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SSH access
All Unipi devices include a full-featured ARM-based Linux environment, which is accessible via a Secure Shell console after following the steps below. This allows the users of Unipi devices to fully leverage the incredible versatility provided by open-source software packages.
Axon
Neuron
Unipi 1.1
Unipi Patron / Axon / Gate
Patron / Axon controllers and Unipi Gate devices have an internal SSH server. This server is enabled by default for all the most current OS images that we provide for these units. The exception is the Mervis OS image, which has SSH disabled. Instructions for enabling SSH can be found in the leaflet supplied with the unit or below. After enabling the server, it is then possible to connect to the PLC through any SSH client in the local network. The following instructions are intended primarily for users who are not yet familiar with SSH.
Connecting to the service interface, enabling the SSH
The first step is to enable remote access to the SSH internal server. This configuration is available in the Axon service interface accessible by the following methods:
Enter the IP address into your browser's address tab and confirm. Upon loading the service interface the following screen with multiple buttons should appear:
To enable the SSH server first, click Enable ssh in the Settings category, and when the successful enable message appears, click Restart System in the upper right corner.
Unipi Neuron / 1.1
All up-to-date OS images provided for Unipi Neuron and Unipi 1.1 controllers have SSH enabled by default except for the Mervis OS image. To enable SSH in Mervis OS create a new empty file named ssh (without any suffix, or with *.txt* suffix) and place it into the microSD card's boot directory along with Mervis OS. The SSH server will start after re-inserting the SD card into the PLC
Selecting a suitable communication software
There are many tools that can be used to connect to SSH servers. For this tutorial, we recommend using PuTTY
Connect via SSH using PuTTY
For using SSH you need to know the target controller's IP address. To detect the address you can follow this guide: Detecting the unit's IP address.
To connect to the controller we will use the PuTTY. You can use other SSH applications as well, but PuTTY is the most suitable for Windows OS. The program can be downloaded in the Useful tools.
You must enable SSH before connecting to the controller.
Upon finishing the configuration you need to disable the SSH access or change the user password!
Install the downloaded PuTTY following the installer's instructions. After that, launch the program through putty.exe (its default location is C:/Program Files/PuTTY
).
After launch, the following window will appear:
Enter the IP address into the Host Name tab and check if the Connection type is set to the controller's SSH. Then click on Open. A security dialogue window will appear for the first time. Click on “Yes” to display the SSH terminal's command line.
A prompt to enter login and password will be displayed
The default login and password is:
- Login: unipi
- Password: unipi.technology
Login has a time limit. If the limit expires, login will be no longer possible and you need to restart PuTTY and log in again.
The password is entered as an invisible text, eg. if the cursor does not move when entering the password, it is not an error!
After a successful login to a Unipi PLC this screen will appear: