Raspberry Pi Install

The Raspberry Pi image includes the following to make a complete AllStarLink system:

Debian 12 operating system
Asterisk 20 LTS + app_rpt
asl-* commands
ASL3 Menu (asl-menu)
Allmon3
Web-based administration
A nice landing page

You must use the Raspberry Pi Imager even if you prefer another imager and carefully follow the instructions below. Failure to do so will result in a system that won't boot or that you will not be able to login to.

You will install an image on a microSD card and go. This is the simplest install. For most nodes, the menus will walk you through the setup. Note: a minimum SD card size of 4G is required and it is recommended to use at least an 8G SD card.

Pi Appliance Requirements

The following are the system requirements for the Pi Appliance

	Required	Recommended
Hardware	Arm v8 64-bit CPU Raspberry Pi 3, 4, 5, Zero 2 W, 400	Raspberry Pi 4B or 5B
Memory	Minimum 512M	4G
Storage	Minimum 4G or larger	8GB Class 10

The ASL3 Appliance been tested on Raspberry Pi 3, 4, 5, and Zero 2W.

Step-by-Step Pi Appliance Setup

These directions are specific for Windows by example , but in general, should work the same for the same tool set on MacOS and Linux. For each screenshot below, click on the image for a larger version.

Note: For this example and all documentation, the hostname used shall be node63001 and the node number is 63001. Replace "63001" with your node number as you proceed through these directions.

If you do not already have it installed, install the Raspberry Pi Imager.
Download the latest release image. This will be named allstar3-arm64-X.Y.Z.img.xz where "X.Y.Z" is the version. The version will be something like 3.0.10. Save it to your local Downloads directory.
Launch Raspberry Pi Imager from the start menu.
Click on CHOOSE DEVICE and choose the type of Pi hardware on which AllStarLink 3 Appliance is being installed.
Click on CHOOSE OS. Scroll to the bottom of the list that appears and select Use custom.
A Select image dialog box will appear. Navigate to the Downloads folder and select the image downloaded in step 2. It will be named something like allstar3-arm64-3.0.1.img.xz. Then click Open.
Connect the SD card or the SD card in a USB adapter to the computer. Then click on CHOOSE STORAGE. An option will be presented named something such as "Mass Storage Device USB Device - 16.0 GB". Click on that entry.
Click NEXT
A box labelled "Use OS customisation?" will appear. Click on EDIT SETTINGS
Check the box next to Set hostname and enter a hostname for the device to appear as on the network. In this example, node63001 is used. Unless you have another naming convention for AllStarLink nodes, use the nodeNNNNN format.
Check the box next to Set username and password and enter a username and password. It is recommended to set the username to 'asl' if you have no strong feeling about the username. Choose a good password and record the password somewhere safe. NOTE: There is NO DEFAULT USER for the image. Failure to set an account will require a reimage of the SD card with the proper settings.
If the device will be connected to WiFi, check the box "Configure wireless LAN" and then enter the name of the wireless network in SSID and the password for that network in Password. Change the "Wireless LAN country" to US or another country as appropriate. Setting this is not necessary if the Pi will use a network cable rather than wireless.
Check the box next to Set locale settings and change the "Time zone" to the desired region. The timezone settings will control any time-based announcements and schedule jobs. After completing steps 10-13, the customization should look something like:
Click SAVE in "OS Customisation".
Click YES for "Use OS customisation?"
Click YES to continue to write the image to the SD card.
Depending on the speed of the computer and the type of SD card one will have time for a beverage of their choice. When the write is complete, eject the card, remove the card from computer and insert it into the Pi. If using a USB adapter for the SD card, remove the SD card from the adapter and insert the card into the Pi. The Pi will not use the SD card in the USB adapter.
Power on the Pi. Wait approximately 2 to 5 minutes for the Pi to boot and perform the various first boot tasks. Depending on the type of a Pi board used, this process could be lengthy. If there is a screen connected to the Pi, it will be noted that Pi will reboot several times. This is normal and expected.
(Optional) Network connectivity may be tested using the command to ping the hostname set in step 10. For example, if the hostname set was "node63001" then do ping -4 node63001.local from a command prompt or PowerShell window. When you get a response, the host is connected to the network.
Open the browser on your computer and navigate to https://nodeNNNNN.local. In this example the name was node63001 then one would enter https://node63001.local. Your Pi and your computer must be on the same LAN for this to work. Use the IP address rather than the hostname if the Pi is on a remote network or the hostname is unreachable. Depending on your network and browser, one may have to enter the name several times until the page displayed. The first connection will report a message that "Your connection isn't private". For the Pi appliance, this is acceptable. Click on Advanced and then Continue to node63001.local (unsafe). This only must be done the first time.
The AllStarLink Launchpad will appear. Clicking on Web Admin Portal will take one to the web-based administration portal that includes a web-based SSH client for using asl-menu and other commands. Clicking on Node Links will take one to the Allmon3 interface. Clicking on ASL Manual will take one to the top of this manual.
To setup the new node, click on Web Admin Portal. Similar to step 20, click Advanced and Continue to node63001.local (unsafe) to see the logon box.This only must be done the first time. Enter the username and password configured during the imaging process above. Click Log in
The Overview tab is displayed. Using the Web Admin Portal (Cockpit) with AllStarLink is covered in the manual. At the top, click on *Turn on administrative access

Enter the password again when prompted and click Authenticate
The web-based SSH console appears as Terminal at the bottom of the left scrollable menu. Click it and SSH console will appear:

The Terminal window is a complete interface to AllStarLink, Asterisk, and more. No SSH client is required although use of SSH directly is fully supported.

The node may now be configured. New users or those wanting a quick start experience should use the asl-menu utility with sudo asl-menu.

The menu will appear:

Asterisk Console

To start the asterisk console from the Terminal window enter sudo asterisk -rv.

Software Updates

One should also apply any latest updates and reboot the device as described in Cockpit Updates.

The default-configured username and password combination is allmon3 / password.

You must delete this and add a new one.

Launch Web Admin Portal (aka Cockpit)
Open terminal
Type sudo allmon3-passwd --delete allmon3 to remove the default login
Type sudo allmon3-passwd <new user login> to set the new user login. Type the new password when prompted.
Type sudo systemctl restart allmon3 to load the new login.

Details on updating the login(s) and other Allmon3 settings can be found in the Allmon3 section of the manual..

Logging Out

When finished with the admin system, click on Session in the upper right and then choose Logout.

Node Configuration

Next step is to configure the node settings. YouTuber Freddie Mac has a nice ASL3 installation and configuration video. See https://youtu.be/aeuj-yI8qrU. Also see ASL3 Menu for details.