Connect to the Raspberry Pi

Owned by Nina Cardillo
Last updated: 11-Jul-2024
3 min read
SmartServer Pi is available with SmartServer 4.2 and higher.

This section describes how to connect to Raspberry Pi remotely using SSH. You will use the SSH console to install the SmartServer Pi software. To perform these instructions, the Raspberry Pi must be attached to a wired LAN network, with a PC that exists on the same LAN network. This section consists of the following:

Determining Your Raspberry Pi IP Address

If the Raspberry Pi was configured as described in the section Install the Raspberry Pi OS for SmartServer Pi, then it will have the hostname rpi-smartserver in a DHCP network that includes a DNS server. If there is no DNS server on the LAN, then the Raspberry Pi will respond using mDNS protocol to the hostname rpi-smartserver.local. 

Enter the following commands from a terminal window to determine your Raspberry Pi IP address:

ping rpi-smartserver
ping rpi-smartserver.local

If you cannot resolve the Raspberry Pi TCP/IP address on your LAN through one of the hostname options, then you may need to find address by reviewing the tables in your local internet gateway device. The figure below describes the minimal network requirements to complete these instructions.  

Connecting and Logging into Your Raspberry Pi

You can use a terminal window SSH connection, or SSH client (e.g., putty.exe), to log into Raspberry Pi with the SmartServer Pi hostname or IP address. 

Login credentials for SSH access are the same as your Raspberry Pi login credentials. These login credential are set when you create the SD card image as described in Install the Raspberry Pi OS for SmartServer Pi. If you followed the Setup Steps procedure in the Install the Raspberry Pi OS for SmartServer Pi section, then the default username is apollo and the hostname is rpi-smartserver.  

After the SmartServer Pi software is installed, the hostname of your Raspberry Pi is changed to smartserver-<SID>. In networks that support DHCP and a local DNS server, this name should resolve. In a network that does not include a DNS server, add .local to the hostname to engage the mDNS protocol to resolve the SmartServer Pi IP address. 

To log into Raspberry Pi using SSH, perform the following steps:

  1. Open a terminal window and enter the following command:

    ssh <login user name>@<ip address or hostname>
    Example: IP address
    ssh apollo@192.168.4.146
    Example: hostname with a local DNS server
    ssh apollo@rpi-smartserver
    Example: hostname without a local DNS server; using mDNS
    ssh apollo@rpi-smartserver.local


    A prompt appears to enter the password.

  2. Enter the Raspberry Pi password that you set in the Raspberry Pi OS Imaging application. 

    Example result using putty.exe as an SSH client:



Once you are connected to the Raspberry Pi, go to Install SmartServer Pi to continue with SmartServer Pi setup.

Opening a Terminal Connection Using the SmartServer Pi Configuration Page

Once SmartServer Pi is installed and you are logged in, you can open a terminal connection using the SmartServer Pi Configuration page Terminal tab (left-side) as shown below.