Overview
This post is a continuation of Part 1 - Overview of the Components and Their Assembly. In this article we will install the base operating system, Ubuntu, and get the Raspberry Pi’s (RPI) ready to install Radiant Logic. We will start by flashing the Micro SD card, assigning the RPI a static IP address, and then update Ubuntu.
Table of Contents
Part 2: Base Install and Configuration
Prepare the Micro SD Card and Configure Ubuntu
1. The first step will be to flash the memory card in order to write the base OS to the Micro SD card
a. Download and install the Raspberry Pi Imager for your OS at: https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/
b. Put the Micro SD card in an adapter and mount it on your computer
c. Open the Raspberry Pi Imager
d. Click the [CHOOSE OS] button
e. Select: Ubuntu
f. Select: Ubuntu 20.04.01 LTS (Raspberry Pi 3/4) - 64-bit server OS for arm64 architectures
g. Click the [CHOOSE SD CARD] button
h. Select the inserted Micro SD card (NOTE: Be careful to select the correct drive or you can permanently lose data)
i. Click the [WRITE] button
j. Click the [YES] button (enter admin credentials if needed)
k. Click the [CONTINUE] button once the imager finishes
2. Remove the micro SD card and put the card into Raspberry Pi
3. Plug in the ethernet connection (or power if not using PoE)
4. Load a terminal window or ssh client and ssh to the Raspberry Pi (the use of ssh and a ssh client is beyond the scope of this article)
a. To locate the IP address of the Raspberry Pi, consult your router’s instructions or use the following method:
On Ubuntu and Mac OS use the command:
arp -na | grep -i "b8:27:eb"
If this doesn't work and you are using the latest Raspberry Pi 4, instead run:
arp -na | grep -i "dc:a6:32"
On Windows:
arp -a | findstr b8-27-eb
If this doesn't work and you are using the latest Raspberry Pi 4, instead run:
arp -a | findstr dc-a6-32
b. This returns output similar to the following:
(xx.xx.xx.x) at b8:27:eb:yy:yy:yy [ether] on xxxxxx
5. Use the following credentials:
ID: ubuntu
Password: ubuntu
6. The login screen loads
7. Enter the ubuntu user's password (note that it will not be displayed)
8. Enter and confirm a secure password (note that it will not be displayed)
9. The connection will close
10. ssh back to the Raspberry Pi with the ubuntu user's new password
11. Next update the apt repository: sudo apt update
12. The packages are updated
13. Upgrade the software packages: sudo apt upgrade
14. Select 'Y' to upgrade the Raspberry Pi
15. The upgrade process completes
16. Set the hostname for the Raspberry P (replace <HOSTNAME> with your desired name)i: sudo hostnamectl set-hostname <HOSTNAME>
17. Validate that the /etc/hosts file does not contain any other names (remove them leaving the localhost entry): more /etc/hosts
18. Assign static IP to the Raspberry Pi based upon your router's configuration. The router specific configuration for this is beyond the scope of this article.
19. Reboot the Raspberry Pi: sudo reboot
The base setup is complete. Repeat this process on the other two Raspberry Pi’s.
This article continues in Part 3: Radiant Logic Install Instructions