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Orange Pi Zero

Hardware

Orange Pi Zero uses the Allwinner H2/H3+ (quad-core A7). It integrates a 100M Ethernet port, onboard Wi-Fi, onboard storage, USB OTG power, and a USB 2.0 port.

Note: Power and OTG data share the same Micro-USB port. A power/data splitter cable is recommended.

Docker Deployment

First, write Armbian to an SD card. This guide uses Armbian_23.02.0-trunk_Orangepizero_jammy_current_5.15.85_msd-patched.img and deploys One-KVM via Docker.

Armbian image: Armbian_23.02.0-trunk_Orangepizero_jammy_current_5.15.85_msd-patched.zip

image-20241126135200887

After booting, run:

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# Prevent auto-loading g_serial
echo "" > /etc/modules-load.d/modules.conf
reboot

# Install One-KVM with Docker
apt update
apt install docker.io
docker run --name kvmd -itd --privileged=true \
    -v /dev:/dev -v /sys/kernel/config:/sys/kernel/config \
    -v /lib/modules:/lib/modules:ro -e OTG=1 \
    -p 8080:8080 -p 4430:4430 -p 5900:5900 -p 623:623 \
    silentwind0/kvmd
# Enable auto-restart
docker update --restart=always kvmd

Result:

image-20241126144130798

Others

Hardware safety warning

To avoid issues such as the target failing to boot or detect devices (and in rare cases hardware damage), take one of these precautions before using a USB data/power splitter cable:

Option 1: cut/remove the red 5V (VCC) wire in the USB cable so only the data lines (D+/D−) and ground remain, breaking the power path.

Option 2: insert a USB hub with its own power switch into the USB link and keep that switch off while connecting.

Some low-power targets can back-power from the KVM via OTG before their main power is applied, leaving them in a bad state that persists even after you power them normally.

Unless you fully understand the risks, use one of the safeguards above to protect your hardware.

Data safety reminder

Avoid hard power-offs. Cutting power while eMMC writes are in progress can corrupt data.

If you must cut power, run sync after write operations. For shutdowns/reboots, prefer poweroff or reboot so the system flushes data cleanly.

SSH

Armbian enables SSH by default. Initial credentials: root/1234. For Orange Pi official images, default is root/orangepi.

System upgrade warning

Do not run apt upgrade to upgrade the kernel/DTB. It may break OTG.

Wi-Fi

To connect 2.4G Wi-Fi, run:

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nmtui