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
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 WRAP boards are now considered end of life and have been superseded directly by the PC Engines ALIX board, as well as indirectly by the different models of WAR boards.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.