By default this is what is set:
```yaml
otg:
manufacturer: PiKVM
product: Composite KVM Device
vendor_id: 0x1D6B
product_id: 0x0104
serial: CAFEBABE
```
You can change how this is displayed with the following example for `/etc/kvmd/override.yaml` file:
```
otg:
manufacturer: Corsair
product: Corsair Gaming RGB
vendor_id: 0x6940
product_id: 0x6973
serial:
```
Use the following USB Data Base to get the desired devices: https://the-sz.com/products/usbid or https://devicehunt.com.
??? question "Can you run a desktop on PiKVM?"
Yes, but it's strongly not recommended OR supported as this OS should be used in read-only mode and it will need read-write enabled all of the time. Instructions [here](https://www.linuxfordevices.com/tutorials/linux/how-to-install-gui-on-arch-linux).
## First steps
??? question "I can't find PiKVM IP address in my network"
??? question "What is the default password? How do I change it?"
There are two types of accounts: OS and PiKVM (web interface) accounts. The system account `root` can be used for SSH/UART access and has the password `root`. The web interface account is called `admin` and has the password `admin`. The PiKVM account cannot be used for SSH access and vice versa.
@ -163,7 +148,7 @@ Use the following USB Data Base to get the desired devices: ```https://the-sz.co
??? question "Where is the PiKVM configuration located?"
Almost all KVMD (the main daemon controlling PiKVM) configuration files located in `/etc/kvmd`. You can also find nginx configs and SSL certificates there. KVMD configs use [YAML](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/YAMLSyntax.html) syntax. The specific platform parameters can be found in the file `/etc/kvmd/main.yaml` and **you should never edit it**. Use `/etc/kvmd/override.yaml` to redefine the system parameters.
Another files that are also not recommended for editing have read-only permissions. If you edit any of these files, you will need to manually make changes to them when you upgrade your system. You can view the current configuration and all available KVMD parameters using the command `kvmd -m`.
@ -248,11 +233,14 @@ Use the following USB Data Base to get the desired devices: ```https://the-sz.co
```
[root@pikvm ~]# systemctl restart kvmd
```
??? question "Can I have different hostnames for your each of your pikvms?"
Yes! And it's easy to do! Using a SSH session or the web terminal:
Make sure you are root, `rw` then run `hostnamectl set-hostname yournewhostname.domain`
Optional: Edit `/etc/kvmd/meta.yaml` to alter the displayed hostname in the web UI
Reboot the pikvm
1. Make sure you are root, run `rw` then run `hostnamectl set-hostname yournewhostname.domain`.
2. Optional: edit `/etc/kvmd/meta.yaml` to alter the displayed hostname in the web UI.
3. Run `ro` and `reboot`.
## Video problems
@ -375,18 +363,22 @@ Use the following USB Data Base to get the desired devices: ```https://the-sz.co
??? question "I can't copy clipboard contents from the server (the machine controlled via PiKVM) to the client"
The clipboard only works from the client to the server not vice versa. There is currently no way to do it.
??? question "HELP! I am getting a 500/503 error when I try and access the main KVM page!"
This is due to a bad line in your yaml file, if you undo what you did then it will work
For all future edits there are some steps you can do to revent this from happening again
This is due to a bad line in your YAML config, if you undo what you did then it will work.
For all future edits there are some steps you can do to revent this from happening again.
Make a .nanorc file and populate it with the following:
*set linenumbers* is optional
```
set tabsize 4
set tabstospaces
```
set linenumbers
set tabsize 4
set tabstospaces
```
Now re-edit your override.yaml file and just use tab to get the right spacing, you might need to delete the current leading "spaces" to ensure proper formatting
Now re-edit your `/etc/kvmd/override.yaml` file and just use tab to get the right spacing, you might need to delete the current leading "spaces" to ensure proper formatting.
## Hardware problems (Wi-Fi, ATX, etc)
@ -398,10 +390,12 @@ set tabstospaces
??? question "LEDs/Switches does not work in ATX control"
Double check your wiring as per [the documentation](/README.md#setting-up-the-v2). Make sure you placed the relays (G3VM-61A1) in the correct orientation. The relays for switches (Power, Reset) have a different orientation than the ones for LEDs.
??? question "My Pi keeps disconnecting from my wireless!"
You can try the following: Edit "/etc/conf.d/wireless-regdom" and look for your region and uncomment it. Example: WIRELESS_REGDOM="US"
??? question "PiKVM Complains about low power warnings"
Are you using a `proper` power supply? Not one you hacked together?
Some USB power bricks advertise 5V @ 2.1A or higher, but can’t deliver consistent 5V. Best to use rpi foundation recommended power supplies
??? question "My PiKVM keeps disconnecting from the Wi-Fi netowrk"
Try to edit "/etc/conf.d/wireless-regdom" and look for your region and uncomment it. For example: `WIRELESS_REGDOM="US"`.
??? question "PiKVM complains about low power warnings"
* Are you using a `proper` power supply? Not one you hacked together?
* Some USB power bricks advertise 5V 2.1A or higher, but can't deliver consistent 5V. Best to use Raspberry Pi Foundation recommended power supplies.
Maxim Devaev
3 years ago