Re: [Soekris] I see development of the net6801 has been dropped.

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  I think this was a smart move.  When I saw the original announcement
for the 6801, I thought it was a bad idea.  That kind of CPU with the
support chips it needs is not cost effective.  I hope they switch to a
64 bit arm design.
Good day,
Ralph
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Re: [Soekris] I see development of the net6801 has been dropped.

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  On the low end, I would say a Banana Pi R1 router is comparable.  I
have one and it has problems, but is usable.  I have only used it on
slow networks(like 4 mbps down and 1 up.  Cnewer chipsets with eight
64 bit cpus should be able to keep up with much faster traffic at low
power.
Ralph


On 10/6/15, Christian Weisgerber  wrote:
> On 2015-10-06, Vadim Troshchinskiy  wrote:
>
>> Besides, Lanner seems to have something out already.
>
> These Rangeley-based systems by ADI Engineering seem to be actually
> available and in quantities down to 1:
>
> US:
> http://store.netgate.com/Production-Systems-C209.aspx
>
> EU:
> https://shop.voleatech.de/en/product-category/network-hardware/
>
> --
> Christian "naddy" Weisgerber  na...@mips.inka.de
> ___
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Re: [Soekris] MS-DOS 6.22 on a net4801

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  That was interesting about pxeboot and video cards.  I don't think I
ever tried a pxeboot  install to a machine without video.
  I don't know if your real goal is to do the pxeboot install or to
have DOS running.  If it is to have DOS running, may I suggest a
different route.  I have setup DOS on several old machines, including
some other embedded x86 boxes.  I use  another computer and a USB to
CF adapter.  I boot the computer with the dos diskette and write the
CF card as if it were a hard drive.  Then, I move it to the embedded
device and boot it up.  The biggest problem for me is getting the
TCPIP stack installed and the ethernet drivers.  You can edit the
files on the other computer to do the configuration  But finding DOS
ethernet drivers for the built in NIC is the problem I did not solve
for my boxes.  It is pretty important for DOS on a 4801.  You will
need these driver, no matter how you install.  Do you have them for
the 4801?  I have an unused 4801 I might try, if you have a pointer to
them.  And, I need to find the 4801 after my move.
Good luck,
Ralph
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Re: [Soekris] new to list

[Ralph Green]

On Tue, 2011-10-18 at 11:36 -0700, Carl E. Ma wrote:
 I am looking for device support followings:
 
 1. ssh server
 2. dns client
 3. login
 4. web server with java support
 
 The entry level - 4501 might be able to meet above requirement.  My question 
 is the size of storage. Is it possible to install regular OpenBSD or Ubuntu 
 on it? May I install any size of compatible compact flash? Should I go with 
 5501 for bigger storage(USB2.0, ATA interface)?

Howdy,
  I have run several 4521 soekris boxes until recently.  I stopped using
them for firewall boxes only because the amount of ram they had was too
small for the newer versions of my firewall software.  I am trying them
out with openwrt and the results look good so far.  All the features you
ask for, except java, are there.  The web browser is only used for
configuration at the moment, but I don't see why you could not expand
that.  Used 4521 boards are available on ebay for $30.

 If you want to run Ubuntu, think about the version you want to run.
Starting with Ubuntu 10.10, Ubuntu requires a CPU with CMOV support.
They compile it for the 686 architecture, but the CMOV support is the
only thing I have found that is needed that a 486 does not have.  The
geode on the Soekris 4500 series and 4801 boards is only capable of
running an Ubuntu kernel up to version 10.04(supported with security
updates for servers until 2015).  I don't have any Geode LX boards(which
the 5501 uses), so I can't say for sure, but I expect the 5501 would
work with newer Ubuntu versions.

