Some nights ago I’ve decided to start learning something about a nice project started by Ryan Lienhart Dahl aiming to run javascript code serverside:
its name is Node.js and it’s designed for writing highly scalable Internet application using event-driven asynchronous IO.
My final goal is to have a central server commanding one or more Arduino to have my home automated as much as possible.
Setup an Ubuntu Server
First of all I had to setup an ubuntu server on an old Asus AT3GCI.
This step is really easy: you have to make a bootable usb key with Pen Drive Linux.
This is the howto you eventually need:
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows
You have to choose this distribution from the dropdown:
Ubuntu Server 12.04 Installer
When done we have to set sshd up and running to let us connect to the server.
sudo apt-get install openssh-server
This was enough for me, but if you need something more you can find a good howto here
http://help.ubuntu-it.org/6.06/ubuntu/serverguide/it/openssh-server.html
If you use putty on windows you may have some charset issue with non-standard chars.
To fix this go on:
window – translation – remote character
and set: UTF-8
Setup Node.js Enviroment
To have Node Js up to date on your Ubuntu system you have to use nvm (Node Version Manager).
sudo apt-get install git git clone git://github.com/creationix/nvm.git ~/.nvm echo ". ~/.nvm/nvm.sh" >> ~/.bashrc nvm install v0.8.8 nvm alias default v0.8.8
This will install Git, clone the repository for nvm, run nvm on every login, install version 0.8.8 of node and then use as default.
To check if node is working use the code from this page:
http://nodejs.org/api/synopsis.html.
If you want to use port 80, default for http, you have to start node from root, cause under Linux port below 1024 can be opened only by root.
This means you have to install another nvm on the root account.
Or you can route another port to the 80 with iptables:
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 80 -j REDIRECT --to-port 8080
Connect Arduino
Take your usb cable and connect arduino to the development Ubuntu server.
Use dmesg to know which device it will be associated to.
dmesg | tail [...] [ 44.184049] usb 2-1: new full-speed USB device number 2 using uhci_hcd [ 44.436617] cdc_acm 2-1:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device [ 44.439327] usbcore: registered new interface driver cdc_acm [ 44.439334] cdc_acm: USB Abstract Control Model driver for USB modems and ISDN adapters [ 46.032089] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, device number 2
Well, now a little check to be sure serial communication is up running:
echo 'asd' > /dev/ttyACM0
rx and tx led on the arduino board will blink.
If the system returns an access error your user probably is not in the dialout group.
Add it:
addgroupdialout
If you need an example on how the serial communication works on Arduino take a look here:
http://arduino.cc/en/Serial/Read
I’ve used minicom to communicate via serial:
apt-get install minicom
setup: http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/connect-soekris-single-board-computer-using-minicom.html
Develop something!
Here we go: we’re ready to write some code in Node.js and develop something that will be useful to our life 🙂
What I’ve done since now its an application that let you switch a led on and off from the web.
Recently I’ve added also an RGB led you can set the color by entering an hex into a form.
Here’s the repo:
https://github.com/setola/SetoLan