USB

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Multifunction printers (a printer and scanner in one unit, resembling a small photocopier) may be supported, depending on model. These may be treated as the individual portions - a printer and a scanner - although even an otherwise-incompatible device will normally allow just the printer portion to be used on a strictly pass-through basis through p910d even if none of the other capabilities are supported. Multifunction printers (a printer and scanner in one unit, resembling a small photocopier) may be supported, depending on model. These may be treated as the individual portions - a printer and a scanner - although even an otherwise-incompatible device will normally allow just the printer portion to be used on a strictly pass-through basis through p910d even if none of the other capabilities are supported.
-USB telephone-style handsets may or may not be Linux-compatible, with low-end models being more likely to be recognised as some Linux-compatible combination (typically a standard USB sound card with perhaps a USB human interface device as the keypad). Higher-end devices often are locked to one provider or tightly-integrated to Windows-specific drivers or the Skype softphone application, rendering them useless. For instance, the Linksys CIT200 is useless outside Windows, while the far lower-end Skype SK04 is a relatively-standard USB device which may be worth testing in a Linux environment.+USB telephone-style handsets may or may not be Linux-compatible, with low-end models being more likely to be recognised as some Linux-compatible combination (typically a standard USB sound card with perhaps a USB human interface device as the keypad). Higher-end devices often are locked to one provider by being tightly-integrated to Windows-specific drivers and/or the Skype softphone application, rendering them useless. For instance, the Linksys CIT200 is useless outside Windows, while the far lower-end Skype SK04 is a relatively-standard USB device which may be worth testing in a Linux environment.
Laptop "USB docking stations" typically provide some combination of a USB hub, an extra network interface, audio, serial/parallel ports, keyboard and mouse. Their compatibility varies depending on model; it may be necessary to determine which drivers are installed by the bundled Windows software and check availability of existing embedded Linux drivers before considering these for use. Some may work, some most certainly don't. Unfortunately, USB to SVGA interfaces in these packages are currently very proprietary and in no way Linux compatible - the one key stumbling block preventing a USB-aware network-storage device such as Linksys' NSLU2 or a USB-aware router from being expanded to be a small but complete self-contained embedded Linux computer system. Laptop "USB docking stations" typically provide some combination of a USB hub, an extra network interface, audio, serial/parallel ports, keyboard and mouse. Their compatibility varies depending on model; it may be necessary to determine which drivers are installed by the bundled Windows software and check availability of existing embedded Linux drivers before considering these for use. Some may work, some most certainly don't. Unfortunately, USB to SVGA interfaces in these packages are currently very proprietary and in no way Linux compatible - the one key stumbling block preventing a USB-aware network-storage device such as Linksys' NSLU2 or a USB-aware router from being expanded to be a small but complete self-contained embedded Linux computer system.
[[Category: English documentation]] [[Category: English documentation]]

Revision as of 07:10, 28 October 2007

See also: USB storage

USB support

Of the Supported Devices, just a few support USB. These include the ASUS WL-500g Premium and various devices in this same series, the Asus WL-500W and the Linksys WRTSL54GS.

USB can be enabled by installing the required kernel modules to JFFS, then using a startup script to mount individual USB storage devices.

The cost of USB-capable network routers starts slightly over-$100 (as of 2007), depending on capability, but the ability to add external hardware easily makes these far more powerful units.

USB devices

The various USB options include:

  • Network-attached storage including flash memories, hard discs, floppy discs and CD/DVD-ROM devices. These can be shared across a LAN using Samba; an external hard drive also provides plentiful swap space for use as virtual memory.
  • Printer Sharing; as either a pass-through driver (p910nd - for printers not supported directly by embedded Linux or those needing proprietary manufacturers' drivers) or CUPS (for fully Linux-supported printers only)
  • Local network sharing of supported scanner models using SANE drivers; these may be accessed from Linux desktop PC's or (through third-party utilities like SaneTwain) even from Windows PC's.

The availability of external storage and peripherals makes a greater number of packages, such as many of the Optware applications, usable from these otherwise-tiny devices.

Multifunction devices

Multifunction printers (a printer and scanner in one unit, resembling a small photocopier) may be supported, depending on model. These may be treated as the individual portions - a printer and a scanner - although even an otherwise-incompatible device will normally allow just the printer portion to be used on a strictly pass-through basis through p910d even if none of the other capabilities are supported.

USB telephone-style handsets may or may not be Linux-compatible, with low-end models being more likely to be recognised as some Linux-compatible combination (typically a standard USB sound card with perhaps a USB human interface device as the keypad). Higher-end devices often are locked to one provider by being tightly-integrated to Windows-specific drivers and/or the Skype softphone application, rendering them useless. For instance, the Linksys CIT200 is useless outside Windows, while the far lower-end Skype SK04 is a relatively-standard USB device which may be worth testing in a Linux environment.

Laptop "USB docking stations" typically provide some combination of a USB hub, an extra network interface, audio, serial/parallel ports, keyboard and mouse. Their compatibility varies depending on model; it may be necessary to determine which drivers are installed by the bundled Windows software and check availability of existing embedded Linux drivers before considering these for use. Some may work, some most certainly don't. Unfortunately, USB to SVGA interfaces in these packages are currently very proprietary and in no way Linux compatible - the one key stumbling block preventing a USB-aware network-storage device such as Linksys' NSLU2 or a USB-aware router from being expanded to be a small but complete self-contained embedded Linux computer system.