Basic StarV3 Setup

StarOS V3 software can be run on a variety of hardware, including Wireless Advanced Router (WAR) boards and PC Engines Wireless Router Application Platform (WRAP) boards. In addition, StarOS will run on a number of motherboard/CF combinations with the X86-PC edition. While there are some feature differences between the different firmware versions, all versions of StarOS software can be managed via an SSH interface. One of the most popular packages used to create an SSH session is PuTTY, which is available as a free download for Windows. A PuTTY port to Mac OS X is available at the Star-OS Download Page.

StarOS Firmware Versions

MIPS-COMPEX

The MIPS-COMPEX release is created specifically for the 1 port WAR board (WAR-1). WAR-1 boards are designed especially for use as client access units and include one mini-PCI wireless port and two ethernet ports. The two ethernet ports are switched together and recognize as one ethernet port in the firmware; Lonnie has stated that the second ethernet port will be removed in a future hardware revision.

X86-PC

The X86-PC release is designed for use in a wide variety of Linux-capable PC's and is specialized for use in core/border routers. As of January 1, 2008, StarV3 does not include BGP, but this feature is planned for future inclusion in the X86-PC version. The X86-PC release includes drivers for a number of different motherboards and ethernet adapters. In addition, the X86-PC release requires that the boot image is loaded on a DOM or CF set to primary master and cannot be licensed without a supported ethernet device.

X86-WRAP

The X86-WRAP release is designed for the PC Engines Wireless Router Application Platform, or WRAP boards. WRAP boards are now considered end of life and have been superseded directly by the PC Engines ALIX board, as well as indirectly by the different models of WAR boards. WRAP boards came in a variety of hardware revisions that had from one to three ethernet ports and one or two mini-PCI slots. In addition, most WRAP board revisions include serial ports that can be used to access the system console. WRAP serial ports require settings of 38400/8/N/1. As noted in this forum thread, the X86-WRAP release does not work properly on the ALIX board (the ethernet ports will not be recognized).

XSCALE-L2

As of January 1, 2008, the XSCALE-L2 release is for a hardware platform that has not yet been released.

XSCALE-METRO

The XSCALE-METRO release is for a specially designed 4-port WAR board known as the WAR-4/METRO or WAR-METRO. The METRO differs from the WAR-4 in that all four mini-PCI slots are on the same side of the board, specifically the side opposite the ethernet ports and other components. The XSCALE-WAR release will not work on a METRO, and the XSCALE-METRO release will not work on a standard WAR-4. Some hardware revisions of the METRO require 24V DC power while others require 48V DC power. Both revisions are rated to support four high powered radios (commonly used high-powered cards include Ubiquiti's SR and XR series), while the standard WAR-4 will only support two high powered radios.

XSCALE-WAR

The XSCALE-WAR release is used for boards based on the Gateworks embedded PC boards. There are WAR boards with both 2 and 4 mini-PCI slots, known as the WAR-2 and WAR-4 respectively. Both types of boards have two ethernet ports and two mini-PCI slots on one side of the board (usually considered the front); the WAR-4 also has two additional mini-PCI slots available on the back of the board. Depending on the hardware revision, WAR-2 and WAR-4 boards may have serial ports available. When available, these serial ports can be used to access the system console of a board and perform a factory reset. According to Tony, the serial settings required are 115200/8/N/1.

XSCALE-WP188

The XSCALE-WP188 release is designed for the 4-port WAR boards used in the Lucaya X4000 series hardware. A specifications sheet is available from Valemount Networks. These boards, like the original WAR-4, have two mini-PCI adapters on each side of the board as well as two ethernet adapters on one side of the board.

Configuration Screen

Menu Bar

The menu bar includes six different menus, each of which contains options necessary to customize the setup of your StarV3 equipment. Each menu is discussed in more details on its own page. These menus are the file menu, the interfaces menu, the routing menu, the advanced menu, the hotspot menu, and the system menu. In addition, the menu bar includes a menu for the credits, which will give you the opportunity to view software credits. The software credits will include version and license information for software used in the release in operation on your equipment, as well as some information regarding the release in use.

Information Display

Upon connecting to the SSH session of a StarV3 device, the main information part of the window will contain several different types of information summarizing the current operating state of the device. This information is organized in four main divisions.

In the top-left portion of the window, the System Information displays what network devices are detected, the current system time, uptime since last reset, and the used and available system memory.

In the top-right portion of the window, the system Serial Number is displayed. This serial number includes information that identifies what type of mainboard the system has (X86, WAR-2, WAR-4, etc).

In the middle portion of the window, the Service Summary displays what services are available and in use. Services that are in use will be lit yellow while available services that are not currently in use will be displayed in grey. The list of services will vary based upon the firmware type and device.

In the lower portion of the window, the Wireless Devices list will display summary information about any wireless devices detected and configured in the system. Each device will be identified by its system number (wpci1, wpci2, and so on) as well as what type of chipset the wireless card uses. In addition, wireless devices operating in Access Point mode will display their ESSID, operating frequency, country code, operating mode, and number of associated clients. Wireless devices operating in Station mode will display their current transmission quality, receive signal, noise floor, transmission rate, operating frequency, country code, operating mode, and the MAC address of their link partner.