I have multiple ACR122T smart card devices with no unique serial numbers (from ACS). I need to know which physical smart card I am connected to from within pcsc-lite. I know from using lsusb which USB Port a physical device is on, but how to map that USB port information with SCardGetAttribute(SCARD_ATTR_DEVICE_UNIT) ?
It seems the map should be at the OS level as I cant find a way to read USB Port info (lsusb results) from within the pscs-lite API.
This post mentions a method, Smartcard reader ACR122U has no unique serial number
but I dont understand the details behind "used that dev number to ensure I always used the right reader".
Any help appreciated.
Thanks, -Phil
Disclaimer: I'm working on Windows, not Linux.
The ACR122T (and ACR122U) devices not only have no serial number (other than the one printed on the back) but also have no USB serial number so that they can only be differentiated by the USB port they are plugged in. Additionally all the ACR122Ts and Us I have here (we bought a bunch) identify themselves as "ACS ACR122" to Windows. Using the proprietary API to get the firmware version both the ACR122T and the ACR122U identify themselves as a ACR122U (e.g. "ACR122U207" or "ACR122U214").
That means that the OS itself is not able to differentiate multiple devices in any other way then the USB port it's plugged in.
I also tried to make a connection between the pcsc device and the OS device, but apart from this function (which is only available starting Windows 8) I have not found anything, so it looks to me like there is no way to do that through pcsc calls.
The device unit is given out by the pcsc layer sequentially so you can differentiate between devices you are connected to but not identify a specific device.
Related
What I want to do:
An AI program on a host machine, reading inputs from a camera sensing the screen of the target machine and outputting controls to the target machine via USB connection--programming the host machine's USB host as a USB peripheral connected to the target machine.
What I want to do step by step: (is it possible to implement the steps below?)
Have a host machine A and a target machine B.
Connect A and B with a USB 3.0 Type-A male-male cable.
The USB connection shows up as an HID keyboard device on B.
Write code to simulate key presses on A that sends to B.
(Eg. calling press('F') on a program running on A would type F to B's input)
It shouldn't require any program installed on B.
What I already searched:
USB 3.0 Host to host connection is possible:
https://superuser.com/questions/795053/how-do-i-connect-two-computers-using-usb-3-0
USB 2.0 Host to host connection is impossible:
https://superuser.com/questions/99274/how-to-connect-two-computers-with-usb
Similar questions asked without the assumption that USB 3.0 Host to Host connection is possible:
https://superuser.com/questions/1128365/simulate-usb-keyboard-from-machine
Setting up a computer to act as an HID device connected to another computer via ps/2,usb or another wired connection
https://superuser.com/questions/507921/computer-to-act-as-keyboard?rq=1
Suggestions in ascending order of feasibility:
USB Gadgets
You are using linux, so the default way would be to create/configure/load a gadget driver. Have a look at this tutorial, though for a raspberry, should work on your PC too. However, I could not find any information regarding the use of USB3 - the tutorial assumes your host is using one of it's OTG ports, which your PC most likely does not have. So whether this works with your USB3.1 Type-A-to-Type-A connection you'll need to test.
USBIP
The idea of sharing USB devices (not just keyboards) is not really new. With USBIP you can "export" any local USB device to the network, and your client will need the client-side USBIP driver to access the keyboard.
Dont bother with USB at all, just use Ethernet
I'd simply write two userland scripts/programs that send/receive+execute the keystrokes. Very easy to implement, you're probably familiar with python anyway.
If you absolutely cant have software installed on the client-PC and your Type-C-to-Type-C connection doesnt support USB Gadgets, there's another way. It basically involves the use of two USB-to-serial adapters (~15$) and a serial cable. While this wont be enumerated as a keyboard, but rather as serial port, it's the lowest-effort solution to transfer data without additional software on the client. Both computers will just do file I/O. If your computers still have COM-ports, you can even omit the serial converters!
I am learning to program a USB device (iBall 3.5g USB Dongle) using libusb.h header library.
Until now I am able to identify my device using the Vendor ID and also open the device for operation.
As a next step I would like to know the available commands (or the controls) for example : command to scan the surroundings for available GSM networks.
Obviously I will have to talk to the devices' firmware to extract the necessary information.
I tried to search for the technical datasheet for the 3g dongle, but couldn't find any.
The dongle is powered by a Qualcomm chip
Do you know any of the methods in which I can get the control commands for a usb device ?
Thanks in advance.
There is no simple procedure for figuring out what commands a USB device has. You need to use a combination of looking at the descriptors reported by the device, seeing if the device supports any particular USB device class, reading the USB specification, and maybe doing some reverse engineering using a protocol analyzer.
A good first step would be for you to use lsusb -v to print human-readable descriptions of the device's USB descriptors.
I am trying to get the device node (eg. /dev/sdb) of a usb device.
