New trends in the field of import substitution are forcing Russian companies to switch to domestic operating systems. One of these systems is the Russian OS based on Debian - Astra Linux. In the field of public procurement, there are more and more requirements for the use of domestic software with FSTEC certificates, as well as its entry into the register of domestic software. Although it should be noted that according to the law, the presence of the FSTEC certificate is not mandatory.
Most Russian operating systems are designed for use in the "Workstation" mode, that is, in fact, they are analogues of x86 architecture solutions for the employee's workplace. We decided to install the Astra Linux OS on the ARM architecture in order to use the Russian-made OS in the industrial sector, namely in the AntexGate embedded computer (we will not go into the advantages of the ARM architecture over x86 now).
Why We chose Astra Linux OS?
- They have a special distribution for the ARM architecture;
- We liked that they have a Windows style desktop, for people who are used to Windows this is an important advantage when moving to Linux;
- Astra Linux is already in use by state-owned companies and the Department of Defense, which means the project will live on and not die out anytime soon.
Why did we choose an ARM architecture embedded PC?
- energy efficiency and less heat generation (devices based on the ARM architecture consume less energy and heat up relatively less during operation);
- small size and high degree of integration (a large number of element base is placed on one chip, which simplifies the design of motherboards and eliminates the need to purchase a large number of additional components);
- non-redundancy of commands and instructions (the ARM architecture provides exactly the number of commands that is necessary for operation)
- trends in the Russian Federation in the field of the Internet of Things (due to the development of cloud technologies, the requirements for end computers are reduced, there is no need to use powerful workstations, more and more computing is moving to the cloud, there are enough thin client devices).
Rice. 1 - ARM architecture
PC Applications on ARM Architecture
- "thin client";
- "work station";
- IoT gateway;
- embedded PC;
- device for industrial monitoring.
1. Obtaining an AstraLinux distribution
To receive a distribution kit, you need to write a letter of request to any official authorized partner of NPO RusBiTech. Next, you will need to sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement and an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation (if your company is a software or hardware developer).
Rice. 2 - Description of AstraLinux releases
2. Installing AstraLinux on the AntexGate device
After receiving the AstraLinux distribution kit, you need to install it on the target device (in our case, it is the AntexGate embedded PC). The official instructions tell us to use any Linux OS to install AstraLinux on an ARM computer, but we decided to try it on a Windows OS. So, let's perform the following sequence of actions:
1. Download and install for the Windows operating system.
2. Connect the device via Micro USB to the computer.
3. Power on the device, Windows should now find the hardware and install the driver.
4. After the driver installation is complete, run the program.
5. After a few seconds, the eMMC drive will appear in Windows as a USB mass storage device.
6. Download the Win32DiskImager utility from the page and install the program normally.
7. Run the newly installed Win32DiskImager software.
8. Select the AstraLinux image file you received earlier.
9. In the device field, select the drive letter of the eMMC card. Be careful: if you choose the wrong drive, you can destroy data from your computer's hard drive!
10. Click "Record" and wait for the recording to complete.
11. Reboot your device.
Rebooting the device should cause the device to boot the AstraLinux operating system image from the eMMC.
3. Using Astra Linux
Once the device has booted up, the authorization screen will appear. In the login field, enter "admin", the password is also the word "admin". After successful authorization, the desktop will appear (Fig. 3).
Rice. 3 - AstraLinux Desktop
The first thing that catches your eye is that the desktop really looks like Windows, all elements and dialogs are called in the usual way (“Control Panel”, “Desktop”, “Explorer”, “My Computer” on the desktop). Importantly, even Solitaire and Minesweeper are installed on Astra Linux!
Rice. 4 - Tab "Office" in the start menu AstraLinux
Rice. 5 - Network tab in AstraLinux start menu
Rice. 6 - "System" tab in the AstraLinux start menu
Rice. 7 - AstraLinux control panel
It is worth noting that for use as embedded solutions there is access via SSH, via the Linux console, it is also possible to install your favorite Debian packages (nginx, apache, etc.). Thus, for former Windows users, there is a familiar desktop, and for experienced Linux and embedded users, there is a console.
Rice. 8 - AstraLinux Console
AstraLinux optimization
1. For devices with low hardware performance, we recommend using a monitor with a low resolution, or manually reduce the resolution in the file /boot/config. txt up to 1280x720.
2. We also recommend installing a utility for automatically controlling the processor frequency:
sudo apt-get install cpufrequtilsCorrecting in /boot/config. txt the following value:
force_turbo=13. By default, standard repositories are disabled in the system. To enable them, you need to uncomment three lines in the following file cd /etc/apt/nanosources.list
Rice. 9 - Enable standard repositories
Source: habr.com