Projects & Studies
Raspberry Pi Benchmarks: V4B, V3B+, V3B, V2B, V1B & Pi Zero
I recently re-ran a series of benchmarks on my collection of Raspberry Pi's to see what I had to work with for upcoming projects. CPU, I/O, network and browser benchmarks below were completed on RPI Zero, V1 Model B, V2 Model B, V3 Model B, V3 Model B+ and V4 Model B. Results/comparisons may be useful to others.
Config and ToolsSimple test - booted/ran a series of benchmarks on all RaspberryPis using the same SD card and power supply. Card was loaded with the latest version of Raspbian plus a couple of common profiling and benchmarking tools. Setup notes:
Hardware
Software
HardinfoProfile Summary
A number of hardware updates over the years, see also: Socialcompare.com's Raspberrypi Models Comparison
CPU BenchmarksSequential I/O BenchmarksSequential Writes w/ file create"sysbench --test=fileio --file-test-mode=seqwr --validate run"
Sequential Reads"sysbench --test=fileio --file-test-mode=seqrd --validate run"
Random I/O BenchmarksRandom Writes"sysbench --test=fileio --file-test-mode=rndwr --validate run"
Random Reads"sysbench --test=fileio --file-test-mode=rndrd --validate run"
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PI4 Model B
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PI3 Model B+ |
8.12 |
5.63 |
18.44 | 7.77 |
23.47 | 17.142 |
Notes
- RPI 4 Power - Initial issues with USB-C - not all cables work.
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Putting RaspberryPi Monitor to Sleep (DPMS)
I recently stumbled upon a fix for a longstanding Raspberry PI annoyance - getting the monitor into powersave mode after a period of idle time. Here's a quick tweak that seems to work fine on native HDMI and VGA (via adapter*) monitors. Hopefully helpful to others.
I've played with Linux Power Management commands, utilities, screen savers and such in attempts to get Pi's to turn off (standby) monitors when idle. I recently hit upon a Raspberry Pi config option that seems to do the trick - not really sure when/where it appeared, but it does switch off the HDMI when Display Power Management (DPMS) is triggered, as opposed to simply blanking the screen. Works on Raspbian Stretch, have not tested previous versions. Dec 2021 FINAL Update - I STILL Use this! Procedure below has been moved to tech.tpedersen.net/raspberry-pi/pi-in-the-sky/putting-raspberry-pi-monitor-to-sleep-dpms so I don't lose it when Google shuts down this site! Jun 2020 Update - In spite of Buster Update noted below ... I STILL manually adjust /boot/config.txt & /boot/cmdline.txt to get HDMI to standby. Tested again today using 2020-05-27-raspios-buster-lite-armhf. Yeeesh! Feb 2020 Update - Looks like it's included in latest Buster Update. Screen Blanking under Advanced Options of Raspi-Config. Nov 2019 Notes - RPI 4 is fixed (or darn close). The Open Issue shows progress - Seems to work for me. May not be in latest release, but coming soon! Also - noticed that boot.txt and cmdline.txt were overwritten when I upgraded an RPI from stretch to buster ... had to redo blanking Sept 2019 Note - hdmi_blanking doesn't appear to be implemented on RPI 4 yet. Details here. ------ Oct 2018 (Original Post) The fix involves editing a couple of key configuration files - as always remember to make a backup copies before
type-o'ing in these files! Use sudo to edit files in boot partition *and* be careful!
As they say in IT - Works for me! Hope it works for others too.
Couple of random notes:
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IoT in the Home: Part 2 - IoT Containment
Finally organizing my notes to share network tactics and practices used to throw a fence around smart devices in our home. These smart things are becoming unavoidable, yet most lack mature security and privacy controls. Here's a recap of my initial assessment, network adjustments and a few resources - hopefully useful to others.
MotivationMonitoring network connections on our home network revealed some interesting chatter between smart devices and their internet end-points - domestic and international. Much of the wayward traffic appeared to be associated with device overhead (NTP Pooling, etc), but there were also a fair number of connections and conversations that seemed a tad creepy.
The lack of apparent security strategies by smart device manufacturers is also disconcerting. Most of the smart devices in our home have been around for a number of years yet lack evidence of established security practices or controls (SSAE16, ISO 27001, etc). Furthermore, IoT security & privacy standards really haven't matured in the past 2-3 years - device manufactures seem to be learning as they go.
Based on my comfort level with devices in our home, I settled on a "Containment" strategy that keeps our smart device world separate from our existing home network (personal computers, phones/tablets, shared peripherals ...). The Containment subnet also accommodates a couple of unavoidable constraints, like the ISP-supplied gateway/router that is required for our TV set-top boxes. I also decided to steer clear of smart devices that could be a physical security or safety issue for the time being - avoiding smart door locks, garage door openers, pacemakers and such.
