EZIO Driver for LCDproc

fmertz

In the recent past, a number of folks have expressed interest in installing pfSense onto a number of older firewall appliances fitted with a Portwell EZIO LCDs. Unfortunately, no (complete) driver implementation for the EZIO devices were available as part of the LCDproc package.

Fortunately, Portwell published a technical specification suitable as a base for a software driver implementation.

http://drivers.portwell.com/CA_Manual/EZIO/EZIO-FINAL.PDF

I recently managed to acquire the device itself (stand alone, presumably out of some appliance), went to my junk drawer for cables and adapters, and found some time for coding a proper driver. My version of the code is shared in my repo, but will soon be merged upstream with the LCDproc project so everyone can get it through normal package installation.

https://github.com/fmertz/hd44780-ezio/tree/hd44780-ezio

In the meantime, feedback from running this in the original hardware appliance would be most welcome. I attached a set of archives with the driver in compiled form:

HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_3_32bit.zip contains hd44780.so for pfSense 2.3 (current) 32bit x86
HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_3_64bit.zip contains hd44780.so for pfSense 2.3 (current) 64bit AMD64
HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_4_64bit.zip contains hd44780.so for pfSense 2.4 (future) 64bit AMD64

So:

Extract hd44780.so from the attached archive and copy it to /usr/local/lib/lcdproc/
Check LCDd.conf and make sure you merge in what follows
Start LCDd and see what happens. The server alone shows basic stuff and allows for keypad interaction. Start with ESC and navigate


[server]
Driver=hd44780

[hd44780]
ConnectionType=ezio
Device=/dev/cuau1
Keypad=yes
Size=16x2
KeyMatrix_4_1=Enter
KeyMatrix_4_2=Up
KeyMatrix_4_3=Down
KeyMatrix_4_4=Escape

Attachments were removed as the code is now part of the official lcdproc package.

fmertz

This post is reserved for updated status, in an effort to provide a quick summary of the status of this thread. At this point:

The EZIO driver code has been merged with the upstream lcdproc project, and became part of the 0.5.9 version.
EZIO-100 and EZIO-300 models are supported
EZIO-500 model is not supported for lack of documentation
The implementation is done trough a new "ezio" connection type for the existing HD44780 driver
At this point, this new "ezio" connection type has not been added to the pfSense lcdproc GUI package

stephenw10

Removed and reseated all the connections to mine. Still nothing coming back from the keypad.

I should note I have the EZIO-300 model but the specs are the same from what I can see.

Steve

fmertz

http://drivers.portwell.com/CA_Manual/EZIO/EZIO-300.pdf

Seems like the keypad codes coming back are different. Easy to code this in, though.

Still does not explain why your does not respond when spoken to.

Do you have this unit stand alone, or is it part of an appliance?

stephenw10

It's built into a Portwell appliance but the connections are simple enough. It's connected to the com2 header on the motherboard. I could try connecting to it with something else directly.

Let me see what I can hook up….

Steve

yshakhov

Looks like version 2.3.4 64bit can't upload hd44780.so or any other files from "Diagnostics/Command Prompt". Will try to use SSH.

stephenw10

The 64bit driver is compiled against FreeBSD11 (pfSense 2.4) so you may be out of luck there.

But if you can test it that would help. I haven't had time to do a direct test yet.

Steve

fmertz

Let me try and build a 10.3 AMD64 version…

yshakhov

May 10 01:16:00 LCDd Could not open driver module /usr/local/lib/lcdproc/hd44780.so: Shared object "libkvm.so.7" not found, required by "hd44780.so"
That is what I got.

stephenw10

Right that's because libkvm.so.7 doesn't exist in 2.3.4.

If you can try that module in 2.4 or wait for a module built against 2.3.X.

