Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

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pythonic
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Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by pythonic »

This build has been superceded by a 1.15.x build.

Download archive: download from Github

The archives contain the images and packages generated from experimental bcm27xx (aka RaspberryPi) target configurations for Gargoyle 1.13.0.x.

The source was from Gargoyle's git repository master branch at commit cf669bf0. In order to pick up recent OpenWrt security fixes etc, I updated build.sh to use OpenWrt 19.07 commit 81d0b4a9.

The supported devices are grouped into 3 profiles:
  • default:
    • RPi 0/0W
    • RPi A/A+/B/B+
  • bcm2709:
    • RPi 2 (v1.0, v1.1, v1.2)
  • bcm2710:
    • RPi 3A/3A+/3B/3B+
NB: unfortunately the RPi 4 family can't be supported until Gargoyle migrates to a later OpenWrt release supporting these devices :(.

The default and bcm2709 squashfs factory images have been tested on an RPi B+ and RPi 2 v1.2 respectively. bcm2709 squashfs sysupgrade has also been tested on an RPi 2 v1.2. In principle the bcm2709 images should also work for RPI 3 boards as well but this hasn't been tested. The ext4 images have not been tested.

I would recommend using the squashfs images with SD cards to avoid problems with restarting after power loss (when ext4 filesystems need to be fsck'ed) and to minimise write wear on the flash components. The ext4 images would be better suited to setups with USB drives.

All profiles have been configured functionally alike with most Gargoyle functional plugins included. As these images are not particularly size constrained, all languages and all themes have been included. To support wired router operation, all images include support for common USB ethernet interfaces (Asix AXE and Realtek r8150/r8152 - AXE 88179 and r8152 tested) as well as USB 4G/LTE modems (Huawei E3372h tested).

On devices with a built-in ethernet port, that port will be used as the LAN interface. If a USB ethernet interface is plugged in and detected on first boot on devices with a built-in ethernet port, the USB ethernet interface will be used as the WAN interface.


Installation

Please refer to the OpenWrt pages for the target device.
Generally Gargoyle images with the same name pattern can be substituted for reference OpenWrt images (e.g. gargoyle-???-factory for openwrt-???-factory), however installing OpenWrt first should still be considered before installing Gargoyle via OpenWrt's firmware update function with the Gargoyle "sysupgrade" image - in the event of initial installation issues you're more likely to be able to get assistance from the much larger OpenWrt community.

If in doubt, don't attempt to install one of these images.

As there is no current package repository available for the bcm27xx target, desired optional packages will have to be installed by copying to the target router (e.g. by scp or WinSCP) and manually installing with the gpkg command from an SSH session.


Changelog

Build #1 (20212131):
- initial build
- Gargoyle commit cf669bf0
- OpenWrt 19.07 base pushed forward to commit 81d0b4a9
- hosted on Github; source branch "bcm27xx-target"


Support...

There are always risks associated with flashing firmware, especially third party firmware, so please carefully consider your circumstances before attempting to install one of these images and be prepared for the possibility of failure and the potential for your router to become unusable (aka "bricked"). Neither I or the Gargoyle team can accept any responsibility for such outcomes.

If you have questions about Gargoyle's interface or general functionality, queries should be addressed to an appropriate section of this forum. For questions specific to this experimental build, please post a followup to this thread.

Please also report successful installations of these images to this thread so that Gargoyle's maintainers can evaluate whether there's enough interest in the bcm27xx targets to use this experimental build as a basis for adding full support for at least some bcm27xx devices to future Gargoyle releases.


Good luck!
pythonic
Last edited by pythonic on Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:27 am, edited 3 times in total.

ispyisail
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Location: New Zealand

Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by ispyisail »

+1

Any thoughts on pushing your changes to the Gargoyle tree?

pythonic
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2019 5:47 am
Location: Australia

Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by pythonic »

I'd like to see some usage reports before I think about that; so far there don't appear to have been any downloads of the image archive according to the Github stats I can pull...

I suspect that there's a lot more potential interest in the RPi 4 when that can be supported; the RPi 2 & 3 are effectively limited to 250-300Mbps total WAN<->LAN throughput by their USB bus which limits their appeal :( - though that's still more bandwidth than I can get access to ATM.

Lantis
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Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by Lantis »

I’m doing work on 21.02 support. I left my run a little late, I return to work next week.
But I’m at bootable images and most features seem to work.
http://lantisproject.com/downloads/gargoyle_ispyisail.php for the latest releases
Please be respectful when posting. I do this in my free time on a volunteer basis.

pythonic
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2019 5:47 am
Location: Australia

Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by pythonic »

I have an RPi 4 waiting for that 8-)

ispyisail
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Posts: 5180
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Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by ispyisail »

so far there don't appear to have been any downloads of the image archive according to the Github stats I can pull...
I do wonder about the gargoyle project as a whole.

pythonic
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2019 5:47 am
Location: Australia

Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by pythonic »

4 months on and there have been 4 downloads of the 20211231 build... with no reports from users...

ispyisail
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Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by ispyisail »

What does it mean?

pythonic
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2019 5:47 am
Location: Australia

Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by pythonic »

Presumably the only interest would be in a Pi4/CM4 variant.

The Pi2 & Pi3 versions should be capable of handling connections of up to maybe 100 -150Mbps (limited by the Pi2/Pi3 USB2 bus), and while I don't need the functionality myself (and can't test) would probably run a VPN at a decent proportion of the total throughput given the availability of decently performing extra cores.

I keep a Pi2 configured as a backup for my GL-B1300; apart from the lack of WiFi (which I only use as a convenience measure when using my work laptop at home), the Pi2 does all I need on my 45/9 VDSL connection without any problems.

I even found a USB connected (via an AXE88179 USB ethernet chip) switch which works well with the Pi2 too (this) but the AXE chip would limit throughput to 300-400Mbps on a Pi4 :-(.

ispyisail
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Re: Experimental build of Gargoyle 1.13.0.x for bcm27xx (RaspberryPi) architecture devices

Post by ispyisail »

+1

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