Windows Subsystem for Linux Setup

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) provides a Linux environment directly on Windows, which is useful for Red Pitaya development tasks such as:

Accessing the serial console with minicom
Building and compiling software
Running Linux-based development tools
Accessing USB devices (including the Red Pitaya SD card)

This guide covers installing WSL, configuring it for optimal performance, and setting up USB device access.

Prerequisites

Windows 10 version 2004 and higher (Build 19041 and higher) or Windows 11
Administrator access to your Windows system

Basic WSL Installation

Microsoft provides comprehensive installation instructions. We recommend installing the latest available Ubuntu LTS version.

Windows Subsystem for Linux - Official Microsoft WSL installation guide

Quick installation (recommended):

Open PowerShell or Windows Command Prompt as Administrator
Run the installation command:
```
wsl --install
```
Restart your computer when prompted
After restart, a Linux terminal will open to complete the Ubuntu setup
Create a username and password for your Linux environment

Note

The default WSL installation uses WSL 2, which provides better performance and full system call compatibility.

USB Device Access Setup

To connect USB devices (like the Red Pitaya’s serial console or SD card reader) to WSL, you need to install usbipd-win.

Connect USB devices - Official Microsoft USB device connection guide

Installing `usbipd-win`

Open PowerShell or Windows Command Prompt as Administrator
Install using winget:
```
winget install usbipd
```

Alternatively, download and install from the usbipd-win releases page.

Installing Linux tools

In your WSL terminal, install the required Linux tools:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install linux-tools-generic hwdata minicom
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/local/bin/usbip usbip /usr/lib/linux-tools/*-generic/usbip 20

WSL Configuration (.wslconfig)

To optimize WSL for Red Pitaya development, especially for USB device access, you should configure WSL settings using a .wslconfig file.

Creating the .wslconfig file

The .wslconfig file should be placed in your Windows user directory: C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.wslconfig

Note

This file affects all WSL 2 distributions running on your machine.

Recommended configuration

Create or edit C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.wslconfig with the following content:

[wsl2]
dnsTunneling=true
networkingMode=mirrored

Configuration explanation:

dnsTunneling=true - Improves DNS resolution by tunneling DNS queries through Windows. This helps resolve network connectivity issues.
networkingMode=mirrored - Mirrors the network interfaces from Windows to WSL, providing better network compatibility and allowing WSL to access devices on the local network more easily. This is particularly useful for USB device passthrough and accessing the Red Pitaya over the network.

Important

After creating or modifying the .wslconfig file, you must restart WSL for the changes to take effect:

wsl --shutdown

Then restart your WSL distribution normally.

Additional configuration options

You can add additional settings to optimize WSL for your needs. Here are some common options:

[wsl2]
dnsTunneling=true
networkingMode=mirrored

# Memory allocation (default is 50% of total RAM)
memory=8GB

# Number of processors (default is all processors)
processors=4

# Swap space
swap=4GB

# Enable nested virtualization (for running VMs in WSL)
nestedVirtualization=true

For a complete list of configuration options, see the WSL Configuration Documentation page.

Verifying the installation

To verify that WSL is installed correctly:

Open a PowerShell or Windows Command Prompt window

Run:

wsl --list --verbose

You should see your installed Linux distribution with version 2:

NAME            STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu        Running         2

Start WSL:
```
wsl
```
You should now be in a Linux terminal where you can run Linux commands.

Next steps

Now that WSL is set up, you can:

Use it to access the Red Pitaya serial console
Install development tools for building Red Pitaya software
Access the Red Pitaya SD card contents from your Windows machine

Troubleshooting

WSL is not starting

Make sure virtualization is enabled in your BIOS/UEFI
Check that the Windows Hypervisor Platform is enabled:
- Open “Turn Windows features on or off”
- Enable “Virtual Machine Platform” and “Windows Subsystem for Linux”
- Restart your computer

USB device not appearing in WSL

Make sure the device is bound and attached using usbipd
Check that the Linux tools are installed correctly in WSL
Verify the .wslconfig settings are applied (restart WSL after changes)

Network connectivity issues

Check your .wslconfig file has dnsTunneling=true and networkingMode=mirrored
Restart WSL with wsl --shutdown and start it again
In WSL, try updating DNS settings in /etc/resolv.conf