Software
Q. Where can I download the latest Axzez Interceptor Operating System (OS) image?
A. The custom Interceptor OS is available for download at: https://www.axzez.com/interceptor-os.img.gz See the Axzez Software Downloads page for more information.
Q. How do I install the Axzez provided OS?
A. After downloading the interceptor-os.img.gz file, the easiest way is to just use something like the Raspberry Pi Imager tool or Etcher to copy our image to a USB flash drive and boot your Interceptor Carrier Board with that USB flash drive inserted into any USB port. You can also use the following Linux commands to write our image to a USB flash drive (where /dev/sdb is your USB flash drive):
zcat interceptor-os.img.gz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdb bs=1M
sudo eject /dev/sdbInsert the USB flash drive into any USB port on the Interceptor board, turn the power on, and follow the simple installation instructions.
Q. Is there a minimum CM4 bootloader version required by the Axzez Interceptor Carrier Board?
A. The only requirement is that you have the ability to boot via USB. This capability was released with the RPi4 bootloader eeprom version 2020-12-14. To install this (or newer) bootloader, please follow the instructions here to setup and build "rpiboot". Then follow the instructions here to flash the latest or desired eeprom version. We recommend the "BOOT_ORDER=0xf215" for setting up our provided operating system.
Q. Is there a base boot.conf that I should be using?
A. As noted before, we do recommend a BOOT_ORDER of "0xf215", but we also recommend the following if you want to take advantage of our power off/on functionality (our installer sets these automatically):
POWER_OFF_ON_HALT=1
WAKE_ON_GPIO=0
BOOT_ORDER=0xf215Q. Are there any drivers that I need to install to use the Axzez Interceptor Carrier Board?
A. No, there are not. We provide it all in our custom Operating System. With Axzez, setup is EZ!
Q. What keyboard shortcuts are available with the compositing window manager that comes with the Axzez Interceptor OS?
A. The following shortcuts are available in the Axzez provided Wayfire, 3D Wayland Compositor.
OS Shortcuts:
Q. Can I use my own OS image?
A. Yes, you can. You need to use our kernel patch, and swconfig. January 8, 2024 swconfig is no longer needed if you are using mainline Linux DSA architecture.
Q. With a 4K monitor, everything is small and difficult to see/read. Can I change the resolution/DPI (scale) of the Wayfire Compositor (desktop)?
A. Yes you can change the resolution, or increase the DPI in .config/wayfire.ini. For example:
[output:HDMI-A-2]
scale = 1.5For more information, please see https://github.com/WayfireWM/wayfire/wiki/Configuration#output
Hardware
Q. I have the "Lite" CM4 board (no eMMC), and I do not see an SD Card slot on the Interceptor Carrier Board. Can I still use the Axzez provided Operating System (OS)?
A. Yes, you can. Our OS can be booted into "Live" mode, installed to the USB flash drive, or installed to an HDD/SSD if you have that connected.
Q. My ATX power supply fan started to spin when I turned on the Interceptor Carrier Board but then stopped a few seconds later and my USB keyboard and mouse do not work. What is happening?
A. Through extensive testing we have found several power supply units that do not have a reliable and stable +3.3V rail. If that power supply also has Under Voltage Protection (UVP), it can shut down the power supply [except for the +5VSB (+5V standby)]. This will still power up the CM4, but not USB, RJ-45, RS-45 or SATA. You can use a Digital Multimeter (DMM) to verify that a +3.3V pin in the ATX connector has dropped below the minimum value for your power supply unit (typically 4-5%). We have observed a power supply failing with only 0.2A on the +3.3V rail, even though it was rated for 24A on that rail. Seasonic PSUs have been consistently reliable in our testing, but you can find a list of all tested power supplies here:
PSUs with a Reliable +3.3V Rail (Verified by Axzez)
Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro Series
Corsair RMx Series
EVGA SuperNOVA G3 Series
FSP Group Inc power supplies
Mini-Box picoPSU-160-XT
RGEEK 24pin DC ATX 12V DC (Pico PSU)
Seasonic S12III Series
Seasonic Focus GX Series
SilverStone Technology SST-FX (Flex ATX) Series
Streacom Nano90
PSUs with an Unreliable +3.3V Rail
Q. Which are the WAN and LAN ports on the Interceptor Carrier Board?
A. The ports are marked A-B in the diagram to the right, in the shape of an "N" starting on the lower left-hand corner of the RJ-45 and ending in the upper right-hand corner. Port 'A' is the WAN port and gets its IP address from the network. Ports 'B-D' are the LAN ports, and the Axzez provided Operating System sets the IP address for each LAN port via the included DHCP Server software. These ports can be reconfigured by modifying the following file:
/usr/libexec/config-rtl8367rb.shWireless can be configured with the following commands:
wpa_passphrase <ssid> <passphrase> | sudo tee /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-wlan0.conf
sudo systemctl enable wpa_supplicant@wlan0Q. What is the pin-header layout?
A. The 8-pin header (J2) pins, starting with the bottom right pin: 1 (+) & 2 (-) are for the power LED, 3 & 4 are for "power on" button, 5 (tx) & 6 (rx) are for UART serial cable, and 7 & 8 are ground.
Added new PSU to the verified PSU list: SilverStone Technology SST-FX (Flex ATX) Series (specifically the SST-FX350-G was tested).
Closing comments here. Please create a new post for new discussions or issues. We will still update the original post to revise/extend the FAQ as needed. Thank you!
Power-on control: How do you deal with recovery after a power outage? I want to install this where I won't be around to push a power-on button. Can the unit be wired to always power itself on? What about a clock based power-on, like Dells have? (i.e. at midnight, poweron). What happens if I run 'init 0' ?
Will there be a version with less NIC ports and maybe wifi-6 instead?
This model feels more like a router build than a NAS build.
Great board!
But how to get it from Germany?
Cool board. What OS is your OS based off of, and have you done any testing of ZFS with your kernel?
Do you have a list of PSUs with a reliable 3.3V