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Skybian User Guide

Moses Narrow edited this page Feb 6, 2022 · 31 revisions

Skybian User Guide


Introduction

The Skybian (version >0.6.0) image for the official Skyminer makes use of the Skywire package and has the Official Skycoin APT repo: http://deb.skywire.skycoin.com configured in it's software sources to receive updates. Automatic updates are preconfigured in the skybian image using unattended-updates.

The skybian image no longer uses the skyimager.

The ip configuration (if any) happens automatically on the first boot of the image. On the second boot, the skywire configuration is generated and skywire is started as either hypervisor or with remote hypervisor. Thus, the same image can now be used for every board in the official skyminer with the procedure outlined below.

The skyraspbian image does not have the same auto-peering or auto-update functionality as the Skybian image currently.
Every skyraspbian image will start as a hypervisor using dhcp instead of a static IP address.

The login data for Skybian images is as follows:

  • Orange Pi Prime:
    • username: root
    • password: skybian
  • Raspberry Pi
    • username: pi
    • password: raspberry

Supported Boards

Skybian:

  • Orange Pi Prime

Skyraspbian

  • Raspberry Pi 1, 2, 3 and 4

Skyminer setup - Skybian

Prerequisite

The first image will attempt to assign itself the .2 ip address on the current subnet. Make sure that the .2 ip address on the network provided by the skyminer router is not occupied.

Procedure

  • 1) Download the skybian image and extract it from the archive
    • Windows users must download the .zip archive
    • MacOS & linux: tar -xf /path/to/archive.tar.zst
  • 2) Use balena etcher or the dd command on linux to write the image to a microSD card
  • 3) Power off every board in the skyminer with the individual switches
  • 4) Insert the card into the board which you designate as hypervisor, and power on that board. The board will reboot once during this process.
  • 5) Wait until the hypervisor interface appears at the ip address of the skyminer router (assumes port forwarding) port :8000.
  • 6) repeat step 2 with the next microSD card, insert it in the next pi, and power on the board
  • 7) wait until the visor appears in the hypervisor user interface. The board will reboot once during this process
  • 8) Repeat steps 6 and 7 for every node in the skyminer
  • 9) After you have your cluster set up, be sure to whitelist your public keys

If you prefer instead to use a different computer as the hypervisor of your cluster, the easiest way is to connect that machine to the skyminer router and assign it the .2 ip address. Make sure your hypervisor is running and the RPC server is enabled in your configuration file (delete localhost but leave the port :3435)


Skyminer setup - Skyraspbian

The procedure for using the Skyraspbian image is very similar. The notable difference is that a static IP is not set for the hypervisor.

Every board will start a hypervisor instance, which may be manually configured to point at a remote / one hypervisor if desired.

Procedure

  • 1) Download the skyraspbian image and extract it from the archive
    • Windows users must download the .zip archive
    • MacOS & linux: tar -xf /path/to/archive.tar.zst
  • 2) Use balena etcher or the dd command on linux to write the image to a microSD card
  • 3) Insert the card into the board and apply power
  • 4) Log into your router interface and look for the list of DHCP Clients. Identify the board you just booted in the list.
  • 5) Check for the hypervisor interface at the IP address you identified in the previous step, port :8000 with a web browser
  • 6) repeat steps 2-5 with the next board.

Set Remote Hypervisor

  • 1) Access the hypervisor UI that you want the other boards to use as their hypervisor and copy the public key
  • 2) Access the next board (via ssh) and run skywire-autoconfig <pk> replacing <pk> with the public key you copied from the hypervisor
  • 3) Check the designated hypervisor to see that the additional visor appears in the list
  • 4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each additional board

After you have your cluster set up, be sure to whitelist your public keys


Updates & Troubleshooting

See the Skywire Package Installation article for further details about updating and troubleshooting.

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