The project started at the end of 1997 with the name Linux/IrDA. Due to some troubles with the name IrDA, which is trademarked by the Infrared Data Association IrDA , the name was changed to Linux/IR. At the end of 1998 the the relationship between both became better and the name was changed to Linux/IrDA again. Since February 1999 the project is an official member of IrDA .

Companies and developers which are interested in joining these efforts should contact the at Linux/IrDA Project or me at <wehe_at_tuxmobil.org>.

The Linux/IrDA project has undertaken some changes in the program code, which you should know to understand some possible confusions with older documentation, which you shouldn't use anyway.

For 2.0.x kernels Linux/IrDA support worked in a totally other way (only user-land programs) and is no longer supported by the Linux/IrDA project. Since 2.1.131 and 2.2.0 it is part of the kernel.

The commands provided by the irda-utils package are the basic set of tools to get a working IrDA connection. The other tools (e-Squirt, IrNET, ..) are optional. Since version 0.9.15 manual pages are included. Most current manual pages are at TuxMobil.

dagbnb /home/dagb/linux/irda-utils/irdadump/ # ./irdadump

20:18:15.305711 xid:cmd:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=0
20:18:15.385597 xid:cmd:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=1
20:18:15.465568 xid:cmd:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=2
20:18:15.545953 xid:cmd:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=3
20:18:15.625574 xid:cmd:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=4
20:18:15.705575 xid:cmd:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=5
20:18:15.785601 xid:cmd:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=255,info=Linux
20:18:18.075526 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=0
20:18:18.225498 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=1
20:18:18.375495 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=2
20:18:18.526355 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=3
20:18:18.675614 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=4
20:18:18.676364 xid:rsp:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xb50c14b,S=6,s=4
20:18:18.765506 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=5
20:18:18.927221 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=255,info=Palm III
20:18:18.975796 snrm:cmd,ca=0xfe,pf=1
20:18:18.976534 ua:rsp,ca=0x58,pf=1
20:18:18.977145 ua:rsp,ca=0x58,pf=1
20:18:19.585627 rr:rsp,ca=0x58,nr=0,pf=1
20:18:19.585810 rr:rsp,ca=0x58,nr=0,pf=1
20:18:19.606413 i:cmd,ca=0x58,nr=0,ns=0,pf=1
20:18:19.606582 rr:rsp,ca=0x58,nr=1,pf=1
20:18:19.627708 rr:cmd,ca=0x58,nr=0,pf=1
20:18:19.627871 i:rsp,ca=0x58,nr=1,ns=0,pf=1
20:18:19.650571 disc:cmd,ca=0x58,pf=1
20:18:19.650736 ua:rsp,ca=0x58,pf=1
20:18:21.165524 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=0
20:18:21.315608 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=1
20:18:21.315793 xid:rsp:saddr=0x05c589 > daddr=0xb50c14b,S=6,s=1
20:18:21.395499 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=2
20:18:21.545516 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=3
20:18:21.695500 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=4
20:18:21.845840 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=5
20:18:22.007222 xid:cmd:saddr=0xb50c14b > daddr=0xffffffff,S=6,s=255,info=Palm
III
20:18:22.056143 snrm:cmd,ca=0xfe,pf=1
20:18:22.056310 ua:rsp,ca=0xc8,pf=1
20:18:22.056381 ua:rsp,ca=0xc8,pf=1

37 pacckets received by filter

dagbnb /home/dagb/linux/irda-utils/irdaping/ # ./irdaping 0xf7be8388
IrDA ping (0xf7be8388): 32 bytes
32 bytes from 0xf7be8388: irda_seq=0 time=102.466003 ms.
32 bytes from 0xf7be8388: irda_seq=1 time=102.202003 ms.
32 bytes from 0xf7be8388: irda_seq=2 time=102.170998 ms.
32 bytes from 0xf7be8388: irda_seq=3 time=101.633003 ms.