Network AdjustmentsOur home network tweaks involved adding an isolated personal network behind a better firewall/router and recasting the original network as a combination guest WiFi and IoT Containment area.
Network objectives/characteristics
New network looks something like this:
Hardware
Software
References Guidance (not much)
Inspiration (plenty)
That's it ... The network will likely continue to evolve as our smart world evolves and matures. Not exactly a step-by-step, but hopefully useful. Feel free to Drop me a line if you have thoughts or questions.
---------------* T. Pedersen Ventures is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. |
Business Planning Google Doc Collection
An updated collection of business planning Google Docs & templates. Current collection includes Google Doc versions of MS Office templates from US Small Business Administration, SCORE.org, Business.gov.au and a number of interesting business planning resource sites. Hopefully useful to others, Comments/suggestions always welcome, Revision history and conversion notes/experience can be found HERE.
You will need a google account to access/use the docs, sheets and templates on this page. Login with your gmail or G Suite credentials.
Most of the gdoc templates on this page are 'View Only' - to use: please create a copy (Menu -> File -> Make a copy ...) and save to your own google drive. Please DO NOT 'Request Access' to the templates.
My original collection (circa 2011) from www.sba.gov and Businessmodelgeneration.com (useful book, btw).
Entries from old/defunct Google Drive Public Template Gallery (Click "Use Template" in upper right)
From SCORE.org Business Planning & Financial Statements Template Gallery (there are many more)
From Business.gov.au - Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Science. Great Info here!
Others/Odds-n-Ends
That's it for now ... hope it helps
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DIY Apple AirPlay/Print and HomeKit on RaspberryPI
I cobbled together a Raspberry Pi to stand-in as an Apple HomeKit and AirPlay/Print server as an experiment. The little gizmo allows us to control smart devices, print on household printer and play music on our stereo from iPhones & iPads. The HomePi has been working like a champ, so I decided to retrace my steps and share the recipe - hopefully useful to others.
Background/OverviewMany of the techno problems around our home tend to revolve around integrating older equipment with modern devices or attempting to deal with the deluge of new 'smart' devices, each with its own App or interface. Our 'vintage' stereo and network printer are prime examples of the old world - simply not iPhone/iPad compatible in terms of streaming music or printing. On the other end of the spectrum, we seem to be constantly fumbling with a variety of apps provided with our newfangled smart home (lights, switches, appliances, etc). I originally dropped the Raspberry PI onto our network to fill the Air gap by emulating Apple AirPlay and AirPrint services and recently added HomeKit services so Siri could begin helping out around the house. A cheap, easy and fun little project - no programming but RPI/Linux knowledge will come in handy. Probably a couple of hours to get things installed and running.Hardware
Our original AirPi was built on a Raspberry Pi 1 Model B, which worked great for Play/Print services for a couple of years - totally amazed by reliability and performance, it even handled print jobs while playing streamed music without missing a beat. The latest HomePi is based on a RPI 3 Model B which seems to be just as reliable and handle the additional HomeKit activity. The contraption is connected to our WiFi network and wired to an aux port on our stereo via headphone (3.5mm) to RCA Y-Cable.
Here's the list of hardware components involved. There is flexibility here, but the following works for me:
SoftwareThe software used for the original AirPi was somewhat version specific due to the combination of hardware and software required to pull the thing together using Raspbian Weezy, Shairport open source project and some sound/alsa struggles attempting to get my cheap-o USB sound card up and running. The HomePi rebuild went VERY smoothly under Jessie, but noted original software versions below - just in case. Seems to work fine under Stretch too.