 The 4801 supports a standard laptop IDE drive.  Any of these boards
that have the 44 pin IDE connector or sata should be great for a Linux
or BSD system.  If you use Gentoo or one of the build it yourself
distros, you can get about anything running.  T2 works pretty well, and
OpenEmbedded looks good, but I don't have it working yet.
Good luck,
Ralph


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Re: [Soekris] *BSD vs Linux

[Ralph Green]

On Thu, 2011-04-14 at 16:04 +0200, Marc Balmer wrote:
 So for a start, compare the GPL and the BSD/ISC/MIT licenses, and you
 will spot differences.
Howdy,
  I have read these license and there are big differences.  I do try BSD
and usually have a BSD machine of some sort running.  I have run
FreeBSD, PC-BSD(really FreeBSD), OpenBSD and DragonFly.  OK, DragonFly
never fully ran, but I tried and will try it again.  pf under FreeBSD is
so much easier to understand than iptables and that is one appeal.  I
help run a Linux/Unix install project locally and I want to be able to
answer questions about BSD and that is another reason.  But, the GPL is
such a strong incentive to stay primarily with Linux that I will
probably move my main computers to BSD only if Microsoft finally finds
some way to kill Linux.  The GPL fosters an open ecosystem and the BSD
licenses are better than nothing, but don't go far enough.  I will avoid
how I normally describe the BSD license because I don't want people to
think I am flaming BSD people.
Good day,
Ralph


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Re: [Soekris] Current best practice for OpenBSD installs?

[Ralph Green]

On Wed, 2010-05-26 at 11:47 +1000, Rod Whitworth wrote:
 It's a 4GB SanDisk Extreme III
 
 wd0 at pciide0 channel 0 drive 0: SanDisk SDCFX-4096
 wd0: 4-sector PIO, LBA, 3908MB, 8005536 sectors
 wd0(pciide0:0:0): using PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2
 
 
 And here is an old one:
 wd0 at pciide0 channel 0 drive 0: SanDisk SDCFB-512
 wd0: 1-sector PIO, LBA, 488MB, 1000944 sectors
 
Howdy,
  Your old one is SLC flash memory and should last a while.  The newer
one is MLC, which I would not trust.  

 ...
 Please tell me how to kill it without unplugging it 

 I killed 2 MLC sandisk 8GB cards by doing Ubuntu installs, then adding
lots of packages and then using the machines heavily for about 3 weeks.
I mounted /tmp and /var/tmp in ram and mounted /usr, where most of my
files were as read only.  The first time, I took the laptop to a
conference to use it as my main machine.  I was surprised it died so
quickly.  I wanted to find out if it was a fluke, so I used another
card and tried it again when I got home.  After a month, that card died,
too.  That was enough to convince me.
 If MLC works for you, that is great.  I think I did a fair enough test
that I won't trust it and advise against it.  With that said, for a
camera, I think MLC is generally fine.  It is hard to take enough
pictures for it to be a problem.  In the right scenario, computers can
be OK, but I would rather have the extra life of SLC.  It is a full
order of magnitude more durable.
Good luck,
Ralph


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Re: [Soekris] Current best practice for OpenBSD installs?

[Ralph Green]

On Tue, 2010-05-25 at 21:30 +0200, Joakim Aronius wrote:
 * Johan Huldtgren (johan+soek...@huldtgren.com) wrote:
   With large flash cards being so easily affordable, what's the current
   best practice for OpenBSD installs?
 
...
 Agreed, from my point of view there is absolutely no need to do anything
  else than a standard install.
Howdy,
  Large flash cards are not really so affordable.  The junk ones you get
in most stores are certainly large enough.  But, these are almost always
MLC(multi-level cell) memory and die way too quickly.  Used SLC cards up
to 512 meg seem pretty affordable, but I have not found them much larger
at a price I can afford.

 Since the claim has been made here that these cards don't die anymore,
I'll counter that.  I have setup full featured systems with read only
file systems and appropriate directories(/tmp, /var/tmp) mounted in ram
and had MLC cards die after weeks of heavy use.  There are things I
could have done differently, but the point is that I have seen the cards
fail on reasonably setup systems.  This was in 2009, using new cards.

