Yet Another openvfd Daemon

An alternative daemon, replacing OpenVFDService which is provided as the official service daemon in the linux_openvfd project.

This project is aimed at providing distro-independent single-binary feature-equivalent experience to the official OpenVFDService + service.openvfd Kodi addon combination.

Most of the new report features are added to make it more headless-server-targeted than media-center-targeted.

Kernel dependency

This is only a userspace daemon, it depends on openvfd kernel module (available here) to provide /dev/openvfd to operate on, and an existing openvfd node in your tree.

Currently it seems all flippy's and ophub's kernels come with this module built in tree, and corresponding node existing, e.g. linux-aarch64-flippy-git. My kernel package linux-aarch64-7ji only has the openvfd module built as a module, but does not have openvfd node implanted in tree.

To verify if openvfd is availabel as a module for your current kernel:

modinfo openvfd

To verify if openvfd node existing in your DTB, check if the following path exists:

ls /proc/device-tree/openvfd

If you're using a kernel with openvfd built as a module, but without the openvfd node, you can still use this, by applying meson-enable-openvfd.dtbo overlay from my device trees collection, the following is an example modified extlinux.conf:

MENU TITLE Select the boot target
TIMEOUT 10
DEFAULT alarm-7ji
  LABEL  alarm-flippy
  LINUX  /boot/vmlinuz-linux-aarch64-flippy
  INITRD /boot/booster-linux-aarch64-flippy.img
  FDTDIR /boot/dtbs/linux-aarch64-flippy
  APPEND root=UUID=9ad19ba4-1c29-4e5c-a82c-fbce457e7442 rootflags=compress=zstd:3,subvol=@ rw ignore_loglevel

  LABEL  alarm-7ji
  LINUX  /boot/vmlinuz-linux-aarch64-7ji
  INITRD /boot/booster-linux-aarch64-7ji.img
  FDTDIR /boot/dtbs/linux-aarch64-7ji
  FDTOVERLAYS /boot/dtbs/overlay/meson-enable-openvfd.dtbo
  APPEND root=UUID=9ad19ba4-1c29-4e5c-a82c-fbce457e7442 rootflags=compress=zstd:3,subvol=@ rw console=ttyAML0,115200n8 ignore_loglevel

(Note both kernels come with the module built, but only flippy kernel's DTB comes with the node, so an overlay is needed for 7ji kernel)

Usage

Jump to Example for some quick examples

Command syntax

YAopenvfD [reporter] ([reporter] ([reporter] (...))) [watcher] ([watcher] ([watcher])) (--dots-order [dots-order]) (--help) (--version)

• [reporter]
  • Define a reporter that should be displayed for a certain duration, during which optionally keep a dot on
  • Syntax: [duration](@[dot]):[type](:[definer])
    • [duration]
      • duration of this reporter, in second, non-negative (0 for forever)
    • [dot]
      • name of the dot that should be kept on during this reporter (e.g. usb, eth, etc)
    • [type]
      • one of the following (and corresponding definer):
        • string
          • display string in definer, scroll if too long
        • temp
          • display temp in thermal zone N defined in definer (0 is usually for CPU), in celcius
        • io
          • display a type of I/O speed of block device defined in definer
          • [io definer]: [block device]:[type]
            • [block device]: the name of block device, e.g. mmcblk2
            • [type]: r or R (for read), w or W (for write), m or M (for mixed)
        • cpu
          • display whole CPU load, or optionally for a specific core no. in definer (0 to 3 for a 4-core CPU) if valid
        • net
          • display a type of network TX/RX on a specific interface
          • [net definer]: [interface]:[type]
            • [interface]: the name of block device, e.g. mmcblk2
            • [type]: t or T (for Tx/transmit), r or R (for Rx/receive)
        • date
          • display date/time in one of the following formats as defined in definer:
            • 24h: time in hh:mm style, 24h (e.g. 12:34), with blinking colon
            • 12h: time in hh:mm style, 12h (e.g. 11:59), with blinking colon
            • year: year in yyyy style (e.g. 2023)
            • year_month: year and month in yymm style (e.g. 2303)
            • month_year: month and year in mmyy style (e.g. 0323)
            • month_day: month and day in yydd style (e.g. 0307)
            • day_month: day and month in ddyy style (e.g. 0703)
            • weekday: weekday in [text][number] style (e.g. SUN0, MON1, etc)
• [watcher]:
  • define a watcher that turn on/off a dot on hotplug
  • Syntax: @[dot]:[type]:[definer]
    • [dot]: same definition as in [reporter]
    • [type]: one of the following (and corresponding definer):
      • file: watch for the 'file' (could be non-regular file) defined in definer that could appear/disappear, definer e.g. /tmp/myfile, /var/lock/mysql.lock, etc
      • dev: short hand for file under /dev, definer e.g. sda, disk/by-id/nvme-eui.e8238fa6bf530001001b448b498949f8, etc
      • sys: short hand for file under /sys, definer e.g. class/input/mouse0, etc
      • net_carrier: watch for carrier status of a network interface, definer e.g. eth0, wlan0, etc
• --dots-order [dots-order]
  • rewrite the bit order of led dots
  • [dots-order]: a comma (,) seperated list of numbers 0-6, same format as OpenVFD kernel module's vfd_dot_bits argument, default is 0,1,2,3,4,5,6
    • It's recommended to load OpenVFD kernel module and start YAopenvfD in one go, so you can re-use the module's vfd_dot_bits argument for YAopenvfD's dots-order
• --help: print a help message and early quit
• --version: print the version and early quit