I was wondering if there is any libusb API that would give me the particular device node to which the USB device is associated with.
If there is no API, are there any other alternate means of achieving this? Any insight on this would prove REALLY helpful.
Thanks in advance.
On Linux, easiest method to explore attached USB devices and their properties is to simply scan directory /sys/bus/usb/devices. This virtual directory lists all attached devices. Each entry has very simple structure, and for every device that has slave connected (like device connected via hub) there is virtual subdirectory.
What is also nice that in general you do not need to be root to read a lot of device properties, like manufacturer or serial number.
Another very good property of this interface is that it is semi-stable. That is, every device has unique id like a-b.c.d.e:x.y (a - bus number, b,c - root hub, next hub, port, etc.., x,y - function, subfunction), and this device enumeration is not going to abruptly shift for all devices if one device is connected or disconnected.
You can also easily map these device ids into libusb-style bus/device numbers (but those are not stable).
Unfortunately, this is Linux specific, and does not seem to be available for other operating systems. I wish libusb had implemented something like this, but it does not.
Anyway, good luck!
Is there a way to use one computer to send keystrokes to another by usb ?
What i'm looking to do is to capture the usb signal used by a keyboard (with USBTrace for example) and use it with PC-1 to send it to PC-2.
So that PC-2 reconize it as a regular keyboard input.
Some leads to do this would be very appreciated.
What you essentially need is a USB port on PC-1 that will act as a USB device for PC-2.
That is not possible for the vast majority of PC systems because USB is an asymmetric bus, with a host/device (or master/slave, if you wish) architecture. USB controllers (and their ports) on most PCs can only work in host mode and cannot simulate a device.
That is the reason that you cannot network computers through USB without a special cable with specialised electronics.
The only exception is if you somehow have a PC that supports the USB On-The-Go standard that allows for a USB port to act in both host and device mode. USB-OTG devices do exist, but they are usually embedded devices (smartphones etc). I don't know if there is a way to add a USB-OTG port to a commodity PC.
EDIT:
If you do not need a keyboard before the OS on PC-2 boots, you might be able to use a pair of USB Bluetooth dongles - one on each PC. You'd have to use specialised software on PC-1, but it is definitely possible - I've already seen a possible implementation on Linux, and I am reasonably certain that there must be one for Windows. You will also need Bluetooth HID drivers on PC-2, if they are not already installed.
On a different note, have you considered a purely software/network solution such as TightVNC?
There is a solution:
https://github.com/Flowm/etherkey
This uses a network connection from your computer to the raspi which is connected to a teensy (usb developer board) to send the key strokes.
This solution is not an out-of-the-box product. The required skill is similar to programming some other devices like arduino. But it's a complete and working setup.
The cheapest options are commercial microcontrollers (eg arduino platform, pic, etc) or ready built usb keyboard controllers (eg i-pac, arcade controllers,etc)
SEARCH THIS PROGRAM:
TWedge: Keyboard Wedge Software (RS232, Serial, TCP, Bluetooth)
then, MAKE YOUR OWN CONNECTION CABLE WITH:
(usb <-> rs232) + (NULL MODEM) + (rs232 <-> usb)
Connect 2 computer, write your own program to send signal to your (usb <-> rs232) unit, then you can control another computer under the help of TWedge.
The above mentionned https://github.com/Flowm/etherkey is one way. The keyboard is emulated from an rPi, but the principle can be used from PC to PC (or Mac to Whatever). The core answer to your question is to use an OTG-capable chip, and then you control this chip via a USB-serial adapter.
https://euer.krebsco.de/a-software-kvm-switch.html
uses a very similar method, using an Arduino instead of the Teensy.
The generic answer is: you need an OTG capable, or slave capable device: Arduino, Teensy, Pi 0 (either from Rapberry or Orange brands, both work; only the ZERO models are OTG capable), or, an rPi-A with heavy customisation (since it does not include USB hub, it can theoretically be converted into a slave; never found any public tutorial to do it), or any smartphone (Samsung, Nokia, HTC, Oukitel ... most smartphones are OTG capable). If you go for a Pi or a phone, then, you want to dig around USB Gadget. Cheaper solutions (Arduino/Teensy) need custom firmware.
I have two legacy machines connected to a Linux box with USB using the ftdi_sio driver, to /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyUSB1. The Linux box is relaying and analyzing the traffic between the machines. When the Linux box boots up, the machines are connected to the files pretty much randomly. The problem is to know which one is which.
I could just ask the devices, of course, but I'd like to avoid the risk of malfunction due to sending wrong data to the wrong device. Is there a way to figure out, for example, the id of the device connected to a tty file?
Check this Using Linux USB page.
/proc/bus/usb/devices lists information about the devices currently attached to the USB bus. This is very useful when trying to figure out if the device is correctly enumerated.
Maybe you can use the output from lsusb -v and look at iProduct + iSerial to determine the order the devices are attached.