lightweight webserver for, e.g., NTP widget
I'm intrigued by the possibility of using a lightweight web server to
provide a management/user interface to test equipment or appliances
(e.g. like the NTP server recently discussed, or a box with mixers and
counters).
I've built some web interfaces to very small things using Arduinos and
Rabbits, and it works ok for simple stuff (turning on and off switches),
but as soon as you start looking at a bit more complexity (e.g. you want
to move files around), a bit more sophistication on your server seems
useful. Or, for instance, if you have a DDS you want to program to
follow a particular sequence of frequencies (e.g. to match a particular
Doppler profile, in my case). Or a data acquisition application.
The appeal that the "user client" is that any old web-browser is pretty
generic.
I've done this "sort of" by exposing a directory as a public share (SMB)
and then "browsing" to that file, using the file:// mechanism, but it
seems that actually having a real server might be useful (for things
like POST from a form, for instance)
But, on the other hand, it seems that something like Apache is a bit
much to manage.
Is there something that runs under Linux on a lightweight single board
PC (Raspberry pi or Intel Mini-ITX Atom mobos) that isn't too much of a
pain, and doesn't require you to be a full time web server administrator
to make it work?
There are numberous web servers that are small and light weight, some
examples are boa ( www.boa.org ) and HTTPd
http://www.nongnu.org/mini-httpd/
On Mon, 2013-02-11 at 14:01 -0800, Jim Lux wrote:
I'm intrigued by the possibility of using a lightweight web server to
provide a management/user interface to test equipment or appliances
(e.g. like the NTP server recently discussed, or a box with mixers and
counters).
I've built some web interfaces to very small things using Arduinos and
Rabbits, and it works ok for simple stuff (turning on and off switches),
but as soon as you start looking at a bit more complexity (e.g. you want
to move files around), a bit more sophistication on your server seems
useful. Or, for instance, if you have a DDS you want to program to
follow a particular sequence of frequencies (e.g. to match a particular
Doppler profile, in my case). Or a data acquisition application.
The appeal that the "user client" is that any old web-browser is pretty
generic.
I've done this "sort of" by exposing a directory as a public share (SMB)
and then "browsing" to that file, using the file:// mechanism, but it
seems that actually having a real server might be useful (for things
like POST from a form, for instance)
But, on the other hand, it seems that something like Apache is a bit
much to manage.
Is there something that runs under Linux on a lightweight single board
PC (Raspberry pi or Intel Mini-ITX Atom mobos) that isn't too much of a
pain, and doesn't require you to be a full time web server administrator
to make it work?
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
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and follow the instructions there.
I used thttpd many years ago. It is tiny and fast. There are others.
Joe Gray
W5JG
On Feb 11, 2013 3:01 PM, "Jim Lux" jimlux@earthlink.net wrote:
I'm intrigued by the possibility of using a lightweight web server to
provide a management/user interface to test equipment or appliances (e.g.
like the NTP server recently discussed, or a box with mixers and counters).
I've built some web interfaces to very small things using Arduinos and
Rabbits, and it works ok for simple stuff (turning on and off switches),
but as soon as you start looking at a bit more complexity (e.g. you want to
move files around), a bit more sophistication on your server seems useful.
Or, for instance, if you have a DDS you want to program to follow a
particular sequence of frequencies (e.g. to match a particular Doppler
profile, in my case). Or a data acquisition application.
The appeal that the "user client" is that any old web-browser is pretty
generic.
I've done this "sort of" by exposing a directory as a public share (SMB)
and then "browsing" to that file, using the file:// mechanism, but it seems
that actually having a real server might be useful (for things like POST
from a form, for instance)
But, on the other hand, it seems that something like Apache is a bit much
to manage.
Is there something that runs under Linux on a lightweight single board PC
(Raspberry pi or Intel Mini-ITX Atom mobos) that isn't too much of a pain,
and doesn't require you to be a full time web server administrator to make
it work?
_____________**
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and follow the instructions there.
If you just want to static-serve the assets in a particular folder, and have python available, there's always:
python -m SimpleHTTPServer
…which serves the current directory on localhost:8080. But no PHP.
For a modern approach you might look at building a small server based on Node.js, which is a sort of construction kit for network applications like web servers, among other things. It runs on small linux platforms like the Raspberry Pi, as well as the usual desktop systems. Open source at http://nodejs.org
As an example, I publish an open-source Node.js application for controlling the Arduino here:
https://github.com/billroy/bitlash-commander
It's a web server that talks to devices on the serial port and serves control panels with status indicators and controls over the web.
Your DDS control example would be easy to implement in a similar way using node. Happy to follow up off-list.
-br
On Feb 11, 2013, at 3:01 PM, Jim Lux wrote:
I'm intrigued by the possibility of using a lightweight web server to provide a management/user interface to test equipment or appliances (e.g. like the NTP server recently discussed, or a box with mixers and counters).
