Getting Internet Connection

General

Sometimes it is tedious to verify that you have Internet connection. If you only have the command line, here is a method to check whether you have Internet connection:

ping google.com

If it works, you will get something like this:

64 bytes from dfw06s47-in-f14.1e100.net (216.58.218.206): icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=39.4 ms
64 bytes from dfw06s47-in-f14.1e100.net (216.58.218.206): icmp_seq=4 ttl=54 time=25.5 ms
64 bytes from dfw06s47-in-f14.1e100.net (216.58.218.206): icmp_seq=5 ttl=54 time=52.7 ms
64 bytes from dfw06s47-in-f14.1e100.net (216.58.218.206): icmp_seq=6 ttl=54 time=26.7 ms

Note that web browsers will have problems with certificates if the Banana Pi is not set to the correct time. Check the time with

date

If you already have Internet conection, you can simply use NTP to update your time

sudo service ntp stop
sudo ntpd -gq
sudo service ntp start

Ethernet

Connect the Ethernet port with an Ethernet cable to a router. The Banana Pi will automatically request an IP address from the router. You can use the router admin page to find the IP address of the Banana Pi.

Wifi

The Banana Pi has a built-in Wifi chip. It is recommended to connect the antenna. The Wifi is supported by Lubuntu and Raspian.

Lubuntu:
All you need is to connect to the Internet via command line or a network manager.

Raspian:
http://wiki.lemaker.org/BananaPro/Pi:WiFi_configuration

Coffee Shop

Huh? How do you get Internet connection on your banana Pi when you're in a coffee shop?

Since you can't drag a monitor with you, one option is to have a VNC session instead on your laptop. The Banana Pi is connected to the laptop with an Ethernet cable through a router. Now you open a VNC session and use the network manager to connect via Wifi to the coffee shop Wifi.
The problem is that we can't get to the authorization web page because eth0 hogs the Internet.
Solution:

sudo ip route change to default dev wlan2 via 192.168.180.1

Then point your browser to the gateway address of the coffee shop router:

Solution found at
Set Default Network Interface In Ubuntu