Hacking_and_Penetration_Testing_with_Low_Power_Devices
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16 CHAPTER 2 Meet the beagles<br />
A Texas Instruments TPS65950 chip is used for power management <strong>and</strong> audio on<br />
the BeagleBoard-xM (details at http://www.ti.com/product/tps65950). While this<br />
might seem like a strange combination to put on a chip, the chip is designed to be<br />
used <strong>with</strong> TI’s set of processors in embedded applications where low chip count<br />
is an important design criterion. The TPS65950 allows the BeagleBoard-xM to be<br />
powered by the USB OTG (On-The-Go) connection when connected to a PC. This<br />
is not recommended when running lots of peripherals <strong>and</strong>/or a LCD touchscreen as<br />
the PC USB port may not be able to supply sufficient power. A USB Y-cable, powered<br />
USB hub, or external 5 V (2 A) power supply may be required when using USB<br />
peripherals <strong>with</strong> high-power requirements.<br />
The BeagleBoard-xM has four USB 2.0 host ports. Each port is capable of supplying<br />
up to 500 mA provided the board is powered via the DC input power connector<br />
<strong>and</strong> not the USB OTG port. The System Reference Manual recommends a 3 A<br />
power supply if all the ports are to be used. In my experience, a 2 A power supply<br />
is more than sufficient even when running a 1 W Alfa wireless adapter. All three<br />
USB 2.0 speeds (low, full, <strong>and</strong> high) are supported.<br />
The BeagleBoard-xM provides three options for video output: S-Video, DVI-D<br />
via HDMI connector, <strong>and</strong> LCD touchscreen. The S-Video connection can be used to<br />
connect the BeagleBoard-xM to a NTSC (default) or PAL television. The board may<br />
be configured to send different videos to the S-Video <strong>and</strong> DVI-D connections. A fullsize<br />
HDMI connector is used to connect the BeagleBoard-xM to a digital monitor or<br />
television. The DVI-D protocol is essentially the same as HDMI <strong>with</strong> the exception<br />
of not supporting sending audio over the HDMI cable. Enhanced Display ID (EDID)<br />
or Display Data Channel (DDC2B) is used to identify an attached monitor <strong>and</strong> configure<br />
video settings appropriately. Plugging in your monitor cable before you power<br />
up the BeagleBoard-xM is recommended to avoid surges, which could damage the<br />
board <strong>and</strong> for proper monitor identification. A pair of 0.05 in. 2 10 headers allow an<br />
LCD screen, such as the 7 in. touchscreen (http://elinux.org/Beagleboard:<br />
BeagleBone_LCD7) for the lunchbox computer shown in the last chapter, to be<br />
directly connected to the BeagleBoard-xM.<br />
The BeagleBoard-xM has one microSD card slot. The board supports highcapacity<br />
microSD cards. This is primarily used to house the operating system, but<br />
you can <strong>and</strong> should buy a larger card if you want to store data <strong>with</strong>out the need<br />
to attach a USB mass storage device (which would increase your power usage among<br />
other things). When buying microSD cards, it is well worth the extra money to get a<br />
class 10 card. The use of class 4 or class 6 cards will have a noticeable impact on<br />
performance. Communication <strong>with</strong> the microSD card is 4 bits <strong>with</strong> a 20 MHz clock.<br />
Two buttons <strong>and</strong> six LEDs are used to facilitate user interaction on the<br />
BeagleBoard-xM. One of the buttons is used for power on reset <strong>and</strong> the other is user<br />
configurable. The five green LEDs are used for indicating that the board is powered,<br />
that the USB hub circuitry is powered, <strong>and</strong> that the remaining three LEDs are programmable<br />
via I2C (1) or GPIO (2). There is also a red over- or under-voltage LED<br />
that illuminates if anything other than 5 V is applied to the DC input. While the