Example

• A simple one, dislay the time in 24h format, with blinking colon

  ./YAopenvfD 0:date:24h
  

• Another simple one, display the temperature of thermal zone 0 (usually CPU)

  ./YAopenvfD 0:temp:0
  

• A more complext one that does not involve LED dots:

  ./YAopenvfD 5:temp:0 3:string:-a- 5:date:24h 5:date:12h 3:string:mvm
  

  This loops endlessly as follows:
  • Display the temperature for thermal zone 0 for 5 seconds
  • Display an unhappy face for 3 seconds
  • Display the time in 24h format with blinking colon for 5 seconds
  • Display the time in 12h format with blinking colon for 5 seconds
  • Display a smile face for 3 seconds
• A yet more complex one that does not involve LED dots

  ./YAopenvfD 5:cpu 5:temp:0 5:date:24h 5:date:12h 5:io:mmcblk2:r 5:io:mmcblk2:w 3:eth0:t 3:eth0:r '10:string:Enjoy the fun!'
  

  This Loops endlessly as follows:
  • Display the cpu load for 5 seconds
  • Display the temperature for thermal zone 0 for 5 seconds
  • Display the clock in 24h format for 5 seconds
  • Display the clock in 12h format for 5 seconds
  • Display the read speed of mmcblk2 for 5 seconds
  • Display the write speed of mmcblk2 for 5 seconds
  • Display the transmit speed on interface eth0 for 3 seconds
  • Display the receive speed on interface eth0 for 3 seconds
  • Display the string Enjoy the fun! in scrolling style for 10 seconds
• A more advanced one, that involved LED dots to make it easier for user to tell which one is displayed

  ./YAopenvfD 1:date:year 1:date:month_day 1:date:weekday 10@alarm:date:24h 3:date:12h 3:temp:0 3:cpu 5@usb:io:mmcblk2:m 5@eth:net:end0:m 3:string:'HK1'
  

  This Loops endlessly as follows:
  • Display the year for 1 second
  • Display the month and day in MMDD style for 1 second
  • Display the week date in [TEXT][NUMBER] style (e.g. TUE2, SUN0, WED3) for 1 second
  • Display the time in 24h format with blinking colon, keep the led dot for alarm on, for 10 seconds
  • Display the time in 12h format with blinking colon, for 3 seconds
  • Display the temperature for thermal zone 0 for 3 seconds
  • Display the CPU load for 3 seconds
  • Display the mixed I/O speed on block device mmcblk2, keep the led dot for usb on, for 5 seconds
  • Display the mixed Tx/Rx speed on network interface end0 keep the led dot for eth on, for 5 seconds
  • Display the static text HK1 for 3 seconds
• My personal setup