4 packets received by filter

This survey of module options was generated with the modinfo command.

actisys.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no> - Jean Tourrilhes <jt_at_hpl.hp.com>
ACTiSYS IR-220L and IR-220L+ dongle driver

ali-ircc.o
Benjamin Kong <benjamin_kong_at_ali.com.tw>
ALi FIR Controller Driver
io int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "Base I/O addresses"
irq int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "IRQ lines"
dma int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "DMA channels"

esi.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
Extended Systems JetEye PC dongle driver

girbil.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
Greenwich GIrBIL dongle driver

irport.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
Half duplex serial driver for IrDA SIR mode
io int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "Base I/O adresses"
irq int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "IRQ lines"

irtty.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
IrDA TTY device driver
qos_mtt_bits int, description "Minimum Turn Time"

litelink.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
Parallax Litelink dongle driver

nsc-ircc.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
NSC IrDA Device Driver
qos_mtt_bits int, description "Minimum Turn Time"
io int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "Base I/O addresses"
irq int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "IRQ lines"
dma int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "DMA channels"
dongle_id int, description "Type-id of used dongle"

old_belkin.o
Jean Tourrilhes <jt_at_hpl.hp.com>
Belkin (old) SmartBeam dongle driver

smc-ircc.o
Thomas Davis <tadavis_at_jps.net>
SMC IrCC controller driver
ircc_dma int, description "DMA channel"
ircc_irq int, description "IRQ line"

tekram.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
Tekram IrMate IR-210B dongle driver

toshoboe.o
James McKenzie <james_at_fishsoup.dhs.org>
Toshiba OBOE IrDA Device Driver
max_baud int

w83977af_ir.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
Winbond W83977AF IrDA Device Driver
qos_mtt_bits int, description "Mimimum Turn Time"
io int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "Base I/O addresses"
irq int array (min = 1, max = 4), description "IRQ lines"

irda.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
The Linux IrDA Protocol Subsystem
irda_debug_R07c03e02 long

irlan.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
The Linux IrDA LAN protocol
eth int, description "Name devices ethX (0) or irlanX (1)"
access int, description "Access type DIRECT=1, PEER=2, HOSTED=3"

   But currently the IrLAN protocol is no longer maintained
   by the Linux/IrDA core team.

ircomm-tty.o
Dag Brattli <dagb_at_cs.uit.no>
IrCOMM serial TTY driver

ircomm.o
Dag Brattli <dag_at_brattli.net>
IrCOMM protocol

irnet.o
<none>
<none>

There are three sorts of low level drivers: SIR, FIR and dongle.

modprobe tekram         # or esi or actisys
irattach -d tekram      # or -d esi or -d actisys

modprobe tekram
modprobe esi
irattach /dev/ttyS0 -d esi &
irattach /dev/ttyS1 -d tekram &

irattach /dev/ttyS0 -d actisys     # for the 220L dongle
irattach /dev/ttyS0 -d actisys+    # for the 220L+ dongle

Prepare Linux/IrDA as described above. Especially check for the existence of /dev/irlpt* (if it doesn't exists do as root mknod /dev/irlpt0 c 161 16). Now you may perform a first and simple test. Try to write a small file to /dev/irlpt0 by cat FILE >/dev/irlpt0. Do not wonder about a bad format (the lines form sort of steps) this is just a first check. If this doesn't work please check the permissions of /dev/irlpt0. Watch whether the connection indicator of your printer shows activity, e.g. the green light above the InfraRed port of a HP 6P/MP comes on (lower left hand corner, near the paper tray).

The cat command will not produce formatted output, but is useful for testing. If it works, you may set up an IrDA capable printer depending on your printer system. See the documentation, e.g. the Printing-HOWTO from LinuxPrinting.org for detailed information.

With the Common Unix Printing System - CUPS use for example with a HP LaserJet 2100:

lpadmin -p IRDA_PRINTER_NAME -v parallel:/dev/irlpt0 -E -m de/hp2100_6.ppd.gz

To get a list of paths to your ppd files use lpinfo -m.

Of course other printing systems will also work, e.g. you may edit /etc/printcap and include irlpt0 as the printer device.

The better way is to change your /etc/printcap to use /dev/irlpt0 in addition or instead of /dev/lp1.

For easy printer setup you may use a printing software like APSFILTER, MagicFilter EZ-Magic (with RedHat there should also be a GUI for this purpose). Make a copy of /etc/printcap before.

