Connecting Remotely to Your Raspberry Pi
If you're like many Raspberry Pi users, you likely have your Pi set up in a location away from your main computer, like hooked up to a television or mounted somewhere out of sight. But this also means that accessing and using your Pi requires being near it physically. Luckily, there are simple methods for associating with your Raspberry Pi from a distance so you have some control over and communicate with it from anyplace. In this article, we'll examine different far off association techniques for the Raspberry Pi like SSH, VNC, and more.
Secure Shell (SSH)
One of the least complex and most secure approaches to remotely associate with your Raspberry Pi is through Secure Shell (SSH). SSH is a convention that permits you to sign into one more PC over an organization, execute orders, and move documents around, generally utilized for distant organization purposes.
To set up SSH on your Raspberry Pi, first ensure it is empowered. On fresher renditions of Raspbian, SSH ought to as of now be empowered out of the case. To twofold check, open a terminal window on your Pi and type “sudo raspi-config”. Navigate to “Interfacing Options” then “SSH” and select “Yes” to enable it.
Then, you'll require the IP address of your Pi. One easy way is to type “hostname -I” in the terminal which will display your IP. You can also find it by checking your router's connected devices list.
Now on the computer you want to access your Pi from, open a terminal window and type:
ssh pi@<Raspberry Pi IP address>
The default username for your Pi will be “pi” and there is no secret word set at first. You'll be provoked to set a secret word whenever you first interface. From there, you can interact with your Pi through the terminal just as if you were directly connected.
VNC Connect
While SSH is great for performing orders from a distance, it doesn't permit you to view and control the Pi's work area interface from another machine. To do that, you need a remote desktop solution like VNC (Virtual Network Computing). VNC works by making a virtual screen available over the network that mirrors the Pi's desktop.
To set up VNC on your Pi, install the RealVNC software packages with:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install realvnc-vnc-server realvnc-vnc-viewer
This installs both the VNC server on the Pi and a viewer client. Reboot and VNC should now be running automatically on startup.
To connect, download and install the RealVNC Viewer on your local computer if not already present. Launch it and enter your Pi's IP address to connect. You'll be prompted to enter the password you set during VNC installation (the default is “raspberry”).
Once connected, you'll see the Pi's desktop in a window on your machine. Use your mouse and keyboard to control it just like sitting in front of the Pi itself. Anything you install and run on the Pi can now be accessed remotely over VNC.
Remote Desktop Options
Another popular option for remote desktop access to your Pi is using a more full-featured remote desktop software like TeamViewer. TeamViewer has clients for Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile that allow easy peer-to-peer connections between computers.
To set up TeamViewer on the Raspberry Pi, first install it with:
sudo apt install teamviewer
Then launch TeamViewer and make note of your unique ID and password shown. Download and install TeamViewer on the computer you want to remote into your Pi from. Launch it and enter the ID and password of your Pi. You'll now be connected remotely to view and control the Pi desktop.
Like VNC, TeamViewer supports full remote mouse/keyboard control and application/file sharing over the connection. The main advantage over VNC is that it doesn't rely on having a publicly facing IP address and can traverse firewalls/NAT networks more easily in some cases.
Headless Operation
If you don't need desktop access and just want command line control of your Pi, SSH is usually the best option. But there may be cases where you want to fully operate your Pi remotely without any monitor/keyboard attached – called “headless” operation.
For this, consider using a terminal multiplexer like screen or tmux. These allow you to detach and reattach sessions over SSH so you can leave processes running even after disconnecting.
For example, with screen you would SSH into your Pi as normal, then run “screen”. Now any programs or shells launched inside that screen session will keep running even if the SSH connection drops out. To reconnect later, SSH back in and type “screen -r” to resume the detached screen session.
Alternatively, you could SSH tunnel programs on your Pi and access web interfaces. For example, installing a web server and using SSH port forwarding to expose it locally. Now any web apps run on the Pi are reachable from the LAN.
Take Control With Python and Bots
Yet another way to remotely operate your Pi in more complex automated scenarios is through Python scripts that can be triggered from anywhere. For example, using Python and third-party libraries like paramiko, you can write code to SSH into the Pi, execute commands, transfer files, read/write to the filesystem and more – all without needing a desktop session.
This allows you to build “bots” that can perform remote functions on demand via webhooks or cron jobs. Everything from backups, system monitoring, automation and more becomes possible by coding the behaviors you want into reusable Python scripts. Some popular tools for this include Adafruit IO and IFTTT webhooks.
Security Best Practices
While convenient, opening remote access introduces new security risks you'll want to consider mitigating. Always use strong, unique passwords. Only expose services to your local network where possible behind firewalls. Monitor logs for unauthorized access attempts. Keep your Pi and all software updated regularly with the latest patches.
If using public IP exposure, consider a reverse proxy or VPN for added encryption of traffic. And pay attention to any permissions or privileges given to remote users – don't grant more than is needed for their tasks. Following basic digital safety guidelines will help keep your remote Pi functions secure.
With these different connection methods, your Raspberry Pi can become a always-on remotely controllable computer for all kinds of projects and uses. Whether simple command line control or full remote desktop, the Pi empowers new locations and interaction models beyond being confined to local hardware. Remote access is key to realizing the Pi's full potential as a versatile minicomputer.
