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TIrtayana Custom Kernel for STB B860H

Custom kernel configurations for TIrtayana OpenWrt firmware on STB B860H (Amlogic S905X)

Build Kernel License

About

This repository is a fork of ophub/kernel with custom kernel configurations optimized for ZTE STB B860H (Amlogic S905X) running OpenWrt as a router. The kernel configurations are tailored for three deployment profiles used in the TIrtayana firmware project.

Kernel Profiles

Each firmware profile uses a specific kernel version with configurations appropriate for its use case:

Profile Kernel Signature Use Case
Minimal 5.15.y 5.15.xxx-TIrtayana Base router - SSH/CLI only, lean and stable
Standard 6.1.y 6.1.xxx-TIrtayana Full router - LuCI web UI, QoS, NAT optimization
Education 6.6.y 6.6.xxx-TIrtayana Lab environment - Docker, VPN, network analysis tools

Configuration Changes

All changes are config-level modifications (=m → =y, module → built-in). No kernel source code (.c/.h) is modified. This approach ensures full compatibility with upstream kernel updates while providing optimizations for router workloads.

All Profiles (Shared - Base Optimizations)

Applied to config-5.15, config-6.1, and config-6.6:

Config Option Before After Description
CONFIG_TCP_CONG_BBR =m =y BBR congestion control built-in - Google's TCP algorithm for better throughput
CONFIG_DEFAULT_TCP_CONG "cubic" "bbr" Default TCP congestion control set to BBR instead of CUBIC
CONFIG_NET_SCH_FQ =m =y Fair Queue packet scheduler - required for BBR to function optimally
CONFIG_WIREGUARD =m =y WireGuard VPN built-in - always available without modprobe

Rationale: These are essential for any router deployment. BBR + FQ provides significantly better throughput and latency compared to CUBIC. WireGuard built-in ensures VPN is always ready.

Standard Profile - Additional Changes (config-6.1)

QoS and NAT optimizations for full router functionality:

Config Option Before After Description
CONFIG_NET_SCH_HTB =m =y Hierarchical Token Bucket — bandwidth management
CONFIG_NET_SCH_SFQ =m =y Stochastic Fairness Queueing — fair bandwidth distribution
CONFIG_NET_SCH_INGRESS =m =y Ingress traffic control — inbound traffic shaping
CONFIG_NFT_FLOW_OFFLOAD =m =y nftables flow offloading — hardware-accelerated packet forwarding
CONFIG_NFT_FULLCONE =m =y Full-cone NAT — symmetric NAT for gaming/VoIP compatibility
CONFIG_NFT_MASQ =m =y Masquerade — essential for NAT router operation
CONFIG_NFT_NAT =m =y nftables NAT — network address translation
CONFIG_NF_CT_NETLINK =m =y Conntrack netlink — connection tracking interface

Rationale: HTB + SFQ + INGRESS form the SQM (Smart Queue Management) trio essential for OpenWrt bandwidth management. NAT modules built-in ensure router functions are always available without module loading delays.

Total changes: 4 base + 8 standard = 12 modifications

Education Profile - Additional Changes (config-6.6)

Includes all Standard changes, plus Docker support and network analysis tools:

Config Option Before After Description
All Standard changes above — — Inherited from Standard profile
CONFIG_NET_SCH_PRIO =m =y Priority queueing — traffic class prioritization for lab exercises
CONFIG_BRIDGE_NETFILTER =m =y Bridge netfilter - required for Docker networking
CONFIG_VETH =m =y Virtual Ethernet pairs - required for Docker container networking
CONFIG_NFT_LOG =m =y nftables logging - packet logging for network analysis
CONFIG_NFT_LIMIT =m =y nftables rate limiting - traffic rate control for lab scenarios
CONFIG_NFT_CT =m =y nftables conntrack matching - connection tracking rules
CONFIG_NET_CLS_U32 =m =y U32 traffic classifier - deep packet classification
CONFIG_NET_CLS_FW =m =y Firewall-based classifier - fwmark-based traffic classification
CONFIG_NET_ACT_POLICE =m =y Traffic policing - enforce bandwidth limits in lab
CONFIG_NET_ACT_MIRRED =m =y Packet mirroring/redirect - traffic capture for analysis

Rationale: Education profile supports Docker containers for lab environments, RADIUS server, captive portal, and comprehensive network analysis tools. All analysis-related netfilter modules are built-in for classroom use.

