Hi,
We are trying to deploy a number of Omega Onion 2 Pro devices out to the field (which could end up becoming quite a large number in the future). We'd like to make the setup process as streamlined as possible. We need:
-Bundled Python 3, with some python pip modules
-Custom scripts configured to start on boot
-Ability to carry out further updates of our software offline from a usb stick (we have a working script for this but again, it needs bundling in and setting up for the first time)

At the moment this is configurable manually by installing python and creating some init files to start the scripts custom scripts on boot. Ideally though we'd be able to just replicate it on other Onion devices without having to do loads of manual setting up.

When I've done this using Raspberry Pis and similar devices before, I've been able to automate this process very easily by just cloning the disk images onto different sd cards or internal MMC storage. This doesn't seem to be possible for the Onion.

I've also tried building the Onion firmware from source and trying to add files to the "files" folder to be included, but this doesn't seem to work correctly. If this could work, it could be quite a good solution as it would mean python could be added very easily from the menuconfig. However when I try to build it, I only get a omega2...sysupgrade.bin file, rather than the omega2...factory.bin file that I need to do a flash of the firmware from uboot. I've tried changing various options but can't get it to generate the factory.bin file and there are no warnings or anything that would cause it not to do that. Does anyone have any ideas how to fix this issue? And does making a firmware image with custom software shipped with it sound like a good solution to automating installation? Or is there a better idea? The devices in the field will not always have internet access so being able to set them up offline is desirable.

Josh

@crispyoz I would like to make a firmware image with custom files added to it. Is there a step-by-step guide on how to do this anywhere? Last time I tried to do it it wasn't very straightforward

Hi,
Our company is deploying a fleet of onions and would like to know if there is a way of cloning one onion to another in a straightforward manner, including the /root directory, installed packages, and other system configuration (such as /etc/rc.local and other system-wide scripts). We can often set up over 5-10 at a time.

Previously we have used raspberry pis and this was very straightforward as you could just use dd to copy one SD card to another. However with the onion it seems to be much more difficult.

What approach would be recommended?

Thanks,
Josh

@crispyoz did you need to use the custom firmware in order to use your flash memory? If so how did you configure it (drivers, mountpoints etc.)?

Hi,
We have made a custom PCB for the Onion Omega2S and wish to use it with our own flash memory. We are using the SDINBDG4-8G Sandisk flash chip which is an 8GB eMMC chip. Since it is a flash chip we have added ourselves we will need to flash the OS onto it.

How would be go about flashing the chip? Would it work with the normal methods (sysupgrade or via U-Boot)? I'm thinking that since the flash chip happens to be the same capacity as the Omega Onion 2 Pro, then it flashing the Omega 2S Pro firmware will simply "just work"? (Just to clarify, we aren't using the components from the Pro board at all but just the Omega 2S+ on a PCB).

@crispyoz , thanks for your response, I'm using the latest version of the branch openwrt-18.06 from the OnionIoT/source repo.

Hi @crispyoz, the problem is both images are not generating. When building firmware, normally a squashfs-factory.bin image and a squashfs-sysupgrade.bin image are generated, for a clean flash and an upgrade respectively. However when I run make world (after configuring with make menuconfig), only the sysupgrade file is generated but I need the factory one. The factory firmware is not generated at all.

To put files on the image, I was trying to add them in the "files" directory in the root of the source, maintaining the Linux filesystem hierarchy.

Hi,
We are trying to deploy a number of Omega Onion 2 Pro devices out to the field (which could end up becoming quite a large number in the future). We'd like to make the setup process as streamlined as possible. We need:
-Bundled Python 3, with some python pip modules
-Custom scripts configured to start on boot
-Ability to carry out further updates of our software offline from a usb stick (we have a working script for this but again, it needs bundling in and setting up for the first time)

At the moment this is configurable manually by installing python and creating some init files to start the scripts custom scripts on boot. Ideally though we'd be able to just replicate it on other Onion devices without having to do loads of manual setting up.

When I've done this using Raspberry Pis and similar devices before, I've been able to automate this process very easily by just cloning the disk images onto different sd cards or internal MMC storage. This doesn't seem to be possible for the Onion.

I've also tried building the Onion firmware from source and trying to add files to the "files" folder to be included, but this doesn't seem to work correctly. If this could work, it could be quite a good solution as it would mean python could be added very easily from the menuconfig. However when I try to build it, I only get a omega2...sysupgrade.bin file, rather than the omega2...factory.bin file that I need to do a flash of the firmware from uboot. I've tried changing various options but can't get it to generate the factory.bin file and there are no warnings or anything that would cause it not to do that. Does anyone have any ideas how to fix this issue? And does making a firmware image with custom software shipped with it sound like a good solution to automating installation? Or is there a better idea? The devices in the field will not always have internet access so being able to set them up offline is desirable.

Josh