PRS-500 How to get reader's serial # through USB?

VladSukhoy · 02-09-2007, 10:15 PM

Hi,
Working on multiple reader support in my mountable filesystem project..
is there a way to figure out serial number or any other persistent identifier for the reader? Serial number would be great, but pretty much anything equivalent is ok.

kovidgoyal · 02-09-2007, 11:08 PM

The serial number is reported in the about page of the reader, but is not reported over the USB interface (verify with lsusb).

scotty1024 · 02-09-2007, 11:27 PM

You do realize you don't need a serial number right?

The libusb library automatically provides arbitration. I've mounted both my wife's and my own Sony Reader on the same Mac with out any special coding to support it.

VladSukhoy · 02-09-2007, 11:39 PM

@scotty1024 Yes, I do realize that I can implement the functionality w/o serial number, nevertheless thank you, it is also possible that you understand my intent better than me..
But the idea is to implement automatic on-demand binding of prs units without any special listener application with just FUSE module itself (so that upon access the FUSE module is able to restore access to the needed device even if it was reconnected, switched its usb bus location, etc.) and also having persistent directory name for each connected device could be useful. Serial # is the natural choice in building such a name.

scotty1024 · 02-09-2007, 11:45 PM

Actually the reader protocol is pretty disconnect-able. I'm not really certain why they've put the big "Don't disconnect me" icon permanently up on the screen.

In my examination of the USB protocol it seems as though the units can be named.

I think it makes more sense to an Average Joe to have his Sony show up as "Average Joe" than "Sony 3456108". Sort of like an iPod.

kovidgoyal · 02-09-2007, 11:56 PM

I think the button is for people who get anxiety attacks when disconnecting USB devices. Interesting, can you provide a packet stream for naming the device?

VladSukhoy · 02-10-2007, 12:21 AM

any insight on how to obtain that serial from About page?
I noticed stuff like /Data/tmp/serial.img and also /Data/tmp/info/serial.. Looks like this is it, but.. here is md5 of the first one from my reader:
MD5 (serial.img) = 644471de540300d942c874f4240f16e1
and the second one:
MD5 (serial) = 3e72e87134c816a791cf064d3d5ac3e5

VladSukhoy · 02-10-2007, 12:22 AM

I wonder if you guys have different checksums - if so then I can use that as unique id, and get over it..

kovidgoyal · 02-10-2007, 12:32 AM

d777f0fd8c4368d8f1007b6890b20727 serial.img
666dd21918e73a6c753a99983dd216c0 serial

VladSukhoy · 02-10-2007, 12:34 AM

starts with 666

thx, this should be ok for now.

scotty1024 · 02-10-2007, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

I think the button is for people who get anxiety attacks when disconnecting USB devices. Interesting, can you provide a packet stream for naming the device?

THe button is for people used to dealing with block protocols, where the host operating system has to do a block mounting of the filesystem and thus has to write out super block data to unmount the filesystem prior to it being un-plugged.

The Sony of course uses a high level VFS based protocol and doesn't deal in anything as crude as blocks of raw disk data.

I've decoded the Sony Heart Beat.

They do this once per second to make sure the Sony Reader is still there (or perhaps poll to see if the Reader has anything to say?):

Code:

0x40  0x80  : 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
0xc0  0x81  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
BULKR 0x81  : 0x02 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x08 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
0x40  0x80  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x02 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
0xc0  0x81  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00

scotty1024 · 02-10-2007, 04:03 AM

Eject button sends...

Code:

0x40  0x80  : 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x04 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
0xc0  0x81  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00

They stop polling the device and the "Don't disconnect me" icon tries to disappear on the Reader display.

Thats the standard "End of Session", so I think the real question is "What do they send to make the 'Don't disconnect me' icon show up?"

kovidgoyal · 02-10-2007, 04:38 AM

In my experience the reader never spontaneously has anything to say. The protocol seems to be entirely host driven. I also don't understand why they'd need to poll the reader. The USB system on the host should inform them if the device is disconnected.

Just goes to show that the heart really is good for nothing ;-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty1024

The Sony of course uses a high level VFS based protocol and doesn't deal in anything as crude as blocks of raw disk data.

I've decoded the Sony Heart Beat.

They do this once per second to make sure the Sony Reader is still there (or perhaps poll to see if the Reader has anything to say?):

Code:

0x40  0x80  : 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
0xc0  0x81  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
BULKR 0x81  : 0x02 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x08 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
0x40  0x80  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x02 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
0xc0  0x81  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00

scotty1024 · 02-10-2007, 04:55 AM

I agree you'd think disconnect could be a USB event to them so that's why I suspect DRM conversation perhaps?

Anyway, this is a change in the new firmware I think, this is the unlock device packet being sent by the new CONNECT software:

Code:

06 01 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00 00 00   ................
2D 31 00 00 00 00 00 00                           -1.....