Example for APSFILTER with a HP 6P (non-postscript, HP 6MP is with postscript). The two relevant questions are: "Do you have a (s)serial or a (p)arallel printer interface?" Answer "p" "What's the device name for your parallel printer interface?" Answer "/dev/irlpt0"

Restart the print daemon with kill -HUP <PID of lpd>. If you use another print daemon choose the according command.

You might connect your Linux box using IrLAN to another network device such as a Linux box with IrLAN, a HP NetBeamer or a Microsoft-Windows95 box with Infrared Network Device support. But currently this protocol is no longer maintained by the Linux/IrDA core team.

As far as I know this device uses IrLAN. But currently this protocol is no longer maintained by the Linux/IrDA core team.

Wessel de Roode wrote: The Palmpilot is default locked on 57k. You can however if you write your own software for the Pilot, use the 115k line settings. I quote a part from the irlib.h:

---------- irlib.h from the SDK 3.0 from palmpilot -----
// Options values for IrOpen
#define irOpenOptBackground     0x80000000   // Unsupported background task use
#define irOpenOptSpeed115200    0x0000003F   // sets max negotiated baud rate
#define irOpenOptSpeed57600     0x0000001F   // default is 57600
#define irOpenOptSpeed9600      0x00000003

Peter Pregler reported: If the Palm enters the range of the irda-device a popup appears with the text "Transmission: waiting for sender"

Ron Choy answered: There is a software called ShutupIR that is supposed to help with this problem of annoying popup I haven't tried it but it looks like it would fix your problem.

by Chris Morris on Linux/IrDA list: In addition to using IrDA to hotsync my Handspring Visor I got my Handspring visor to work as a Linux text terminal via infrared last night. My computer is a Dell Inspiron 3800 (BTW I wracked my brains for weeks trying to get IR to work. The whole problem was caused by Linux looking at the wrong IRQ for ttyS3 . ). I am using Beam Sync for Visor V1.0b2 by Hacker Dude-san (in Japanese) and MiniTerm (a former version of this HOWTO referred to it as MTerm) by Shigeyuki Seko . On the laptop I have IrDA set to SIR mode and COM 3 via BIOS. I have to set /dev/ttyS3 to IRQ3 via setserial /dev/ttyS3 irq 3 on boot up. After boot up I do a:

/sbin/modprobe irda
/sbin/modprobe irtty
/sbin/modprobe ircomm
/sbin/ircomm-tty
/usr/sbin/irattach /dev/ttyS3 -s

cat /proc/net/irda/discovery shows the visor as IrComm Now /etc/mgetty+fax/mgetty.conf has to have these options: port ttyS3 direct y speed 9600 , faster maybe possible but only 9600 worked for me so far toggle-dtr n Then in /etc/inittab: palm:235:respawn: /sbin/mgetty ircomm0 After all of this I can start MiniTerm, issue a '/sbin/init q' then send a few <CR> from the Visor and I get a text termianl login. While composing this email I found a previously undiscovered website that seems most helpful: palm-ppp-mini

Andrew Chadwick wrote: A nifty way to check that the baud rates for SIR are set up properly (if you have a Psion Series 5) is to point the S5 at your Linux box's IR window and try to beam a file. While the beamer dialog's on the screen, the S5 will try to make an IrDA connection (even when it claims it can't find another IR machine). You should be able to do a cat > /dev/ttyS3 and if the serial parameters are right on both machines, you should see the words "Symbian EPOC" (machine ident) scroll past amidst the spew.

Fons Botman wrote: " Maybe someone with a Psion 5 would like to test this program. It emulates the protocol for the Psion 5 IR send and receive command for files on linux. You can now exchange files with simple commands. The transfer rate is 9.7 KBytes/sec on a 115KB SIR link for big files which is not bad methinks. It is beta, so be sure to backup the Psion first, I did get a soft reset once (no data loss). ;-)" I have put the source into the appendix.

Submitted by Arthur Tyde and Bryan Abshier of Linuxcare Inc.

This will tell you how to set up a masqueraded PPP connection via. IrDA from WinCE to a Linux based notebook computer. Once you are IP connected, the rest is up to you. We put this together as a guide for Sony notebook users with Casio E-100/105 PDA's, though the procedure should work for any WinCE 2.11 device with infrared capabilities talking to any notebook. Do all the Linux side testing signed on as root, standard warnings apply.

