Aura H2O Yet another telnet/sshd & misc tools package... - Page 7

NiLuJe · 05-18-2020, 04:59 PM

Latest update includes some more minor shell QoL tweaks, and some more busybox tweaks (like, working modutils! modprobe with automagic dependency resolution, yay!).

Python 2 is EoL, so the default python symlink now points to Python 3.

perf & co is now bundled. It requires (among other things) perf events in the kernel, though, so it's probably Mk.6+ only (I can confirm that it won't work on Mk.5, but is probably okay on Mk. 7).

----

Most importantly, it changes how Python is shipped: instead of the insanity of bundling *two* full Python builds in every KoboRoot tarball, what's available in the first post now only bundles the core shell stuff.
So, how do you install Python, now?

A new OTA update script has been added: update-kobostuff
It'll check for updates and properly (i.e., it finally handles pre- and post- install cleanup) install the latest version of the core stuff, the python 3 build, or the python 2 build.

The README has a new section with more details about it, but, basically: it's much more convenient, it's a lot faster (zstd instead of gzip), it doesn't require a reboot or even an USBMS session, and it saves a bunch of precious write cycles, as the compressed data never actually makes it to disk (it's a curl -> zstd -> tar pipeline).
And, you no longer get force-fed 300MB of Python down your throat if you couldn't care less about Python, which makes the initial install that much more pleasant.

As far as this is concerned, you basically never have to deal with a KoboRoot tarball ever again, as using the script to update the core shell stuff will also be much faster, and it'll only update if there's actually an update available.

(TL;DR: All hail our evil overlord Facebook for coming up with zstandard, because zlib is the absolute pits).

sherman · 05-18-2020, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

(TL;DR: All hail our evil overlord Facebook for coming up with zstandard, because zlib is the absolute pits).

Interestingly I did some quick and dirty compression tests on my Aura H2O a few weeks ago for a project that may or may not happen. Speed wise, there didn't seem to be an awful lot of difference between zstd and zlib TBH. Which makes sense, because from what I've read, most of the performance uplift comes from multithreading, and maybe some architecture specific optimizations, with a Cortex A8 class CPU being very low on the priority list.

Now granted, the compression ratio may be better, but I wasn't to concerned about that for my specific desires.

If you ever want speed, LZ4 is waaaaaay faster. But that comes at the expense of compression ratio, so you win some, and lose some.

NiLuJe · 05-18-2020, 07:47 PM

@sherman: Decompression is where it's truly impressive, and that's what I was going for (coupled w/ a decent compression ratio, since the actual bottleneck is liable to be the Wifi, anyway)

. Here, to get a compression ratio that's still worse than xz's defaults, I jump to --ultra -20, and it's then *slower* than xz (on the host, x64, both threaded).

(I mention xz because I've actually been using xz for these for quite a while on the Kindle side of things, and decompression speed is fairly nice (IIRC, better than both gzip & bz2)

).

But, yeah, if I needed the reverse (i.e, quick on-device compression, without particularly caring about the compression ratio), LZ4 would definitely be the top contender

.

sherman · 05-18-2020, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

@sherman: Decompression is where it's impressive, and what I was going for (coupled w/ a decent compression ratio, since the actual bottleneck is liable to be the Wifi, anyway)

. Here, to get a compression ratio that's still worse than xz's defaults, I jump to --ultra -20, and it's then *slower* than xz (on the host, x64, both threaded).

But, yeah, if I needed the reverse (i.e, quick on-device compression), LZ4 would definitely be the top contender

.

Ahhh, yeah, I guess I was mainly testing compression, come to think of it.

Makes sense.

Elektron · 07-13-2020, 10:46 PM

@NiLuJe Um...
would you please explain this again, but for complete newbies?

marcoms · 07-14-2020, 01:52 PM

I tried running gdb but get the following error:

Code:

gdb: error while loading shared libraries: libreadline.so.8: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Should the readline library be included? I just dragged the KoboRoot archive to the .kobo dir. I'm new to the ereader scene so maybe there was a step I missed

NiLuJe · 07-14-2020, 02:28 PM

@marcoms: Oops. As I said on GH, there's currently a silent dependency on the Python package, which is obviously unwanted

.

It'll be fixed in the next builds, thanks!

(In the meantime, installing Python will magically "fix" it ^^).

Elektron · 07-15-2020, 02:16 PM

So...would KoboStuff work on the Mini?

NiLuJe · 07-15-2020, 02:20 PM

@Elektron: Yep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

TL;DR: It should work just fine for 99.9% of the population

.

Elektron · 07-15-2020, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

@Elektron: Yep.

Thanks

Elektron · 07-15-2020, 10:46 PM

Wait, wait, wait. So I put the KoboRoot.tgz into .kobo and it rebooted. Now, how do I put these things to use?

sherman · 07-15-2020, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elektron

Wait, wait, wait. So I put the KoboRoot.tgz into .kobo and it rebooted. Now, how do I put these things to use?

Code:

ssh root@<kobo ip addr>

is a good start. Make sure you're connected to Wifi first. You'll want to keep the wifi menu open, or 'Force Wifi on' from dev mode to keep the wifi from going to sleep.

The reboot is normal, as the KoboRoot.tgz method uses the firmware update mechanism to install stuff.