InstallationFollowing is a sing-a-long with stopping
points along the way for systems that won't require all services. Not
exactly a HowTo, more of the personal log used to build/rebuild
this rascal. It does Include links to installation guides and a number of HowTo articles that I
found useful during the project. Hopefully helpful to others. *** 2021 The HomePi Recipe has been moved to tech.tpedersen.net/raspberry-pi/pi-recipes/homepi-apple *** Raspberry Pi OS Prep
AirPrint (CUPS)
AirPlay (Shairport-sync)
./configure --sysconfdir=/etc --with-alsa --with-avahi --with-ssl=openssl --with-metadata --with-soxr --with-systemd
HomeKit (HomeBridge)
Revision History
That's it for now - works for me! Quite amazed by these little PIs. I'll post some utilization stats at some point in the future. Drop me a line if you see something or have need or comment. Hope it helps
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Online Privacy Checkup
Reviewing privacy settings and personal information collected/maintained online was a great way to celebrate Data Privacy Day. Totally amazing to see how much personal information is collected and spread around the Interweb to provide our personalized experiences. Here are notes and links from privacy checkups at a few popular websites - hopefully useful to others. Privacy Checkup - Review/Adjust important Privacy Settings Take out - Create/Download archive of personal information Notes: Review of personal information will take some time! They maintain a LOT of personal data! Privacy Basics - "Learn how to customize your privacy settings so you can confidently share your moments." Data Policy - Quite a site (and sight!) - Comprehensive discussion of FB personal data collection & use Permanently Delete Facebook Account - Unlikely that all personal information will be removed Notes: Review took a long time and seemed inconclusive. Lots of data, confusing/conflicting procedures. Creepy! ** If you don't have a FB account, check "This doesn't answer my question" for further instructions Yahoo (Oath)Yahoo's Privacy Center - Details how Yahoo treats your personal information & ways to control Data Storage and Anonymization - Describes data that is collected, no controls offered Oath Privacy Controls Page - Probably now the best place to start Safety Center contains Privacy & Identity section, but strictly informational Ad Interest Manager allows you to opt-out of personalized advertisements Account Settings - Access to very limited Yahoo Account information Notes: In June 2017 Verizon rolled Yahoo under Oath.com umbrella (others include AOL, Techcrunch, Tumblr ...) I took a quick run thru links above after Oath, but still pretty hard (impossible) to determine extent of personal information retained. No huge improvement in controls MicrosoftAccount Settings - Access to limited personal information Privacy Dashboard (new in Jan 2017!) - Informational w/ controls to manage & Dowload Microsoft Trust Center - Security, Privacy and compliance info for MS Cloud Services Opt-Out of Interest-Based Advertising - Control "personalized Ads" in browsers & windows Privacy Statement - Appears to be comprehensive, covering all Microsoft products/services Notes: There is now download option for activity history, but no obvious access to ALL data maintained by MS If you are a Windows 10 user remember to work your way through Settings/Privacy for more MS review Twitter*Privacy Policy - Reasonably straight forward* BUT you have to opt-out, NO Privacy by default Account Settings - Quite comprehensive, provides Archive Download Notes: Pretty easy to review personal information and update privacy settings. Privacy Policy - Set some time aside to review this one! Data Privacy and Advertising Settings are worth the visit - interesting Privacy Settings - Spend some time in here. LinkedIn digs deep, collects A LOT! Personal Data Export Page - Download copy of LinkedIn Data (presented in unwieldy csv files) Notes: Pretty intrusive. Lots of options, surprised by some of the collected information ------------- * June 2017 Twitter Update - New Privacy Policy and Personalization and Data Settings |
VirtualBox Windows 10 Upgrade Error C1900101-20017
A quick note to share the tweaks I used to upgrade a VirtualBox Windows 7 VM to Windows 10 after many attempts to get around update error C1900101-20017. Simply thought I'd share my experiences in case others are struggling with the same frustrating issue.
In a NutshellFor the past few months I've periodically attempted to upgrade a simple VirtualBox Win7 VM to Win10. It is a very minimal system used exclusively for testing, but ended up being amazingly difficult to update - always failing at initial Win10 reboot (frozen animated win10 logo) with: "Error(s) found: C1900101-20017 Windows Update encountered an unknown error".
Config Details
Final Tweaks
Many attempts over the past few months, beginning with matching the VM specs to Windows 10 requirements to disabling network & antivirus and downloading/upgrading from Win10 Image and finally playing with VM System Settings until the update actually worked!
In the end, I THINK the following VM System settings got past the error:
Screenshots of final/working System tabs in case I tweaked something else - click to enlarge:
Just a quick entry here because this error drove me nuts for quite a while - I hope it helps. |
IoT in the Home: Part 1 - Traffic Analysis Hardware & Tools
Part 1 of a series [hopefully] of notes relating to managing traffic on modern home networks, a project inspired by the Internet of Things (IoT) and a growing number of Smart Devices in our home. Many of these devices converse on our internal network, others communicate with Cloud services - few offer details of their net-chatter. Simply curious to see Who's talking to Who while learning a few network management tools and techniques.
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Garmin eTrex 10: How to Add Coordinates to Compass Display
Here's a quick Garmin eTrex 10 techno adjustment that seems to reduce aimless wandering when elementary students tackle GPS activities like Hide-N-Seek. In a nutshell: Add current location (GPS coordinates) to the eTrex 10 compass display to provide realtime tracking of longitude/latitude changes. Setup - Approx 40 Seconds/Unit to set this up
Usage - Students navigate using compass display.
Some handy Garmin eTrex 10 links
That's it - hope it helps |