  ./YAopenvfD 3:date:year 3:date:month_day 3:date:weekday 10@alarm:date:24h 10:date:12h @eth:net_carrier:end0 @wifi:net_carrier:wlan0 @usb:file:/sys/bus/usb/devices/1-1 @play:dev:sda @pause:dev:ttyUSB0 --dots-order 0,1,3,2,4,5,6
  

  • The dots order is overwritten to 0,1,3,2,4,5,6, to fix the swapped order of LED dots play and pause
  • This loops endlessly as follows :
    • Display the year for 3 seconds
    • Display the month and day in MMDD style for 3 seconds
    • Display the weekday in [TEXT][NUMBER] style (e.g. TUE2) for 3 seconds
    • Display the time in 24h format with blinking colon, while keep the led dot for alarm on, for 10 seconds
    • Display the time in 12h format with blinking colon, for 10 seconds
  • It also watches for the following hotplug events:
    • Turn on LED dot eth if network interface end0 has carrier, and turn off if not
    • Turn on LED dot wifi if network interface wlan0 has carrier, and turn off if not
    • Turn on LED dot usb if sysfs virtule folder /sys/bus/usb/devices/1-1 exists, and turn off if not (This is the first USB device under the USB3.0 root hub for my box, so it essentially watches for hotplug on the USB3.0 port)
    • Turn on LED dot play if special file sda exists under /dev and off if not (This is the first external block device since the box has no native SCSI block device, it essentialy watches for external USB drive)
    • Turn on LED dot pause if special file ttyUSB0 exists under /dev and off if not (This is the first USB serial device)

Download

You can download release build on release page

You can also download staticly linked binaries automatically built on each push, just click the green √ the top middle of this page. These are development builds and there might be dangerous

An official AUR package YAopenvfD is also available to install with your favorite AUR helper on Arch Linux, prebuilt binary packages for x86_64 and aarch64 are also also available from my archrepo

Build

Just clone and repo run make

1. Clone the repo

   git clone https://github.com/7Ji/YAopenvfD
   

2. Enter the folder

   cd YAopenvfD
   

3. Build the binary

   make
   

Install

To install to a psuedo root (useful for a build system):

make DESTDIR=some/target/root install

To install to your current root:

sudo make install

Systemd integration

If you use the official AUR package, or install manually by sudo make install, you would install some pre-configured systemd units to your root, use them as follows:

• Configure module parameters in /etc/conf.d/YAopenvfD, e.g.

  vfd_gpio_clk=0,64,0
  vfd_gpio_dat=0,63,0
  vfd_gpio_stb=0,0,0xFF
  vfd_gpio0=0,0,0xFF
  vfd_gpio1=0,0,0xFF
  vfd_gpio2=0,0,0xFF
  vfd_gpio3=0,0,0xFF
  vfd_gpio_protocol=0,0
  vfd_chars=0,4,3,2,1
  vfd_dot_bits=0,1,3,2,4,5,6
  vfd_display_type=0x00,0x00,0x00,0x06
  YAopenvfD_args=--dots-order 0,1,3,2,4,5,6 10@alarm:date:24h 10:date:12h 10@usb:io:mmcblk1:m 10@wifi:net:end0:m 3:cpu 3:temp:0 @eth:net_carrier:end0
  

• Start YAopenvfD-updater.service to check if the configuration works properly:

  sudo systemctl start YAopenvfD-updater.service
  

• If you would like to debug the module parameters, restart the modloader service:

  sudo systemctl restart YAopenvfD-modloader.service
  

  This would also restart the updater service if it's running
• If you would like to debug the daemon arguments, restart the updater service:

  sudo systemctl restart YAopenvfD-updater.service
  

• Enable YAopenvfD-updater.service if everything works perfectly to make it auto started on boot:

  sudo systemctl enable YAopenvfD-updater.service
  

License

YAopenvfD (Yet Another openvfd Daemon) is licensed under GPL3

• Copyright (C) 2023 Guoxin "7Ji" Pu (pugokushin@gmail.com)

• 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 * 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, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.