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