Steve

fmertz

OK, I updated the attachments to the first post. I separated the drivers by pfSense release. At this moment, only HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_3_64bit.zip has been compiled with EZIO-300 keypad support. I will update the other archives later.

yshakhov, you probably want HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_3_64bit.zip

PS: These files are the result of compiling code in virtual machines. I do not own an actual appliance, much less one with all combinations of operating systems, so it is best effort. Thanks for any help in testing.

yshakhov

Hi fmertz,
Where is link to download you archive HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_3_64bit.zip?
Thanks.

yshakhov

Sorry,
now is available

uknownme123

Hmm am I missing something. I'm on pfSense 2.3.4

1. install lcdproc
2. extract HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_4_64bit.zip, then put hd44780.so in /usr/local/lib/lcdproc/
3. nano /usr/local/etc/LCD.conf, and paste code


[server]
Driver=hd44780

[hd44780]
ConnectionType=ezio
Device=/dev/cuau1
Keypad=yes
Size=16x2
KeyMatrix_4_1=Enter
KeyMatrix_4_2=Up
KeyMatrix_4_3=Down
KeyMatrix_4_4=Escape

I run below command and get error
[2.3.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: /usr/bin/nice -20 /usr/local/sbin/LCDd -r 0 -c /usr/local/etc/LCD.conf > /dev/null &
[1] 90321
[2.3.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: Critical error while initializing, abort.

4. reboot and go under services> lcdproc
Display size = Serial Com port 2 alternate (/dev/cuau1)
Display size = 2 x 16
Driver = HD44780 and compatible
Connection type = ?

I do not see ezio. Did I do something wrong?

fmertz

@uknownme123:

I'm on pfSense 2.3.4

2. extract HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_4_64bit.zip, then put hd44780.so in /usr/local/lib/lcdproc/
I run below command and get error
[2.3.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: /usr/bin/nice -20 /usr/local/sbin/LCDd -r 0 -c /usr/local/etc/LCD.conf > /dev/null &
[1] 90321
[2.3.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: Critical error while initializing, abort.

If you are running pfSense 2.3.4, you need to get the driver from one of the 2.3 archive (32 or 64 bit). You are using the driver for 2.4, which will not work.

To test, you can run something more direct:

/usr/local/sbin/LCDd -r 3 -c /usr/local/etc/LCD.conf -f

This raises the reporting level, and runs the program in the foreground.

Thanks for helping with the testing.

PS: This effort is to add EZIO support to the HD44780 driver of the lcdproc project. As of now, there is no addition to the pfSense integration package, so there is no option in the menu, yet.

uknownme123

Under services> lcdproc, unchecked "start lcdproc at boot"
Rebooted, then attempted to start LCDproc from command

[2.3.4-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.localdomain]/root: /usr/local/sbin/LCDd -r 3 -c /u sr/local/etc/LCD.conf -f
LCDd version 0.5.7 starting
Using Configuration File: /usr/local/etc/LCD.conf
LCDd 0.5.7, LCDproc Protocol 0.3
Part of the LCDproc suite
Copyright (C) 1998-2014 William Ferrell, Selene Scriven
and many other contributors

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.

sock_create_inet_socket: cannot bind to port 13666 at address 127.0.0.1 - Address already in use
sock_init: error creating socket - Address already in use
Critical error while initializing, abort.

fmertz

For a better test, make sure only one copy of LCDd is running. For the time being, turn off the pfSense instance of the daemon. What is happening is that the pfSense LCDd is taking possession of port 13666. The LCD started manually therefore cannot have access to it anymore.

The other option is to start the manual LCDd with instruction to use another port:

/usr/local/sbin/LCDd -r 3 -c /usr/local/etc/LCD.conf -f -p 13667

uknownme123

Sorry you are having to walk me step by step.

2. extract HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_4_64bit.zip, then put hd44780.so in /usr/local/lib/lcdproc/

This was a typo, I did download the correct driver (HD44780_EZIO_Driver_pfSense2_3_64bit).

So /usr/local/sbin/LCDd -r 3 -c /usr/local/etc/LCD.conf -f -p 13667 gives the below error

Listening for queries on 127.0.0.1:13667
Could not open driver module hd44780.so: Shared object "hd44780.so" not found, required by "LCDd"
Driver [hd44780] binding failed
Could not load driver hd44780
There is no output driver
Critical error while initializing, abort.

ezio.jpg_thumb

fmertz

The server needs to be told where to find the drivers.

Add this to LCDd.conf:

[server]
DriverPath= /usr/local/lib/lcdproc/

Make sure there is a slash at the end..

uknownme123

Alright, now it's : Listening for queries on 127.0.0.1:13667,
and just waiting here.