Elektron · 07-15-2020, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherman

Code:

ssh root@<kobo ip addr>

is a good start. Make sure you're connected to Wifi first. You'll want to keep the wifi menu open, or 'Force Wifi on' from dev mode to keep the wifi from going to sleep.

The reboot is normal, as the KoboRoot.tgz method uses the firmware update mechanism to install stuff.

Sorry for the noob question but...what do I do from there? I'm completely new to the world of SSH and FTP. How do I do it directly from the Kobo? I'm lost...

sherman · 07-15-2020, 11:10 PM

You do it from your lapdop/desktop. In Windows 10/linux/MacOSX, you can open the command line/terminal and type

Code:

ssh root@<kobo ip addr>

For FTP/SCP/SFTP on windows, you can use a program like FileZilla or WinSCP (I use WinSCP myself) to connect to your Kobo and access the files. Username is root with no password.

You can probably also use NickelMenu to launch some of the tools/programs in this package.

DNSB · 07-16-2020, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elektron

Sorry for the noob question but...what do I do from there? I'm completely new to the world of SSH and FTP. How do I do it directly from the Kobo? I'm lost...

If you are using Windows, I'd recommend Putty as an ssh client. While Putty also has SCP and SFTP clients for file transfers, either of @sherman's suggested programs would be my preferred options.

05-18-2020, 04:59 PM	#91
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Latest update includes some more minor shell QoL tweaks, and some more busybox tweaks (like, working modutils! modprobe with automagic dependency resolution, yay!). Python 2 is EoL, so the default python symlink now points to Python 3. perf & co is now bundled. It requires (among other things) perf events in the kernel, though, so it's probably Mk.6+ only (I can confirm that it won't work on Mk.5, but is probably okay on Mk. 7). ---- Most importantly, it changes how Python is shipped: instead of the insanity of bundling two full Python builds in every KoboRoot tarball, what's available in the first post now only bundles the core shell stuff. So, how do you install Python, now? A new OTA update script has been added: update-kobostuff It'll check for updates and properly (i.e., it finally handles pre- and post- install cleanup) install the latest version of the core stuff, the python 3 build, or the python 2 build. The README has a new section with more details about it, but, basically: it's much more convenient, it's a lot faster (zstd instead of gzip), it doesn't require a reboot or even an USBMS session, and it saves a bunch of precious write cycles, as the compressed data never actually makes it to disk (it's a curl -> zstd -> tar pipeline). And, you no longer get force-fed 300MB of Python down your throat if you couldn't care less about Python, which makes the initial install that much more pleasant. As far as this is concerned, you basically never have to deal with a KoboRoot tarball ever again, as using the script to update the core shell stuff will also be much faster, and it'll only update if there's actually an update available. (TL;DR: All hail our evil overlord Facebook for coming up with zstandard, because zlib is the absolute pits). Last edited by NiLuJe; 05-18-2020 at 05:17 PM.

05-18-2020, 07:47 PM	#93
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@sherman: Decompression is where it's truly impressive, and that's what I was going for (coupled w/ a decent compression ratio, since the actual bottleneck is liable to be the Wifi, anyway) . Here, to get a compression ratio that's still worse than xz's defaults, I jump to --ultra -20, and it's then slower than xz (on the host, x64, both threaded). (I mention xz because I've actually been using xz for these for quite a while on the Kindle side of things, and decompression speed is fairly nice (IIRC, better than both gzip & bz2) ). But, yeah, if I needed the reverse (i.e, quick on-device compression, without particularly caring about the compression ratio), LZ4 would definitely be the top contender . Last edited by NiLuJe; 05-18-2020 at 07:57 PM.

07-14-2020, 01:52 PM	#96
marcoms Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	I tried running gdb but get the following error: Code: gdb: error while loading shared libraries: libreadline.so.8: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory Should the readline library be included? I just dragged the KoboRoot archive to the .kobo dir. I'm new to the ereader scene so maybe there was a step I missed

07-15-2020, 11:10 PM	#104
sherman Guru Posts: 856 Karma: 2676800 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Taranaki - NZ Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Forma	You do it from your lapdop/desktop. In Windows 10/linux/MacOSX, you can open the command line/terminal and type Code: ssh root@<kobo ip addr> For FTP/SCP/SFTP on windows, you can use a program like FileZilla or WinSCP (I use WinSCP myself) to connect to your Kobo and access the files. Username is root with no password. You can probably also use NickelMenu to launch some of the tools/programs in this package.

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07-13-2020, 10:46 PM	#95
Elektron Banned Posts: 2,296 Karma: 5300240 Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Edmonton, AB Device: Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 (mark 7), Kobo Mini	@NiLuJe Um... would you please explain this again, but for complete newbies?

07-14-2020, 02:28 PM	#97
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@marcoms: Oops. As I said on GH, there's currently a silent dependency on the Python package, which is obviously unwanted . It'll be fixed in the next builds, thanks! (In the meantime, installing Python will magically "fix" it ^^).

07-15-2020, 02:16 PM	#98
Elektron Banned Posts: 2,296 Karma: 5300240 Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Edmonton, AB Device: Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 (mark 7), Kobo Mini	So...would KoboStuff work on the Mini?

07-15-2020, 10:46 PM	#101
Elektron Banned Posts: 2,296 Karma: 5300240 Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Edmonton, AB Device: Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 (mark 7), Kobo Mini	Wait, wait, wait. So I put the KoboRoot.tgz into .kobo and it rebooted. Now, how do I put these things to use?