 Support is a valid issue, but then, the openbsd is the most hostile
community to get support from of any OS I have tried.  So, I don't know
how much worse it would get.  I try a lot of OSes, too.  The Soekris
community here is quite helpful and I regularly see what seems to be
very responsive answers to people's problems.
Have a good day,
Ralph


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Re: [Soekris] Bringing up net5501 in Openwrt, etc.

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  I hope it is not improper, but I would like to broaden this request a
bit.  I would like to run OpenWRT on the Soekris 4521.   I am looking
for the same kind of information as Philip seeks about the 5501.  The
4521 has lots more ram than the WRT%$G, so it seems like it should be
possible.
Good day,
Ralph

On Mon, 2010-04-05 at 14:52 -0600, Philip A. Prindeville wrote:
 Hi.
 
 I'm trying to bring up Openwrt, but running into a couple of problems.
 
 It's not immediately clear what chips--or chip libraries--are on the
 board, and hence what device drivers are required.


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Re: [Soekris] Soekris 5501 with SSD disks

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
 If you are careful to not do more than one write to each sector per
day, you should make it.  An MLC cell should take 1 writes.  20
years is 7305 days, so there is no room for 2 writes per day.
  If you write to a normal filesystem, the directory sectors are not
going to survive.  Even with wear leveling, there will be too many
writes.
Good luck,
Ralph

On Tue, 2010-02-02 at 18:08 -0500, Bob Camp wrote:
 Hi
 
 If I can re-write the entire disk once a day for 20 years, that's good enough 
 for what I'm doing. 


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Re: [Soekris] pfSense on net5501

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
 I installed it to a CF card.  I got it almost running on a Soekris
4521.  It ran, but crashed because the 4521 does not have enough memory.
I currently run pfSense from a CF card on a non-Soekris box with 124 meg
of ram.  It is a geode design that take 4 meg for video ram, even though
there is no video.  It works fine.  I would have bought a Soekris, but I
found someone tossing a bunch of these prior model Checkpoint routers
and repurposed one.  I downloaded the x86 image, did a dd to the CF
card, and booted up.  You have to be connected to the serial port of the
computer you are booting pfSense on to do the initial configuration and
then it is all by web.  The charts in pfSense are great, but I am still
deciding if I like it better overall than IPCop.  My Soekris boxes will
soon be fancy wireless access points, if I can get the software built.
Good luck,
Ralph

On Thu, 2009-10-22 at 11:11 +0200, Emmanuel Seyman wrote:
 Hello, all.
 
 I've been trying to install pfSense on a net5501 for the last few days and
 I'm just about to give up in frustation.
 
 Before I do, I wanted to know if anybody had gotten pfSense installed on
 a CF card and booting on a net5501.
 
 Emmanuel


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[Soekris] identifying 4521 memory

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  I see used Soekris 4521 boards being offered reasonably often.
Someone on this list even commented that they had a whole pile of them,
although I never heard back when I asked for details.  The
specifications for the 4521 say it has 16-64 Mbyte SDRAM.  I have 3 of
these now and they do work well for me.  I believe I will be in a
position to use several more of these soon, but only want ones with 64
meg.  I have never seen one of the ones with less memory in person.  Is
there some quick way I can identify how much memory the board has?  I
want to be able to ask the seller to check whatever characteristic.  I
think most of the sellers I have run across are not technical and are
just handling used merchandise, so I need something simple, if possible.
  There is a new group starting in Dallas to experiment with and teach
about embedded computers.  I am looking for inexpensive hardware to
teach with and that is where I thought the 4521 would work well.
Good day,
Ralph Green, Jr.


