Collabora has unveiled a new toolkit called openwrt-one-debian, designed to enable the installation and operation of Debian GNU/Linux on the OpenWrt One router. This toolkit allows users to transform the OpenWrt One device, which typically features a minimal Linux environment, into a versatile Linux system capable of running a wide range of services, server applications, developer tools, and isolated containers.
The process of using the toolkit involves flashing the u-boot loader and recovery environment onto the 256 MB NAND Flash built into the device, as well as installing and booting the Debian system image from an NVMe drive connected via the M.2 slot. Notably, the NOR Flash remains unchanged, providing users with the option to revert to the standard OpenWrt environment if desired. The Debian-based system environment includes essential tools for installing packages from Debian repositories, an SSH server using OpenSSH, pre-configured Hostapd for wireless interfaces, systemd-networkd for DHCP-based IP address assignment on WAN and LAN interfaces, and udev rules for managing LED indicators.
The OpenWrt One router, a collaborative effort between the OpenWrt and Banana Pi projects, is powered by a MediaTek MT7981B (Filogic 820) SoC featuring a dual-core Cortex-A53 1.3 GHz CPU. Additionally, it is equipped with a MediaTek MT7976C wireless chip supporting Wi-Fi 6, 1 GB DDR4 RAM, 256 MB SPI NAND Flash, and 16 MB SPI NOR Flash. The device offers two Ethernet ports (2.5 GbE + 1 GbE), a USB 2.0 host Type-A port, an M.2 slot for NVMe SSD, a USB-C port with UART and console support, a JTAG 10-pin connector, and a slot for mikroBUS extensions. Schematics and PCB pinouts for the device are available here.