I've built some web interfaces to very small things using Arduinos and Rabbits, and it works ok for simple stuff (turning on and off switches), but as soon as you start looking at a bit more complexity (e.g. you want to move files around), a bit more sophistication on your server seems useful. Or, for instance, if you have a DDS you want to program to follow a particular sequence of frequencies (e.g. to match a particular Doppler profile, in my case). Or a data acquisition application.
The appeal that the "user client" is that any old web-browser is pretty generic.
I've done this "sort of" by exposing a directory as a public share (SMB) and then "browsing" to that file, using the file:// mechanism, but it seems that actually having a real server might be useful (for things like POST from a form, for instance)
But, on the other hand, it seems that something like Apache is a bit much to manage.
Is there something that runs under Linux on a lightweight single board PC (Raspberry pi or Intel Mini-ITX Atom mobos) that isn't too much of a pain, and doesn't require you to be a full time web server administrator to make it work?
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
From: Jim Lux
[]
Is there something that runs under Linux on a lightweight single board
PC (Raspberry pi or Intel Mini-ITX Atom mobos) that isn't too much of a
pain, and doesn't require you to be a full time web server administrator
to make it work?
---=======
Anything which works on the Raspberry Pi must be fairly lightweight! <G> I
don't think that basic Apache would be too much to manage, and many folk
have used it:
http://lifehacker.com/5963554/set-up-a-raspberry-pi-as-a-personal-web-server
http://www.jeremymorgan.com/tutorials/raspberry-pi/how-to-raspberry-pi-web-server/
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Raspberry-Pi-Web-Server
Should be fine especially now that 512 MB memory is the standard. PHP seems
to the installed with most of these servers, and perhaps that would provide
the flexibilty you need.
David
SatSignal Software - Quality software written to your requirements
Web: http://www.satsignal.eu
Email: david-taylor@blueyonder.co.uk
On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 10:04 PM, David J Taylor
david-taylor@blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
Anything which works on the Raspberry Pi must be fairly lightweight! <G> I
don't think that basic Apache would be too much to manage, and many folk
have used it:
I have to agree with the above. Many people think Apache is a "heavy
weight" process the requires server class hardware. This is
absolutely NOT the case. Appache scales itself by using the "process
per client" server model. This means as the load on the system goes
up Apache makes copies of itself that all run in parallel. Yu is CAN
make use of huge multi-core servers with gigabytes of RAM but it also
scales down to small scale and is not a CPU hog and nearly
"disappears" when it is idle.
And as said, it is easy to configure because "everyone" who knows
anything about the web knows Apache so help is easy to find
Chris Albertson
Redondo Beach, California
On 2/11/13 10:20 PM, Chris Albertson wrote:
On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 10:04 PM, David J Taylor
david-taylor@blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
Anything which works on the Raspberry Pi must be fairly lightweight! <G> I
don't think that basic Apache would be too much to manage, and many folk
have used it:
I have to agree with the above. Many people think Apache is a "heavy
weight" process the requires server class hardware. This is
absolutely NOT the case. Appache scales itself by using the "process
per client" server model. This means as the load on the system goes
up Apache makes copies of itself that all run in parallel. Yu is CAN
make use of huge multi-core servers with gigabytes of RAM but it also
scales down to small scale and is not a CPU hog and nearly
"disappears" when it is idle.
And as said, it is easy to configure because "everyone" who knows
anything about the web knows Apache so help is easy to find
I think the complaint that people have about Apache is not the resource
requirements, but, rather, that the configuration is complex and has
many files in various places. It may well be that the "default"
installation works fine (I'm sure it does), but sometimes, you can spend
a lot of time fiddling to get it right.
Before you know it, you are going to find that not having php (or Python, or Perl, or whatever your favorite scripting language is) is crippling. I recommend you bite the bullet and get a small ARM SBC big enough to run a full Linux distro. I use a TS-7553 from embeddedarm.com with great satisfaction for just things like that.
Didier KO4BB
Sent from my Droid Razr 4G LTE wireless tracker.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Lux jimlux@earthlink.net
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com
Sent: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 4:02 PM
Subject: [time-nuts] lightweight webserver for, e.g., NTP widget
I'm intrigued by the possibility of using a lightweight web server to
provide a management/user interface to test equipment or appliances
(e.g. like the NTP server recently discussed, or a box with mixers and
counters).
I've built some web interfaces to very small things using Arduinos and
Rabbits, and it works ok for simple stuff (turning on and off switches),
but as soon as you start looking at a bit more complexity (e.g. you want
to move files around), a bit more sophistication on your server seems
useful. Or, for instance, if you have a DDS you want to program to
follow a particular sequence of frequencies (e.g. to match a particular
Doppler profile, in my case). Or a data acquisition application.
The appeal that the "user client" is that any old web-browser is pretty
generic.
I've done this "sort of" by exposing a directory as a public share (SMB)
and then "browsing" to that file, using the file:// mechanism, but it
seems that actually having a real server might be useful (for things
like POST from a form, for instance)
But, on the other hand, it seems that something like Apache is a bit
much to manage.
Is there something that runs under Linux on a lightweight single board
PC (Raspberry pi or Intel Mini-ITX Atom mobos) that isn't too much of a
pain, and doesn't require you to be a full time web server administrator
to make it work?
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
I tend to agree with this notion of not going with the cheapest SBC
possible. Unless you are going to incorporate the PI in a number of
devices (i.e. will be buying multiple units), it makes more sense to
toss in the extra hundred dollars and get a more capable SBC. For one
thing, you need the serial port on the SBC in the event things go wrong
with USB.
Regarding running linux on Arm, I've tried a few distributions. By far,
the easiest to get running is opensuse. However, it seems to be the
least efficient. XFCE is a bit too much for a single core Cortex, and
the ICEWM never starts. It is in the image as an alternate window
manager. Fedora is playing catch up on Arm, but they have the bucks to
ultimately do a fine job.
Probably the most ready to rock and roll is Ubuntu. Having used Opensuse
for well over a decade, I have to say Debian is bizarre and Ubuntu is
cryptic. The lack of a root user account on Debian is a head scratcher,
though you can add one. But the real killer is the package management on
Ubuntu. Aptitude is not Yast. In fact, you are better off using the
package search website that Ubuntu set up than to use Aptitude. Don't
even get me started on Ubuntu environment variable schemes.
Regarding Ubuntu on ARM, here are some real time savers. Once you
install the image on a SD card and boot, do the following:
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
If you are going to install gcc, do this:
apt-get install build-essential
Otherwise, the compiler is installed but the environment variables are
not. Bizarre to say the least. Without running update and upgrade, when
I tried to install gcc, it suggested I use "pentium-builder". No, really!
A few other packages that are useful:
apt-get install icewm
apt-get install xorg
apt-get install midori
For unknown reasons, the Xterm on Ubuntu doesn't cut and paste properly.
There are hints on the internet about how to make it work like "normal"
linux, but they didn't work for me. However, this terminal works fine
with cut and paste.
apt-get install terminator
When you install it, the program shows up as "terminal" not
"terminator." Go figure.
Many of these Arm SBCs do not have a battery for the RTC. On some, there
is a hook to add a battery. Since most people will have them on a
network, this sort of makes sense. There could also be issues regarding
shipping boards with the battery installed. But it seems NTP will not
set the clock during the installation (first boot). I have no idea why
this is true, but once booted again, NTP runs. I haven't checked it for
accuracy.
There is a hardware bug in the Beagleboard XM, so I would suggest not
buying that SBC. I am trying to patch around it, but a patch is not the
same as designing the hardware correctly.
As I mentioned previously, some of these SBCs depend on the graphic chip
to do the heavy lifting. If you are going to do anything computational
in your own software, get a SBC with a Cortex-A chip. Those chips have
"dsp", actually SIMD:
For software defined radio, this is at least a factor of two faster in
my testing, and often three or four depending on the program.
On 2/12/2013 10:11 AM, Didier Juges wrote:
I've put Apache on opensuse on AMD boxes. It is trivial with Yast. They
even set up a sample webpage.
Before you know it, you are going to find that not having php (or Python, or Perl, or whatever your favorite scripting language is) is crippling. I recommend you bite the bullet and get a small ARM SBC big enough to run a full Linux distro. I use a TS-7553 from embeddedarm.com with great satisfaction for just things like that.
Didier KO4BB
Sent from my Droid Razr 4G LTE wireless tracker.
If you decide to go with one of the SBCs at embeddedarm.com, I have a Wiki page on my web site documenting how I have set mine up.
Didier
Sent from my Droid Razr 4G LTE wireless tracker.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Lux jimlux@earthlink.net
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com
Sent: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 4:02 PM
Subject: [time-nuts] lightweight webserver for, e.g., NTP widget
I'm intrigued by the possibility of using a lightweight web server to
provide a management/user interface to test equipment or appliances
(e.g. like the NTP server recently discussed, or a box with mixers and
counters).
I've built some web interfaces to very small things using Arduinos and
Rabbits, and it works ok for simple stuff (turning on and off switches),
but as soon as you start looking at a bit more complexity (e.g. you want
to move files around), a bit more sophistication on your server seems
useful. Or, for instance, if you have a DDS you want to program to
follow a particular sequence of frequencies (e.g. to match a particular
Doppler profile, in my case). Or a data acquisition application.
The appeal that the "user client" is that any old web-browser is pretty
generic.
I've done this "sort of" by exposing a directory as a public share (SMB)
and then "browsing" to that file, using the file:// mechanism, but it
seems that actually having a real server might be useful (for things
like POST from a form, for instance)
But, on the other hand, it seems that something like Apache is a bit
much to manage.
Is there something that runs under Linux on a lightweight single board
PC (Raspberry pi or Intel Mini-ITX Atom mobos) that isn't too much of a
pain, and doesn't require you to be a full time web server administrator
to make it work?
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.