Configure WinCE Configure a network connection for your WinCE device. Go into "Connections" and create a "Direct Connection" Name it something meaningful, for device select "Infrared Port". Go into settings and change the baud rate to 115200, this is the max for WinCE. Go to TCP/IP settings and check "Use server-assigned IP address," and "Use software compression," and "Use IP header compression" Make sure "Use Slip," is unchecked. For Name Servers, make sure "Use server-assigned addresses" is checked. Go to Start, Settings, Communications, Identification and enter something for the Device Name. (I used "cetoy") You most likely already have these values set if you have synced with a Win9x desktop using Activesynch.

Configure Linux/IrDA Set up IrDA support on your notebook (described elsewhere) and get to the point where your notebook will discover an IrDA compliant device. A good sign is the irda0 device will show up when you execute ifconfig. It will not have an IP address, this is ok.

Setup the Connection Test the discovery by setting an IrDA device in range of your IR port, wait 5 seconds, and;

cat /proc/net/irda/discovery

For example, the Ericsson I888 World Phone with IR port enabled should immediately show something like this;

"name:I 888 WORLD   ,hint:0x9104,saddr:0x838470e5,daddr:0x152dceaa"

Your WinCE machine will not be discovered unless it's actively looking for a connection. So, if you want to test with WinCE position your device and double tap on the network icon you created in step 2, you should see something like this:

"name:mytoy,hint:0x8204,saddr:0x838470e5,daddr:0x00000b72"

The name displayed will be whatever value you have entered into the Start, Settings, Communications, Identification as the Device Name. At this point, with basic IrDA functioning- we can move on to establishing a PPP connection for WinCE. These scripts can also be used for serial cable connects. Create the following files and copy them into the directory indicated.

/usr/sbin/cebox.sh - make it executable

#!/bin/sh
pppd call cebox

Because Microsoft likes to break standards, you need the following chat script. This will feed WinCE the proper ASCII keywords it wants before allowing a PPP connection.

/etc/ppp/cebox.chat

TIMEOUT 3600
"CLIENT"    "CLIENT\c"
""      "SERVER\c"

The following file will allow you to specify the IP addresses, IR (or serial port if using a cable) device, DNS and so forth. I do not recommend you change the 192.IP addresses below. WinCE really has an affection for 192.168.55.100 because all the MS synch tools seem to have it hardcoded. DNS can be whatever you normally use.

/etc/ppp/peers/cebox

/dev/ircomm0 115200 crtscts
connect '/usr/sbin/chat -v -f /etc/ppp/cebox.chat'
noauth
local
192.168.55.101:192.168.55.100
ms-dns 10.2.0.1

Testing the connection Ok, now you can test the connection to make sure it all works. Reboot your machine, run irattach /dev/ttyS2 -s (/dev/ttyS2 being the serial port your BIOS sees the IR device as, if irattach is not running, start it) Align the IR ports, at the Linux command prompt type /usr/sbin/cebox.sh, and simultaneously press return to start cebox and double tap your connection icon in WinCE. You should get a happy message from WinCE reporting Connecting to Host, Device Connected, Authenticating User, User Authenticated and finally Connected. You should see something like this when you are connected:

irda0     Link encap:IrLAP  HWaddr 06:89:d0:58
      UP RUNNING NOARP  MTU:2048  Metric:1
      RX packets:246 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
      TX packets:251 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
      collisions:0 txqueuelen:8

ppp0      Link encap:Point-to-Point Protocol
      inet addr:192.168.55.101 P-t-P:192.168.55.100 Mask:255.255.255.255
      UP POINTOPOINT RUNNING NOARP MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
      RX packets:10 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
      TX packets:10 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
      collisions:0 txqueuelen:10

The following script sets up IrDA, establishes a ppp connection with WinCE, and then sets up IP masquerading. It is provided as an example of how you can tie this all together. This is more or less a manual approach. You can get creative, start irattach at boot and stick a line in inittab to constantly look for a WinCE connection on the IR port. This will however, run down your batteries and limit your ability to access other IR gadgets. I just use the script below. Position the device, run wince and start communications on your PDA when the script tells you to.

