March 2007 - WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

Re: [Wlug] Seeking help with a USB barcode scanner

by Andy Stewart

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi Everybody, Jamie Guinan wrote: > >> See if "evdev" is loaded, then try reading the various >> /dev/input/event* nodes. Yes, evdev is loaded and I see some /dev/input/event* nodes. The unique ones for this device (that show up when I plug in the device) are event3 and event4. Also, I see mouse1 and ts1. > >> I have a USB keyboard here. Oh neat, under 2.6.19, they even give you >> a path that matches the device ids, > >> # od -x /dev/input/by-id/usb-1241_1203-event-kbd >> (tap tap tap...) >> 0000000 92a9 460e 0000 0000 36dc 000b 0000 0000 >> 0000020 0001 001c 0000 0000 92a9 460e 0000 0000 >> 0000040 36e0 000b 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 >> ... In /dev/input/by-id, I see: usb-Cypress_Cypress_PS.2_Keyboard-event-{kbd,mouse} usb-Cypress_Cypress_PS.2_Keyboard-mouse I tried your "od -x" trick on each of these to no avail. I pointed the barcode scanner at some arbitrary barcodes, and it beeped and turned off the red light, but nothing appeared on my screen as a result of the "od -x". Are there other possibilities to consider? Thanks! Andy - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group (http://www.wlug.org) Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group (http://linux.meetup.com/393) Amateur Radio: KB1OIQ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGDrAaHl0iXDssISsRAtKQAJ94QGALxKYyZCAe1O82lmX0oPbw6ACff6xq +3p23tpa7Eu+AaA2eRTS1To= =Yf7o -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] DSL testing

by Eric Stein

At my parent's house, the DSL was going slowly until we added DSL splitters. Adding them improved performance drastically. Eric Keith Wright wrote: >> From: Keith Wright <kwright(a)keithdiane.us> >> >> >>> From: "Brian J. Conway" <bconway(a)alum.wpi.edu> >>> >>> Either way, I imagine a truck roll will still be >>> your best course of action. >>> >>> >> Truck roll? Is that a typo? >> > > I thought it was, but I think it's not. > > I have been reading dslreports.com, as somebody > else suggested, and I gather that's standard > jargon for calling for help (and paying for it). > Help arrives in a truck, of course. > > I am still thinking of installing a DSL splitter > inside the house, where the phone line enters > (without rolling the truck). > > Is that crazy? > > -- Keith > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] DSL testing

by Keith Wright

> From: Keith Wright <kwright(a)keithdiane.us> > > > From: "Brian J. Conway" <bconway(a)alum.wpi.edu> > > > > Either way, I imagine a truck roll will still be > > your best course of action. > > > > Truck roll? Is that a typo? I thought it was, but I think it's not. I have been reading dslreports.com, as somebody else suggested, and I gather that's standard jargon for calling for help (and paying for it). Help arrives in a truck, of course. I am still thinking of installing a DSL splitter inside the house, where the phone line enters (without rolling the truck). Is that crazy? -- Keith

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] Gigabit NICs for Linux

by Richard Klein

sageman(a)WPI.EDU wrote: > All, > > Additionally, I'm looking for a gigabit switch. Only need like 4-8 ports > and would like it, again, to work very easily. Never used a switch, just > hubs and routers. Right now, have a hub hooked into a router. From what I > understand, if I replace the hub with a switch, it should *just work*. > Basically, a switch is like a hub, but with full duplex support and maybe > some fancy QoS features or something, right? As I understand it, switches are much simpler and more basic than routers. If it has QoS, I think it's either a router or a managed switch. My GigE router is a D-Link DGS-105, and it has no administration whatsoever; you just plug your cables into it and go. Wikipedia addresses the difference between switches and routers here, but I don't know if it'll clear things up for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router#Function Look for a router that allows "jumbo frames". Ref. wikipedia, again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbo_frames -- Rich

