Interacting with Udoo Linux

Udoo Linux

The ARM CPU on the Udoo runs a Linux operating system with familiar interfaces. There are multiple ways to directly interact with the Linux system on the Udoo:

1. Monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The Udoo has USB and HDMI ports for connection to normal desktop display and input devices to use just like a regular desktop computer.
2. Remote Desktop. The Udoo can run xrdp to allow a standard remote desktop client to connect via one of the networking interfaces. When connected directly to a laptop using wired ethernet, this is quite usable, and offers the same Linux desktop interface as using a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
3. SSH remote console. The Udoo runs an ssh server and supports console logins over the network. This is quite usable even over the WiFi connection, and allows all command-line access. There are several program text editors which which fine over a text-only connection, and a wealth of command line programs for controlling the system.
4. X11 over SSH. With an X11 server installed locally on a desktop or laptop, an SSH connection can support running graphical X11 programs on the Udoo which present a display on the local computer. A local wired ethernet connection is recommended for this mode. This is a somewhat different experience than the complete desktop, but this works fine for running the Arduino IDE, PureData, or the system dialogs.

Wired Ethernet Configuration

Using the wired ethernet is recommended for all of the ‘remote’ access methods as it will have much higher bandwidth and lower latency than routing through the campus WiFi.

The Udoo image is pre-configured to use IP address 192.168.1.2 for the Ethernet port. The following instructions assume you have manually configured your personal computer Ethernet port is 192.168.1.1, netmask 255.255.255.0, with no gateway specified and no DNS enabled. This will form a private network on the Ethernet with just two nodes, your personal computer and the Udoo.

The Udoo is pre-configured to use the campus WiFi network for general network access, and it will automatically route requests such as update checks over the WiFi when connected.

SSH remote console access

You will need a ssh client program on your personal computer to connect to the Udoo ssh server. Mac OS X systems come with one pre-installed, available from the command line as ssh.

From a command line (e.g. Terminal.app window), you can connect using the Udoo Ethernet IP address:


ssh ubuntu@192.168.1.2


The Udoo default user account is named ‘ubuntu’. It will prompt for a password.

The first time you login, you may also see some prompts requesting permission to connect to a previously unseen host.

If all goes well, you’ll see a login banner and command prompt.