Total changes: 4 base + 8 standard + 10 education = 22 modifications

Changes Summary Matrix

Config Category Minimal (5.15) Standard (6.1) Education (6.6)
TCP BBR ✅ built-in ✅ built-in ✅ built-in
FQ Scheduler ✅ built-in ✅ built-in ✅ built-in
WireGuard VPN ✅ built-in ✅ built-in ✅ built-in
QoS (HTB/SFQ) — module ✅ built-in ✅ built-in
NAT Optimization — module ✅ built-in ✅ built-in
Full-cone NAT — N/A ✅ built-in ✅ built-in
Flow Offloading — module ✅ built-in ✅ built-in
Docker Support — module — module ✅ built-in
Network Analysis — module — module ✅ built-in
Traffic Policing — module — module ✅ built-in
Total Changes 4 12 22

Build System

How it Works

GitHub Actions (ubuntu-24.04-arm)
  └─ Docker: ophub/armbian-trixie:arm64
      └─ Toolchain: GCC (default)
          └─ Source: unifreq/linux-X.X.y
              └─ Config: kernel-config/release/stable/config-X.X
                  └─ Output: kernel-X.X.xxx-TIrtayana.tar.gz
                      └─ Upload to GitHub Releases (tag: kernel_stable)

Trigger Build

  1. Go to Actions → Compile mainline stable kernel
  2. Click "Run workflow"
  3. Set parameters:
Parameter Value
kernel_source unifreq
kernel_version 5.15.y / 6.1.y / 6.6.y
kernel_auto true
kernel_toolchain gcc
kernel_sign -TIrtayana (default)
kernel_config kernel-config/release/stable
  1. Wait ~1-2 hours per kernel version
  2. Output appears in Releases

Build Output

After successful build, the Releases page will contain:

kernel-5.15.xxx-TIrtayana.tar.gz   ← Minimal profile
kernel-6.1.xxx-TIrtayana.tar.gz    ← Standard profile
kernel-6.6.xxx-TIrtayana.tar.gz    ← Education profile

Using with OpenWrt Build

In openwrt-TIrtayana workflow, set:

Custom Kernel Repository: Krisnarhesa/kernel

The OpenWrt build will automatically download the -TIrtayana signed kernels from this repository's Releases.

Verification

After flashing the firmware to STB B860H:

# Check kernel version
uname -r
# Expected: 6.1.xxx-TIrtayana

# Verify BBR is active
sysctl net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control
# Expected: net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control = bbr

# Verify WireGuard is built-in (not a module)
cat /proc/modules | grep wireguard
# Expected: (no output — built-in, not a module)

# Verify FQ scheduler
tc qdisc show | grep fq
# Expected: fq available as built-in qdisc

File Structure

kernel/
├── .github/workflows/
│   └── compile-mainline-stable-kernel.yml   # Build workflow with -TIrtayana default
├── kernel-config/
│   └── release/stable/
│       ├── config-5.15    # Minimal profile (4 changes from upstream)
│       ├── config-6.1     # Standard profile (12 changes from upstream)
│       └── config-6.6     # Education profile (22 changes from upstream)
├── kernel-patch/          # Custom patches (if needed)
└── README.md              # This file

Target Hardware

Specification Detail
Device ZTE STB B860H
SoC Amlogic S905X
Architecture ARMv8 / aarch64
RAM 1GB / 2GB DDR3
Storage 8GB eMMC
DTB meson-gxl-s905x-b860h.dtb

Upstream

This repository is a fork of ophub/kernel. The original kernel compilation framework and configuration files are maintained by the ophub project. Special thanks to:

For general kernel documentation, see the upstream README.

License

Licensed under GPL-2.0