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] Gigabit NICs for Linux

by Brian J. Conway

On Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:19:40 -0400 (EDT) sageman(a)WPI.EDU wrote: > All, > > Recently, I've been looking to upgrade my current network setup and make > the push to gigabit. At the moment, I'm looking for any suggestions on > gigabit NICs that folks have got working under the 2.6 kernel, > preferably without too much effort. I'm currently looking at the > Rosewill RC-400, which supposedly uses the r8169 module. Any one happen > to have any luck with that? > > Additionally, I'm looking for a gigabit switch. Only need like 4-8 ports > and would like it, again, to work very easily. Never used a switch, just > hubs and routers. Right now, have a hub hooked into a router. From what > I understand, if I replace the hub with a switch, it should *just work*. > Basically, a switch is like a hub, but with full duplex support and > maybe some fancy QoS features or something, right? > > My plan is to plug the high bandwidth internetwork connections into the > switch which then connects into my router and through to a cable modem. > Basically, fast connection on the network for transferring files, > streaming and such, but, when it comes to the internet, cable modem is > the bottleneck, so who cares if the router supports gigabit, right? Does > this sound reasonable to you network folks out there? > > Thanks for all your help! > > Carlton Stedman I've been using Intel e1000 devices under FreeBSD and Linux (onboard and PCI NICs), they are well-supported and pretty good/low-CPU use cards. For some reason I've been using D-Link switches over the years, not sure why, I wouldn't recommend any of their other hardware, but their 100 Mbps and Gigabit switches have always worked great. My recent purchases for home were: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106123 (e1000 $32 retail, more coming in stock soon, I assume) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127082 ($40 after rebate) I've also been using the onboard Broadcom BGE cards at work, those have worked relatively well except in cases of the very latest chips not being supported with a given OS/kernel. I don't think those are offered in card form anyway, though. Brian J. Conway

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] Seeking help with a USB barcode scanner

by Jamie Guinan

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007, Andy Stewart wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > > HI everybody, > > Does anybody in the group have any experience using a USB barcode > scanner with Linux? Its tough to google for "barcode scanner" since > each term brings up its own set of things which aren't what I seek. > > In particular, I have been loaned a USB barcode scanner which is made by > PSC, Inc. with model number QS2500. When I plug it into my laptop, the > USB vendor and device IDs are 04B4:0101. I looked this up on the Linux > USB devices website and it has multiple references (mostly to USB > keyboards). > > I think this device is being handled as a USB HID device, but I'm not > certain. Hi Andy, See if "evdev" is loaded, then try reading the various /dev/input/event* nodes. I have a USB keyboard here. Oh neat, under 2.6.19, they even give you a path that matches the device ids, # od -x /dev/input/by-id/usb-1241_1203-event-kbd (tap tap tap...) 0000000 92a9 460e 0000 0000 36dc 000b 0000 0000 0000020 0001 001c 0000 0000 92a9 460e 0000 0000 0000040 36e0 000b 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ... C code, #include <linux/input.h> int keyboardFd = open(kbdev, O_RDWR); struct input_event ev; int n = read(keyboardFd, &ev, sizeof(ev)); See the fields in ev, you'll get events for press/release, keycode, etc. Have fun! -Jamie > > I'm wondering if Linux has any software that would read the value from a > barcode scanner and do something with it. If I knew which device file > was used, maybe I could "cat <devfile>" and see some output when I > scanned a barcode. > > Note that there are several examples of software for printing barcodes, > but that's not what I need (at least not yet). > > Any help would be appreciated. > > Thanks! > > Andy > > - -- > Andy Stewart, Founder > Worcester Linux Users' Group (http://www.wlug.org) > Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group (http://linux.meetup.com/393) > Amateur Radio: KB1OIQ > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) > Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org > > iD8DBQFGDcRgHl0iXDssISsRAjF2AJ98hr6d4i2EMSQ5AvAWiiyfPLHdWACeLSm+ > uCN6IcuTTYvDZbz44z+t4I4= > =gdbi > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

March 31, 2007

Gigabit NICs for Linux

by sageman＠WPI.EDU

All, Recently, I've been looking to upgrade my current network setup and make the push to gigabit. At the moment, I'm looking for any suggestions on gigabit NICs that folks have got working under the 2.6 kernel, preferably without too much effort. I'm currently looking at the Rosewill RC-400, which supposedly uses the r8169 module. Any one happen to have any luck with that? Additionally, I'm looking for a gigabit switch. Only need like 4-8 ports and would like it, again, to work very easily. Never used a switch, just hubs and routers. Right now, have a hub hooked into a router. From what I understand, if I replace the hub with a switch, it should *just work*. Basically, a switch is like a hub, but with full duplex support and maybe some fancy QoS features or something, right? My plan is to plug the high bandwidth internetwork connections into the switch which then connects into my router and through to a cable modem. Basically, fast connection on the network for transferring files, streaming and such, but, when it comes to the internet, cable modem is the bottleneck, so who cares if the router supports gigabit, right? Does this sound reasonable to you network folks out there? Thanks for all your help! Carlton Stedman