/usr/local/bin/wince - make this executable

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
#
# Enable IrDA, start ppp0 and set up WinCE masquerading
# A. Tyde - Linuxcare Inc.
#
print "\n-> Setting up IR infrastructure...\n";
system("killall irattach 2>/dev/null");
sleep 1;
system("/usr/sbin/cebox.sh");
print "   Start WinCE Serial or IR networking now!\n";
open(ECHO,">/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward") or die "Can not open /proc/sys/net/
ipv4/ip_forward";
print ECHO "1";
close (ECHO);
print "   Serving 192.168.55.100 to WinCE device...\n\n";
system("ipchains -F");
sleep 5;
system("ipchains -P forward DENY");
system("ipchains -A forward -s 192.168.55.100/32 -j MASQ");
exit 0;

This chapter is a courtesy of Stanislav Sokolov.

This section covers how to connect a PocketPC device to a Linux box. The information provided in section "Connecting from Linux to WinCE" (found also at CEwindows ) does not apply to PocketPC as Microsoft in one of there brighter moments removed support for direct IrDA connections from version 3.0 of WinCE. I used the document "Linux to Windows CE Connection" (found at The Gadgeteer ) as a starting point, but had to modify and simplify several aspects. This section will go as far as ping between PocketPC and Linux. You should be able to find many networking applications at PDAcentral, CAM or WinCEcity .

Here is the system I used:

On the PocketPC side go to Start -> Settings -> Connection -> Modem. Make a new connection, call it something meaningful (I use Linux-m), choose "Generic IrDA modem", set baud rate to 115200. Tap "Advanced". In "Port Settings" select 8-N-1-Hardware and check "Enter dialing commands manually". This is done so as PocketPC would not try to dial a phone number as we do not want it. The other two boxes should remain unchecked. In TCP/IP select "Use server-assigned IP address" uncheck "Use Slip", but check "Use software compression" and "Use IP header compression". In "name Servers" select "Use server-assigned addresses". Tap "ok" and "Next". You should not be asked for telephone number (if you are, just enter 1 and doublecheck that you actually selected manual dialing commands box in advanced section). Make sure that "Cancel call..." and "Wait for dial tone..." boxes are unchecked. We are now done with the PocketPC part.

On Linux we must first make sure that all the necessary modules are loaded. Here are the modules that were loaded and in use during a successful communication session:

Module                  Size  Used by    Not tainted
ircomm-tty             31040   2
ircomm                 13448   0  [ircomm-tty]
irtty                   7616   2
ppp_async               6688   1
ppp_generic            15740   3  [ppp_async]
slhc                    4592   1  [ppp_generic]

Make sure that ls -la /dev/ircomm* produces a similar output:

crw-------   1 root     root     161,   0 Nov 25 15:09 /dev/ircomm0
crw-r--r--   1 root     root     161,   1 Nov 22 19:30 /dev/ircomm1

Start irattach irattach /dev/ttyS2 -s

Now we have to enable a login terminal on the IrDA port. I used agetty (or your favorite getty variant) for that purpose. Add the following line to your /etc/inittab:

s3:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty ircomm0 115200 vt100

save the file and activate it by restarting init:

init 2; sleep 3 ; init 3

Also prepare the following shell script that will perform the second phase of connection:

#!/bin/sh
/usr/sbin/pppd -detach noauth local lock 192.168.55.1:192.168.55.2 ircomm0 115200 &

Now the connection itself: Align the IR ports and on the PocketPC go to Start -> Programs -> Connections and tap the connection that you created (Linux-m). In the "Connect To" dialog that shows up leave everything unfilled and just tap on "Connect". "Manual Dialing Terminal" will show up. There you should see the login prompt for your Linux-box (If the login prompt does not show up at once, bring up the virtual keyboard and tap 'enter'). You do not need to login (though it is a bonus - speaking of the ultimate remote controller :)

On the Linux-box execute the pppd command as soon as some "garbage" shows up in the PocketPC's terminal, tap "File" -> "Continue". pppd should come with the following message:

Using interface ppp0
Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/ircomm0
Cannot determine ethernet address for proxy ARP
local  IP address 192.168.55.1
remote IP address 192.168.55.2

And PocketPC should show a dialog with "Status: Connected". You can run ifconfig to check that ppp0 interface is up and running. ping 192.168.55.2 should produce something like that:

PING 192.168.55.2 (192.16