You will note it is now 8 bytes of payload. Apparently the Reader still supports the older 4 byte model.

scotty1024 · 02-10-2007, 05:04 AM

Hmm looks like Igorsky may have gotten one wrong...

Code:

0x40  0x80  : 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x04 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00
0xc0  0x81  : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00
              0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00

So I'm thinking command number 1 is really SessionBeginEnd not ReqEndSession with the payload of DWORD 0 for end and 1 for start.

I'm going to try this and see if that turns on the "Don't disconnect me" icon.

02-09-2007, 10:15 PM	#1
VladSukhoy Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: /Reader/	How to get reader's serial # through USB? Hi, Working on multiple reader support in my mountable filesystem project.. is there a way to figure out serial number or any other persistent identifier for the reader? Serial number would be great, but pretty much anything equivalent is ok.

02-09-2007, 11:08 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,559 Karma: 24495948 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	The serial number is reported in the about page of the reader, but is not reported over the USB interface (verify with lsusb). Last edited by kovidgoyal; 02-09-2007 at 11:38 PM.

02-09-2007, 11:39 PM	#4
VladSukhoy Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: /Reader/	@scotty1024 Yes, I do realize that I can implement the functionality w/o serial number, nevertheless thank you, it is also possible that you understand my intent better than me.. But the idea is to implement automatic on-demand binding of prs units without any special listener application with just FUSE module itself (so that upon access the FUSE module is able to restore access to the needed device even if it was reconnected, switched its usb bus location, etc.) and also having persistent directory name for each connected device could be useful. Serial # is the natural choice in building such a name. Last edited by VladSukhoy; 02-09-2007 at 11:45 PM.

02-10-2007, 12:22 AM	#8
VladSukhoy Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: /Reader/	I wonder if you guys have different checksums - if so then I can use that as unique id, and get over it.. Last edited by VladSukhoy; 02-10-2007 at 12:32 AM.

02-10-2007, 04:03 AM	#12
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	Eject button sends... Code: 0x40 0x80 : 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x04 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0xc0 0x81 : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 They stop polling the device and the "Don't disconnect me" icon tries to disappear on the Reader display. Thats the standard "End of Session", so I think the real question is "What do they send to make the 'Don't disconnect me' icon show up?"

02-09-2007, 11:27 PM	#3
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	You do realize you don't need a serial number right? The libusb library automatically provides arbitration. I've mounted both my wife's and my own Sony Reader on the same Mac with out any special coding to support it.

02-09-2007, 11:45 PM	#5
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	Actually the reader protocol is pretty disconnect-able. I'm not really certain why they've put the big "Don't disconnect me" icon permanently up on the screen. In my examination of the USB protocol it seems as though the units can be named. I think it makes more sense to an Average Joe to have his Sony show up as "Average Joe" than "Sony 3456108". Sort of like an iPod.

02-09-2007, 11:56 PM	#6
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,559 Karma: 24495948 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	I think the button is for people who get anxiety attacks when disconnecting USB devices. Interesting, can you provide a packet stream for naming the device?

02-10-2007, 12:21 AM	#7
VladSukhoy Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: /Reader/	any insight on how to obtain that serial from About page? I noticed stuff like /Data/tmp/serial.img and also /Data/tmp/info/serial.. Looks like this is it, but.. here is md5 of the first one from my reader: MD5 (serial.img) = 644471de540300d942c874f4240f16e1 and the second one: MD5 (serial) = 3e72e87134c816a791cf064d3d5ac3e5

02-10-2007, 12:32 AM	#9
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,559 Karma: 24495948 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	d777f0fd8c4368d8f1007b6890b20727 serial.img 666dd21918e73a6c753a99983dd216c0 serial

02-10-2007, 12:34 AM	#10
VladSukhoy Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: /Reader/	starts with 666 thx, this should be ok for now.

02-10-2007, 04:55 AM	#14
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	I agree you'd think disconnect could be a USB event to them so that's why I suspect DRM conversation perhaps? Anyway, this is a change in the new firmware I think, this is the unlock device packet being sent by the new CONNECT software: Code: 06 01 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 ................ 2D 31 00 00 00 00 00 00 -1..... You will note it is now 8 bytes of payload. Apparently the Reader still supports the older 4 byte model.

02-10-2007, 05:04 AM	#15
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	Hmm looks like Igorsky may have gotten one wrong... Code: 0x40 0x80 : 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x04 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0xc0 0x81 : 0x00 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 So I'm thinking command number 1 is really SessionBeginEnd not ReqEndSession with the payload of DWORD 0 for end and 1 for start. I'm going to try this and see if that turns on the "Don't disconnect me" icon. Last edited by scotty1024; 02-10-2007 at 05:19 AM.

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