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[Soekris] Help in identifying connector

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  I have a 802.11a card I want to put into my Soekris 4521.  It came out
of a Proxim access point.  My problem is that I don't know what kind of
cable I need.  The Proxim had two antennae and each had a cable that
plugged into the cardbus nic.  The cables are way to short to reach to
the back of the Soekris case.  The connectors look like the letter C
when you look at them from the end that plugs into the card.  I tried to
get a picture, but they are just too small for my camera.  I'd like to
buy a cable to run from the card to the back of the case where I can use
the Ant 1 on the case.  Can anyone suggest what I should be looking
for?
Good day,
Ralph
 

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Re: [Soekris] Help in identifying connector

[Ralph Green]

On Wed, 2009-08-05 at 11:57 +0200, Aragon Gouveia wrote:
 Ralph Green wrote:
  Howdy,
I have a 802.11a card I want to put into my Soekris 4521.  It came out
  of a Proxim access point.  My problem is that I don't know what kind of
  cable I need.  The Proxim had two antennae and each had a cable that
  plugged into the cardbus nic.  The cables are way to short to reach to
  the back of the Soekris case.  The connectors look like the letter C
  when you look at them from the end that plugs into the card.  I tried to
  get a picture, but they are just too small for my camera.  I'd like to
  buy a cable to run from the card to the back of the case where I can use
  the Ant 1 on the case.  Can anyone suggest what I should be looking
  for?
 
 Those tiny connectors are usually U.FL connectors:
 
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirose_U.FL
 
 In that article you see a U.FL to SMA pigtail - probably exactly what 
 you need.
 
 
 Regards,
 Aragon
 
Howdy,
 Nope, my 802.11g mini-pci card has that U.FL connector.  Someone in
this group helped me identify that several months back.  The new 802.11a
card connectors are very different.  The cable connector looks like a
letter C from the end and it slides into a connector on the edge of the
802.11a card.  It is definitely not a U.FL connector.
Thanks for trying,
Ralph


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Re: [Soekris] building first image

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  I am presently trying to build an image for a Soekris 4521 and this
seems like an interesting approach you have here.  I have the VirtualBox
VM Manager in use and KVM installed on a test machine, but not tested
yet.  Has anyone used a similar approach with either of these
hypervisors?  If so, do you have any advice?
 The idea of being able to do test builds and run in a hypervisor seems
like it would be a lot more productive than the way I test now.
Good day,
Ralph

On Wed, 2009-06-10 at 09:19 -0700, Matthew Kaufman wrote:
 I've had great success with setting up a VMWare system with a virtual 
 IDE drive the same size (or slightly smaller than) the CF cards I have 
 in stock, configuring everything there, and then using 'dd' to copy the 
 whole thing to a CF card via a USB-CF adapter. Just need to make sure 
 the OS you set up will run on a 586, and you can make as many copies as 
 you want.
 
 On Linux, there's a few things you need to do after it first boots on 
 the new system, like remove the persistent ethernet mappings so they 
 re-build, but otherwise it make for a very clean way to build up 
 multiple similar/identical systems.
 
 Matthew


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Re: [Soekris] Soekris net4526 and miniPCI CF

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  It looks like the answer is replacing it with another card.  This card
uses the Via VT6421A chip for IDE and Sata support.  The CF card is just
like parallel IDE.  I just see complaints about how this chip is not
well supported in Linux.  I found an old reference to a patch file, but
follow up statements saying it did not work on newer kernels.  I had a
Sata card that used this controller and never got that to work in Linux.
  If it helps any, the sata side is supposed to work ok, according to
some.  The ide side is the bad one, and that is what you seem to need.
Good luck,
Ralph

On Tue, 2009-05-19 at 05:41 -0700, Albert Astals Cid wrote:
 Hi, we are trying to use a Soekris net4526 with a miniPCI to Compact
 Flash adapter [1] but we are having two problems.
 
  The first problem is that the card is not detected in comBIOS so i can
 not use boot 81 to boot from the Compact Flash card. To test the card
 really works we boot using PXE and it works (boots up).
 
  The second problem is that once we are booted up into the linux system
 the kernel complains about problems with IRQ [2] (not sure if that is
 fault of the motherboard or of the adapter or a combination of both) and
 when trying to copy things it ends up crashing the kernel. Yes, i've
 read the log and tried irqpoll, didn't work either.
 
