"Linux and Zephyr, sitting in a tree (literally!)" – Christopher Biggs (LCA 2021 Online)
Christopher Biggs
https://lca2021.linux.org.au/schedule/presentation/40/
You’ve hopefully heard of Linux, but have you heard of Tux’s protege, Zephyr? Zephyr, a Linux Foundation project, is a real time operating system targetted at computers too small to run Linux. Zephyr aims to bring the Linux Effect to remote sensing, building automation, industrial control, and more.
There’ve been a number of Zephyr talks at LCA in the past, but I want to focus on the practicalities of developing and testing an IoT solution running Zephyr, with help from Linux. Many of my projects involve zephyr devices that use Bluetooth, LoRa or 4G NbIoT and aren’t directly reachable from the internet for debugging and upgrades. So when we’re in the early stages of field testing a Zephyr device, we send a Linux box along as a Troop Leader to look after the zephyr scouts.
This presentation will begin with the practicalities of getting started with Zephyr—picking a board that is easy to use and getting you over the hump of beginning development. The first few times I tried Zephyr, encouraged by previous LCA speakers, I gave up in frustration, but eventually it “Clicked” and I want to share the tips and gotchas I’ve learned that will save you frustration. Next, I will cover how I prepare an embedded linux system for remote cellular access in the field (working around Telstra’s frustrating use of multiple layers of NAT), and use this linux system to monitor and upgrade zephyr-based sensors during the test phase (SPOILERS: we use SaltStack, ZeroTier and MCUmgr to provision a Raspberry Pi to be a VPN gateway to the Zephyr devices under development).
As an example, we’ll discuss a feral animal management solution that really does involve a Zephyr device (and sometimes its Linux troop leader) sitting in a tree, observing and photographing animal behaviour.
linux.conf.au is a conference about the Linux operating system, and all aspects of the thriving ecosystem of Free and Open Source Software that has grown up around it. Run since 1999, in a different Australian or New Zealand city each year, by a team of local volunteers, LCA invites more than 500 people to learn from the people who shape the future of Open Source. For more information on the conference see https://linux.conf.au/
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Sun Jan 24 14:25:00 2021 at Blemings Labs
by linux.conf.au
linux foundation
