TIrtayana Custom Kernel for STB B860H

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

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.

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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

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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

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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

4. Wait ~1-2 hours per kernel version
5. 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:

• ophub - Kernel compilation framework & Amlogic support
• unifreq - Kernel source code maintenance
• torvalds/linux - Linux kernel

For general kernel documentation, see the upstream README.

License

Licensed under GPL-2.0