 Any idea on if/how these things can be fixed?
 
 Thanks,
   Albert
 
 [1]
 http://www.globalamericaninc.com/Mini_PCI_Modules-Storage_Controller/c55_429/p1801120/1801120_-_Mini-PCI_Type_IIIB_124-pin_Storage_Interface_Module_Supports_1x_44-pin_EIDE,_2x_SATA-150,_1x_Compact_Flash/product_info.html
 
 [2] 
 sata_via :00:11.0: version 2.4  

 sata_via :00:11.0: routed to hard irq line 11   

 scsi0 : sata_via

 scsi1 : sata_via

 scsi2 : sata_via

 ata1: SATA max UDMA/133 port i...@0xe000 bmdma 0xe040 irq 11 

 ata2: SATA max UDMA/133 port i...@0xe010 bmdma 0xe048 irq 11 

 ata3: PATA max UDMA/133 port i...@0xe020 bmdma 0xe050 irq 11 

 ata1: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 310)   

 ata2: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 310)   

 irq 11: nobody cared (try booting with the irqpoll option)

 Pid: 787, comm: scsi_eh_2 Not tainted 2.6.29.3 #1   

 Call Trace: 

  [c0134c16] __report_bad_irq+0x2e/0x6f

  [c0134d44] note_interrupt+0xed/0x149 

  [c013537c] handle_level_irq+0x8d/0xcf

  [c01043d8] do_IRQ+0x50/0x68  

  [c0103227] common_interrupt+0x27/0x30

  [c0119484] ? __do_softirq+0x31/0xbb  

  [c0119533] do_softirq+0x25/0x2a  

  [c011965e] irq_exit+0x28/0x5c

  [c01043dd] do_IRQ+0x55/0x68  

  [c0103227] common_interrupt+0x27/0x30

  [c01f007b] ? cfq_insert_request+0x21b/0x383  

  [c025] ? sata_link_init_spd+0xc1/0x185   

  [c01f8cbc] ? iowrite8+0x20/0x30  

  [c025ba7c] ata_sff_dev_select+0x1c/0x26  

  [c025d7a1] ata_sff_softreset+0x53/0x106  

  [c0257447] ata_do_reset+0x49/0x4f

  [c025d74e] ? ata_sff_softreset+0x0/0x106 

  [c02587e1] ata_eh_reset+0x431/0xa10  

  [c025d854] ? ata_sff_prereset+0x0/0x98   

  [c025d74e] ? ata_sff_softreset+0x0/0x106 

  [c0259c9e] ata_eh_recover+0x270/0xa79

  [c025d74e] ? ata_sff_softreset+0x0/0x106 

  [c025bc7c] ? ata_sff_postreset+0x0/0x5b  

  [c025d74e] ? ata_sff_softreset+0x0/0x106 

  [c025d854] ? ata_sff_prereset+0x0/0x98   

  [c025d74e] ? ata_sff_softreset+0x0/0x106 

  [c025d854] ? ata_sff_prereset+0x0/0x98   

  [c025a62b] ata_do_eh+0x2b/0x6d   

  [c025bc7c] ? 

Re: [Soekris] One-LAN + PCI slot for compact PBX?

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  I did not see the FXO hardware at astlinux.org.  What kind of card are
you looking at for 80 euros?  That would not be a Digium brand card.  I
find a brand named OpenVOX for about that, but I don't know anyone who
uses them and can tell me if they work OK.
Good day,
Ralph

On Thu, 2009-04-30 at 17:53 +0200, Gilles wrote:
 http://soekris.eu/shop/net5501/net5501_60_board_and_1_slot_standard_case_en.html
 So the mobo + case + PSU costs about 230€, plus 
 20€ for the power supply, about 80€ for PCI card 
 with an FXO module, and about 20€ for CF card, for a total of 350€. 


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