Raspberry Pi Cookbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2. Networking

2.0 Introduction

The Raspberry Pi is designed to be connected to the Internet. Its ability to communicate on the Internet is one of its key features and opens up all sorts of possible uses, including home automation, web serving, network monitoring, and so on.

The connection can be wired through an Ethernet cable (at least in the case of the model B), or the Pi can use a USB WiFi module to provide a network connection.

Having a connected Raspberry Pi also means that you can connect to it remotely from another computer. This is very useful in situations where the Raspberry Pi itself is inaccessible and does not have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor attached to it.

This chapter gives you recipes for connecting your Raspberry Pi to the Internet and controlling it remotely over a network.

2.1 Connecting to a Wired Network

Problem

You want to connect your Raspberry Pi to the Internet using a wired network connection.

Solution

First, if you have a Raspberry Pi model A, A+, or Zero, there is no RJ45 connector for Ethernet. In this case, your best option for Internet access is to use a wireless USB adaptor (see Recipe 2.5).

If you have a Raspberry Pi model B, plug an Ethernet patch cable into its RJ45 socket and then connect the other end to a spare socket on the back of your home router. Figure 2-1 shows an original Raspberry Pi 1 where the Network LEDs are next to the audio socket. On a Raspberry Pi 2, the LEDs are built into the Ethernet socket itself.