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Wired network on HiFiBerryOS Lite for Raspberry Pi 0W?

Steve Sergeant

July 16, 2020 17:16

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With partial success, I set-up a Pi zero W with HiFiBerryOS Lite for Raspberry Pi 0W, and a HIFIBERRY DAC+ ZERO.

The main thing I don't have working is the wired Ethernet interface. I tried two different USB Ethernet adapters, including this one [ https://www.pishop.us/product/usb-2-0-and-ethernet-hub-3-usb-ports-and-1-ethernet/ ], which works great on three other Pi_0_W systems I'm running with Raspian and Ubuntu server.

The other issue is performance. Even with every service I'm not using turned off in the web GUI (I really only want to use Airplay, and perhaps Bluetooth speaker), While playing Airplay content, I see load averages (using the "uptime" command) around 4.0 when logged-in through SSH, and I get occasional and unpredictable stammers and drop-outs.

Are there other services or processes I can turn off from the web interface or from the command line that could reduce the system load?

I hope to eventually deploy at least half-a-dozen of these in inconspicuous solar-powered or POE-powered garden systems. I also plan to try the MINIAMP for this application.

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5 comments

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 17, 2020 05:29

  Unfortunately there is no support for external Ethernet interfaces. Unfortunately the Pi Zero also is very slow. We already removed lots of stuff from the system. But in general, it's probably better to go for a full-sized Pi as the Pi3. Adding an external USB-Ethernet-Adapter will probably result in a power consumption that's similar to the one of the Pi3.

   

• 0
  
  Steve Sergeant July 17, 2020 17:28

  Are there more specific instructions somewhere for what does make your product, the HIFIBERRY DAC+ ZERO, into a useful system? Or are you telling me, "you shouldn't have bought this?" (i.e. Caveat emptor)

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 17, 2020 19:58

  You can run whatever software you like on the Pi Zero. Feel free to use Raspberry Pi OS if this works better for you. There is no need to use HiFiBerryOS. If you want to use another software, that's fine.
  
  "Useful" is very different for different people. Have a look at our gallery to see what useful stuff other people did:
  https://www.hifiberry.com/build/gallery/
  
  You can find a list of distributions that are used by many people here:
  https://www.hifiberry.com/build/software-selection/
  But even give you only a few ideas, there are lots of other distributions available.

• 0
  
  Steve Sergeant July 19, 2020 02:06

  Ignoring the original question about wired Ethernet, I want to explore the performance issues I'm seeing with the Pi Zero W and the DAC+ ZERO.

  What are applications and configurations where this combination is known to work reliably?

  I suggest that the page [ https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/hifiberry-dac-zero/ ], or notes available before downloading and installing HiFiBerryOS Lite for Raspberry Pi 0W, mention the limitations of this setup, and provide some examples of systems where this combination works reliably.

  So far, my experience is that I wouldn't depend on it any any kind of home system, and definitely not for the park installation I'm working on. But I might be setting it up incorrectly.

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 19, 2020 05:48

  We know from other people that it does work reliably fro them. Unfortunately I can't say what the problem is in your setup.