The document provides instructions for setting up a Raspberry Pi 2 development environment. It details the specs of the Raspberry Pi 2 including ports and processor. It recommends buying a starter kit for about $125 or individual parts. Setup requires a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and network cable. The NOOBS operating system is loaded to install Raspbian, a Debian-based Linux distro. Additional steps configure WiFi, Bluetooth, and enable remote desktop. The document provides an example of running a simple Node.js web server as a first program.

2. Raspberry Pi 2
 4 USB Ports
 1 Network Port
 1 HDMI Port
 1 MiniUSB Port
 1 Gig RAM
 MicroSD Card for HD
 900 MHz Quad-Core CPU

3. Options
 Raspberry Pi - $35
 Raspberry Pi w/kit: $69.99 (Amazon)
 Case
 Power Supply
 WiFi Dongle
 SD Card (With NOOBS pre-loaded)
 HDMI Cable
 Raspberry Pi w/Kit & Peripherals - ≈ $125.00
 Not having to scrounge for parts - priceless

4. Things Not In The Kit
 Network Cable
 Wired Mouse
 Wired Keyboard
 Monitor (the good news: most modern TV’s accept HDMI
input – visibility is rarely a problem with this option.)

5. Things I Didn’t Realize
 You need a connected mouse to select which OS to install from NOOBS (I
opted for Raspbian)
 My Bluetooth keyboard/mouse wouldn’t work until after I installed the
Bluetooth stack - via command-line.
 I couldn’t remote in without installing xrdp and/or ssh – via command-line.
 I couldn’t configure the WiFi info without a keyboard
I now have an extra wired mouse and extra keyboard, and an extra network
cable.

6. Recommended Steps 1
 Order a kit with all the parts, or order parts in kit separately
– your choice.
 Round up a wired keyboard, wired mouse, and network
cable.
 If using kit, NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) will be
pre-loaded; if not, download NOOBS for Raspberry Pi,
load onto SD Card; insert into RPi (detailed instructions
here).

7. Recommended Steps 2
 Connect mouse & keyboard to RPi
 Connect HDMI to monitor/TV & RPi
 Connect network cable (ideally, connect RPi directly to
your network router)
 Connect microUSB last; RPi doesn’t have an “on/off”
switch – plugging the power in is how it powers up.

8. NOOBS Installation
 NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software)
 Lots of great resources on YouTube – my favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiTNdwD1fS0
This will walk you through the configuration steps required
to get Raspbian installed.
(Tip: when given the option to enable auto-login, do so – it’s a
time-saver when installing additional pieces)

9. Raspbian
 “Raspbian is a free operating system based on Debian
optimized for the Raspberry Pi hardware”
 “Debian (/ˈdɛbiən/)[1] is a Unix-like computer operating
system and a Linux distribution that is composed entirely
of free and open-source software, most of which is under
theGNU General Public License, and packaged by a group
of individuals known as the Debian Project.”

10. Optional: Configuring Display
 If the default resolution doesn’t fit your display, open up a command-line
terminal on your Raspberry Pi, and type:
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
 Change disable_overscan=0 to disable_overscan=1
 Change framebuffer_width and framebuffer_height to the appropriate
dimensions for your display; if “#” precedes them, remove it.
(Tip: NOOBS entered this twice into my config.txt – change the last
instance, if this happens to you)
 Save file, and reboot.

11. Additional Config/Installs
 WiFi: Menu=>Preferences=>WiFi Configuration
 Bluetooth (from the command-line):
sudo apt-get installbluetooth bluez-utils blueman bluez python-gobject python-gobject2
 Menu=>Preferences=>Bluetooth devices
 Find RPi IP address: ifconfig
 Remote Desktop: sudo apt-get install xrdp (connect with Remote Desktop on your Windows device)
 SSH: sudo apt-get install SSH (download Putty on your Win device to connect)
 WinSCP on your Windows device to be able to transfer files
 Node.js:
 wget http://node-arm.herokuapp.com/node_latest_armhf.deb
 sudo dpkg –I node_latest_armhf.deb
 MongoDB: A bit more complicated. Install instructions:
https://nikolayarhangelov.wordpress.com/2015/01/25/raspberry-pi-running-nodejs-and-mongodb-
on-pi/

12. Your First Node.js Web Server
 Open a terminal and type: nano myserver.js
 Enter the following:
var http = require('http');
var server = http.createServer(function (request, response){
response.writeHead(200, {‘Content-Type’: ‘text/plain’});
response.end(‘Hello from nodejs running on Rasbian!n’); });
server.listen(‘8080’);
console.log(‘Server running at http://127.0.0.1:8080/’);
 Press CTL-X to exit and Y to save the app.js file.
 Launch the node app by opening a terminal and executing:
node myserver.js
 View the running node app by opening a browser and navigating to http://localhost:8080
or http://127.0.0.1:8080
 To stop the server, press CTL-C in terminal window.

13. Benefits of Raspberry Pi As A Dev Environment
 Less expensive than a desktop or laptop computer
 Different OS options available (Windows 10 for Raspberry Pi is also
available)
 Easier to switch out environments (just swap SD cards)
 Large and enthusiastic user support base
 Expandable – you can add temperature sensors, cameras, or other
hardware additions (adafruit.com)