I have been a happy user of Turris Omnia since its introduction. Some time ago SuperSchnell Internet from Wien Energie became available at my flat in Vienna. Initially, I connected the Turris Omnia to the downstream port of Genexis Pure-F500 router (provided by Wien Energie). However, a few weeks ago, I directly connected Turris Omnia to the Wien Energie optical network, and I've been pleased with the results ever since.

Motivation

The primary reasons for undertaking this project were:

  • Full support of IPv6 in my home network, as the WienEnergie router does not support prefix delegation.
  • Reduce electricity consumption, since the WienEnergie router consumes 54 kWh per year.
  • Learn more about optical networks and finally have a project worth writing about.

Equipment

I purchased the necessary items from FS for 27.48 EUR (including shipping).

Installation

1. Identifying the WAN MAC Address of Wien Energie Router

Log in to the Wien Energie router’s web interface:

  • (1) switch to expert mode
  • (2) select NETWORK
  • (3) select Device
  • (4) write down MAC address of eth1 interface

In my case, the MAC address of the eth1 interface was the same as the one printed on the router, incremented by one.

2. Connecting a Laptop Directly to Wien Energie Network

  • Turn off the Wien Energie router.
  • Disconnect the Wien Energie optical cable from the router and connect it to the SC/APC to SC/APC connector.
  • Attach the connector to the SFP module in the TP-Link converter using the patch cable you purchased.
  • Configure your laptop to use the MAC address of the Wien Energie router.
  • Connect your laptop to the TP-Link converter and let DHCP handle the configuration.

Your laptop should now be directly connected to the Wien Energie Network.

3. Connecting the Turris Omnia Using the TP-Link Gigabit SFP Media Converter

  • Login to Turris Omnia web interface - reForis.
  • Go to "Network Settings" - "WAN".
  • In "MAC Settings" section enable "Custom MAC address" switch.
  • In "MAC Settings" section enter "Custom MAC address" of Wien Energie router.
  • Connect WAN port of Turris Omnia to TP-Link Gigabit SFP Media Converter. Everything should work as expected, including IPv6 functionality on your home network.

4. Connecting Turris Omnia Directly to Wien Energie Network

The Turris Omnia has two device trees available. The default one sets eth2 interface to Ethernet. To switch it to the SFP module, execute the following commands via SSH as root:

root@turris:~# cd /boot/
root@turris:/boot# ls -la
drwxr-xr-x    1 root     root           158 Aug 14 12:38 .
drwxrwxr-x    1 root     root           184 Aug  7 18:12 ..
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root         21434 Jul 25  2022 armada-385-turris-omnia-phy.dtb
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root         21410 Jul 25  2022 armada-385-turris-omnia-sfp.dtb
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          1199 Jul 25  2022 boot.scr
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            31 Jul 25  2022 dtb -> armada-385-turris-omnia-phy.dtb
-rwxr-xr-x    1 root     root       4281872 Aug  5 04:25 zImage
root@turris:/boot# ln -sf armada-385-turris-omnia-sfp.dtb dtb
root@turris:/boot# ls -la
drwxr-xr-x    1 root     root           158 Aug 14 12:38 .
drwxrwxr-x    1 root     root           184 Aug  7 18:12 ..
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root         21434 Jul 25  2022 armada-385-turris-omnia-phy.dtb
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root         21410 Jul 25  2022 armada-385-turris-omnia-sfp.dtb
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          1199 Jul 25  2022 boot.scr
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            31 Aug 14 12:38 dtb -> armada-385-turris-omnia-sfp.dtb
-rwxr-xr-x    1 root     root       4281872 Aug  5 04:25 zImage

Afterward, reboot the router with the SFP module inserted. You should see messages related to the SFP in the dmesg log. The eth2 interface should obtain both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, and everything should work as expected.

root@turris:/boot# dmesg | grep sfp
[   11.907316] sfp sfp: Host maximum power 3.0W
[   12.238090] sfp sfp: module FS               SFP-GE-BX        rev      sn G24********      dc ******

Acknowledgements / Sources