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] Seeking help with a USB barcode scanner

by Mike Leo

we had a demo model, too....it basically just scanned in the data as if you typed it in on the keyboard. ----- Original Message ---- From: Mike Frysinger <vapier(a)gentoo.org> To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Cc: Brian J. Conway <bconway(a)alum.wpi.edu>; andystewart(a)comcast.net Sent: Friday, March 30, 2007 10:44:56 PM Subject: Re: [Wlug] Seeking help with a USB barcode scanner On Friday 30 March 2007, Brian J. Conway wrote: > We used similar devices extensively in our wafer fab at my old job (hi > Mike), moo > though not under Linux more than a couple times as my desk. Since > my experience is only partially relevant, I can offer a few words as a > start. The scanners we used had interchangeable cables: When using a PS/2 > wedge (pass-thru) cable, it sat between the keyboard and the computer and > passed data as a standard keyboard, no drivers required and OS-agnostic. > When using a USB cable, it functioned as an HID device, and required only > the standard Windows HID keyboard driver. Scanning would send data as an > HID keyboard input. In both cases, it was transparent to any program we > were using (a simple terminal emulator, in our case), but we did need to > scan a configuration code out of the manual each time we changed cable > types. yeah, the scanners tend to be pretty simplistic ... they usually just send the scanned barcode values straight through ... actually, you'd be surprised how many of these things are runnnig Linux themselves ... some of them you can hijack, but once you get past the novelty of it, the device isnt terribly useful without their application ... -mike _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] Seeking help with a USB barcode scanner

by Mike Frysinger

On Friday 30 March 2007, Brian J. Conway wrote: > We used similar devices extensively in our wafer fab at my old job (hi > Mike), moo > though not under Linux more than a couple times as my desk. Since > my experience is only partially relevant, I can offer a few words as a > start. The scanners we used had interchangeable cables: When using a PS/2 > wedge (pass-thru) cable, it sat between the keyboard and the computer and > passed data as a standard keyboard, no drivers required and OS-agnostic. > When using a USB cable, it functioned as an HID device, and required only > the standard Windows HID keyboard driver. Scanning would send data as an > HID keyboard input. In both cases, it was transparent to any program we > were using (a simple terminal emulator, in our case), but we did need to > scan a configuration code out of the manual each time we changed cable > types. yeah, the scanners tend to be pretty simplistic ... they usually just send the scanned barcode values straight through ... actually, you'd be surprised how many of these things are runnnig Linux themselves ... some of them you can hijack, but once you get past the novelty of it, the device isnt terribly useful without their application ... -mike

March 31, 2007

Re: [Wlug] Seeking help with a USB barcode scanner

by Brian J. Conway

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:16:00 -0400 Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > > HI everybody, > > Does anybody in the group have any experience using a USB barcode > scanner with Linux? Its tough to google for "barcode scanner" since > each term brings up its own set of things which aren't what I seek. > > In particular, I have been loaned a USB barcode scanner which is made by > PSC, Inc. with model number QS2500. When I plug it into my laptop, the > USB vendor and device IDs are 04B4:0101. I looked this up on the Linux > USB devices website and it has multiple references (mostly to USB > keyboards). > > I think this device is being handled as a USB HID device, but I'm not > certain. > > I'm wondering if Linux has any software that would read the value from a > barcode scanner and do something with it. If I knew which device file > was used, maybe I could "cat <devfile>" and see some output when I > scanned a barcode. > > Note that there are several examples of software for printing barcodes, > but that's not what I need (at least not yet). > > Any help would be appreciated. > > Thanks! > > Andy We used similar devices extensively in our wafer fab at my old job (hi Mike), though not under Linux more than a couple times as my desk. Since my experience is only partially relevant, I can offer a few words as a start. The scanners we used had interchangeable cables: When using a PS/2 wedge (pass-thru) cable, it sat between the keyboard and the computer and passed data as a standard keyboard, no drivers required and OS-agnostic. When using a USB cable, it functioned as an HID device, and required only the standard Windows HID keyboard driver. Scanning would send data as an HID keyboard input. In both cases, it was transparent to any program we were using (a simple terminal emulator, in our case), but we did need to scan a configuration code out of the manual each time we changed cable types. Brian J. Conway

March 31, 2007