Test usb ports

[marrrriej]

Hi,

I want to test automatically if the USB ports are in use.
I want to test it in a bash script

I found some information about ttyUSB0 in the /dev/

The problem is, there is usb hub between the system and the mouse/keyboard. The other USB port is in use for the Ubuntu live usb.
When I open the /dev/ map virtual and pull out the usb keyboard the hidraw1 diappears, same for the keyboard.
When both are out and I pull out the usb hub, nothing happens.

Do anyone know how to test it?

Thank you very much!

Regards,
Marrrriej

[Rubberman]

Run the command 'lsusb'. You should get output something like this:

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04b8:0005 Seiko Epson Corp. Stylus D88+
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Notice the first line. That is the one port I have with something connected. I think the entries for "Device 001" are for the hubs. If a port doesn't have anything attached, then it doesn't appear in the list. So, to answer your question, you can find out what is attached, but you cannot see unused ports with the simple invocation of lsusb. However, "lsusb -v" will give verbose information about your devices, including hubs. For a hub, it will show how many ports it has. Each hub device will show up in the verbose listing something like this:

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               1.10
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceSubClass         0 Unused
  bDeviceProtocol         0 Full speed (or root) hub
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x0000
  idProduct          0x0000
  bcdDevice            2.06
  iManufacturer           3 Linux 2.6.18-164.9.1.el5 uhci_hcd
  iProduct                2 UHCI Host Controller
  iSerial                 1 0000:00:1d.0
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength           25
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0
    bmAttributes         0xe0
      Self Powered
      Remote Wakeup
    MaxPower                0mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass         9 Hub
      bInterfaceSubClass      0 Unused
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 Full speed (or root) hub
      iInterface              0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            3
          Transfer Type            Interrupt
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0002  1x 2 bytes
        bInterval             255
Hub Descriptor:
  bLength               9
  bDescriptorType      41
  nNbrPorts             2
  wHubCharacteristic 0x000a
    No power switching (usb 1.0)
    Per-port overcurrent protection
  bPwrOn2PwrGood        1 * 2 milli seconds
  bHubContrCurrent      0 milli Ampere
  DeviceRemovable    0x00
  PortPwrCtrlMask    0x80
 Hub Port Status:
   Port 1: 0000.0100 power
   Port 2: 0000.0100 power

Notice under the section "Hub Descriptor:" the subfield "nNbrPorts". This shows how many ports are available on that hub. Externally attached hubs will also show up here, where they won't in the short listing.

I hope this clarifies stuff for you. You can grep the nNbrPorts from the output of "lsusb -v" in a script easily enough. Also, each hub listing, such as that shown above, will tell you if any of its ports are powered or not, as well as a lot of other information you probably don't need as yet.