1 # Replacing PC Engine Alix by Turris MOX
3 ## History and motivation
5 Since 2010, I used an [Alix](https://pcengines.ch/alix2d3.htm) device
6 as my home router/firewall, plus some basic services: DNS, ntpd, dhcpd... I
7 installed Debian on it, and it provided so far a robust 'fire and
10 Though some problems started to pile up over the years:
12 1. The Geode LX processor in the Alix series isn't a full i686
13 CPU. Debian dropped support fo these, see
14 <https://www.debian.org/releases/stretch/i386/release-notes/ch-information.en.html>
16 So I am basically stuck with Debian Jessie, which is EOL since mid-2020[^1].
18 [^1]: the Alix with its Geode LX CPU may still be able to get more recent
20 <https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2015/09/msg00617.html>
23 2. I got finally FTTH at home, and the 100Mbit/s of the Alix ethernet
24 ports aren't enough to catch up all the speed of my connection.
26 3. The Alix board is really short on RAM: 256Mb only; so I can't even run Emacs on it.
28 4. The boot time of the Alix is long: full 3 minutes
30 So after 12 years, let's look at something more powerful, and still cheap on
31 price and electricity consumption.
33 ## Choosing a new router
35 More specifically, I wanted:
41 3. At least 3 LAN ports
43 4. SFP port or WIFI not really needed
45 Here the short list I came through, all around 200$:
47 1. A mini PC with Intel Celeron Quad Core and 4 LAN ports (Intel
48 i225); it's called "J4125 industrial PC" on AliExpress and the
49 brand is unknown; there are a lot of similar offerings on their web
52 2. [Banana BPI R64](https://wiki.banana-pi.org/Banana_Pi_BPI-R64); if
53 you don't do POE, you need a power supply with non standard plug
56 3. [Turris MOX](https://www.turris.com/en/mox/overview/); shipped with
57 a customized OpenWRT called TurrisOS
59 4. Expressobin Ultra: similar SoC as the Turris MOX; OS shipped seems
62 Choices which may have been valid also:
64 1. ClearFog CN9130 Pro; sold by SolidRun. This is a high end router, a
65 bit too overkill in features and pricy. But probably excellent for
68 2. The last generation of Alix called APU2; this would have been the
69 easy replacement choice. Has open source BIOS. A bit costly, but
70 the nail in the coffin was lack of availability by the vendors at
71 the time I wanted to buy.
73 I settled about the Turris MOX (modules A and C), bought through
74 Discomp. The decisive arguments for my choice were:
76 1. a flexible, upgradable and open architecture
77 2. an active community exists around Turris hardware
79 ## Beginning with the Turris MOX
81 Mounting/unmounting the parts of this Lego like device is easy:
82 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL8Rpo0Wshc>
84 First connexion is straightforward:
85 <https://docs.turris.cz/hw/mox/intro/>
87 The MOX admin web interface (called Foris) is at http://192.168.1.1,
88 which is often also the address of your ISP modem; in that case you
89 have to change that last one to avoid conflict.
91 Foris is a wrapper around the standard Luci configuration tool of
92 OpenWRT. It allows for a simple connectivity test, and manages
93 additional packages or upgrades of TurrisOS (more on that below). But
94 for more advanced configuration, Luci is unavoidable, be it the web
95 interface or the command line. Notice that changes made through Luci
96 can introduce inconsistencies with Foris, and so unexpected behaviour.
98 I never tried to get ipv6 from my ISP with my old Alix (I had a tunnel
99 for that). The MOX was able out of the box to offer additional ipv6
100 addresses from my ISP /56 prefix to all my devices at home, good!
102 At first connection, Foris offers to upgrade its factory setup. This
103 won't work because the factory release is too old wrt the proposed
104 upgrade. You will have to use the [reflash procedure from a USB
105 drive](https://docs.turris.cz/hw/mox/rescue-modes/#re-flash-router) to
106 get the most recent version and allow upgrades from there. Entering
107 the reflash mode is a bit tricky, you have to monitor a led on the
108 other side than where the button to push (actually a paper clip hole)
111 ## Hacking the Turris MOX
113 There is no serial DB9 port on the MOX like the Alix had, you have to
114 use the [GPIO connectors](https://docs.turris.cz/hw/serial/#turris-mox).
116 The serial/USB convertor must be at 1.8V, this is non standard. For
117 20$, I purchased a DSD TECH SH-U09C2 adapter. With this adapter you
118 don't need to connect the VCC 1.8V GPIO pin.
120 ## Debian as a LXC container
122 The procedure to do that is explained here:
123 <https://docs.turris.cz/geek/lxc/lxc/>
125 I connected a USB disk for Debian on the MOX and choose to share
126 network with my container like that:
128 lxc-start -n turris-debian --share-net 1
130 So I was able to install Debian specific stuff I had on the Alix.