How to choose Raspberry Pi OS

　This article is re -edited the "How to select Raspberry Pi OS" published in "Soracom Official Blog" provided by Soracom.

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Hello, this is Matsushita (nickname: MAX) of Soracom, who has six Raspberry Pi.

In February 2022, there was news that the 64-bit version of the Raspberry Pi OS was officially released.For those who use Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 in the future, we recommend "Bullseye-based 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS", but this blog introduces the background and how to select it.

Raspberry Pi (raspberry pie, commonly known as Raspberry Pi) is a small computer that can be connected to a sensor, is used for IoT technical verification and product, and I often use it during demonstrations.

OS is indispensable for actually using raspberry pies.Like MacOS and Windows for personal computers, Raspberry Pie uses Linux.Among them, "Raspberry Pi OS" is used standard.The Raspberry Pi OS is a Linux based on Debian GNU/Linux, and is adjusted to pull out the hardware function on the raspberry pie, so if you use the Raspberry Pi OS, you will be able to handle raspions without trouble.

From here, Raspberry Pi as a hardware is described as Raspberry Pi and the OS is Raspberry Pi OS.

In addition to the Raspberry Pi OS for raspberry Pi, there are Linux OS -based Ubuntu (ARM version) Windows (ARM version) Windows used by Raspberry Pi.

As you can see from the list of Raspberry Pi OS, the Raspberry Pi OS has seven options (as of February 2022), but the points are the following three points.

1. GUI の有無 (Desktop / Lite)
2. ベースのDebian GNU/Linuxのバージョン (最新 / Legacy)
3. システムアーキテクチャー (32-bit / 64-bit)

For IoT development, "Lite" without a GUI is fine.GUI is unnecessary for reading sensors and sending data to the cloud.However, when using a camera, it may be useful if there is a GUI for verification purposes.Therefore, you will decide whether there is a GUI depending on the development content and usage.

The presence or absence of the GUI can be determined by the naming of the Raspberry Pi OS.

The screens after startup are different as shown below.To control remotely, use SSH, not limited to the presence or absence of GUI.If you have a GUI, you can use the desktop remotely with VNC.

Based on the GUI, it comes with software such as LibreOffice, an office software, and Scratch that can be used for programming.In particular, Raspberry Pie 4 has 8GB of memory and has the same specifications as a personal computer, so choose when you want to use raspberry pie like a computer.In the Raspberry Pi OS installer "Raspberry Pi Imager", it is described as "Full".

For the base Debian GNU/Linux version, select the Raspberry Pi OS of "Bullseye -based" if there is no restrictions described below.

Debian Gnu/Linux (hereinafter, Debian), which is the base of the Raspberry Pi OS, has multiple versions.Until now, Raspberry Pi has always been based on the latest Debian version, but in November 2021, based on the latest version of Debian "Bullseye" and the previous version "Buster" (BUSTER "Two Raspberry Pi OSs based on buster) have been released.

Basically, if you choose a newer BullSyeye base, you can expect the latest features and improve performance.However, if you have software assets on the Raspberry Pi OS and are difficult to move to Bullseye base immediately, you will have to select a buster base.Considering future updates, you should consider the transition to BullSyeye base.(The Raspberry Pi OS provider says so, and in the system architecture described later, there is no Buster base in the 64-bit version.)

What is the base can be determined by naming the Raspberry Pi OS.

List the information sources that can be used for transition from Buster to Bullseye.

ラズパイとセンサーをつなげるのに使うGPIO(General-purpose input/output; 多目的入出力)を操作できる gpio コマンドが、Bullseyeから無くなりました。代替コマンドは存在しますが互換性はありません。移行にはこのような非互換な更新も存在するため、確認が必要です。 gpio コマンドの対処については BullseyeベースのRaspberry Pi OSからWiring Piが無くなった、その対処方法 をご覧ください。

If you use it after Raspberry Pie 3 or later, use the 64-bit version of the Raspberry Pi OS.However, since the old model of Raspberry Pi (1/2 / ZERO (including W)) is 32-bit, the CPU itself is 32-bit, so you will select the 32-bit Raspberry Pi OS.You can see which raspberry pie supports 64-bit in the "Architect Width" table on the 64-bit version of the page of the official release page.

The biggest difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is the size of the memory space that can be handled.The 32-bit is limited to 3GB per process, so, for example, the 8GB model of Raspberry Pi 4 cannot utilize the hardware ability.That said, in IoT development, for example, if the sensor value is sent to the cloud, there is no such memory, so there is no problem in choosing this point.

The background that recommends 64-bit in such a situation is the provision of future compatible binary (software).The X86 series, which is a CPU used in personal computers, is already 64-bit.In some cases, the software provider has also completed the development of 32-bit binary.Therefore, there is a possibility that only 64-bit binary will be provided in the future.

Until now, the CPU was 64-bit compatible, so the Raspberry Pi OS was a 32-bit version, so we could not perform the maximum performance.With the OS (accurately Kernel) 64-bit, the application (binary) can be converted to 64-bit, and the maximum hardware performance will be given.Specifically, the improvement was about 20%.Please check this out for details.

As you have explained so far, if you use it newly, select "Bullseye-based 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS".Also, if you have software developed on raspberry pie, you will have to select "Buster-based 32-bit Raspberry Pi OS" if you move without any hassle.

Please select the presence or absence of the GUI according to the contents of the target development.For IoT development that does not use a camera, I think that "lite" without a GUI is enough.

Obtaining the 64-bit version of the Raspberry Pi OS and writing to MicroSD is easy and secure to use Raspberry Pi Imager (hereinafter, Imager).It will go from downloading to writing image files.The latest version of Imager is 1.7.1 (as of early February 2022).If it is old, let's update.

After launching Imager, the Raspberry Pi OS displayed when you click "Choose OS" is the 32-bit version.The 64-bit version is in "Raspberry Pi OS (Other)".And before selecting, check the "Released" date just in case.If it is 2022-01-28 (or later date), it is the officially released 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS.

After that, select "Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit)" (= GUI) or "Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit)" (= GUI).

Raspberry pie is attracting attention as a "IoT" hardware that connects digitized sites and clouds using a sensor.In recent years, IoT products using Raspberry Pi Compute Module (Raspberry Pi Compute Module) have appeared, and there have been places to make use of the knowledge obtained from Raspberry Pi.

We introduced how to select Raspberry Pi OS as information for learning / utilization, but in addition to MicroSD, which is essential for raspberry pie, and Raspberry pie / Wi-Fi / wired LAN, mobile as the "third network".It introduces how to attach communication, and how to use SORACOM IoT services directly from Wi-Fi / Wired LAN.Please use it by all means.

ラズパイを使ってみたいが、何を行えば…？という方にオススメなのが「​自分で学べるIoT通信講座」です。ソラコムのIoTデバイスを無料で貸出します。また、手順はIoT DIY レシピを参考に進められるため、自分のペースでIoTが学べます。もちろん今回ご紹介したラズパイも含まれていますので、ぜひチャレンジしてみてください。詳細やお申し込みは、​自分で学べるIoT通信講座をご覧ください。お待ちしております！

-Sorakom Matsushita (Feel free to follow MAX / Twitter!)

Posting Raspberry Pi OS is first displayed on the SORACOM official blog.