Digi Router Migration - SarOS to DAL

Background

 

In an effort to deliver the best products to our customers, Digi is transitioning from WR Series cellular routers that use the SarOS operating system to IX Series cellular routers that use the DAL operating system. Since introducing our first DAL-based Industrial Series (IX) product in 2018, the IX14, we have subsequently introduced the IX10, IX15, IX20, IX30, LR54, TX54, and TX64 that also use DAL. SarOS is a 20+ year old operating system that has reached its technology limitations. DAL is a proven, enterprise grade router operating system with improved security and stability, and based on Linux that DIGI has been using on our Enterprise (EX) Series for many years.

Below is a short list of DAL features and functionality that expand the capabilities of SarOS based products:
 

IPv6 Support LDAP user authentication
Dual APN (aka split-tunnel connectivity) WAN load-balancing
Automatic APN search (Zero Touch Provisioning)

Ability to run native Linux applications

Improvements to DIGI SureLinkTM

Common UX with unified platform, across EX, TX, and IX product lines

Secure Boot and other DIGI TrustFenceTM features

Improved Wi-Fi Client and AP support


See table below for list of affected part numbers and recommended replacements.

  • WR11XT and WR21-MxxB have equivalent IX product replacements.
  • WR21-R products utilize GSM-R and are sold in Europe. GSM-R is an older technology and Digi is discontinuing new product availability with GSM-R. The modem for the WR21-R32A-DE1-TB is no longer available.

Product Line

EOL Part Numbers

Recommended Replacement

WR11XT

WR11-L700-DE1-XB
WR11-M300-DE1-XB
WR11-M400-DE1-XB
WR11-M600-DE1-XB
WR11-M900-DE1-XB

IX10-00G4

WR21

WR21-M52B-DE1-SB
WR21-M72B-DE1-SB
WR21-R52A-DE1-TB
WR21-R32A-DE1-TB

IX20-00G4 (Global)
IX20-00N4 (AT&T FirstNet)

WR31

WR31-M82A-DE1-TB
WR31-L92A-DE1-TB
WR31-M52A-DE1-TB
WR31-M72A-DE1-TB
WR31-M22A-DE1-TB
WR31-D52A-DE1-TB

IX30-00P7 (AT&T FirstNet)
IX30-00G4 (Global)
IX30-00A4 (Australia)


All remaining WR44R products are being replaced by a more capable TX54 product line.
 

Product Line SKU Upgrade to 
WR44R WR44-L900-AE1-RF TX54-A106  or TX54-A146
WR44-L9F1-AE1-RF
WR44-M2F1-NE1-RF
WR44-M700-CE1-RF
WR44-M800-AE1-RF
WR44-M8F1-AE1-RF
WR44-U5A3-D15-XD

 

Product Line SKU Upgrade to 
WR44RR WR44-L9G4-AE1-MC TX64-R210 (5G)
or
TX54 SKU
WR44-L9G4-AE1-MD
WR44-M8G4-AE1-MD
WR44-00G4-CE1-MC


Differences between WR-series vs IX- and TX- series firmware

 

The following is a list of key feature differences between the SarOS firmware that runs on WR11/WR21/WR31/WR44R/WR44RR products versus the new DAL firmware that runs on IX10/IX20/IX30/TX54/TX64/TX64 5G Rail products and additional Digi cellular routers.

Meet the Digi Accelerated Linux Operating System

= supported

  = not supported

  = coming in a future firmware release

Feature

SarOS

DAL

IPv6 support (dual-stack, cellular, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN, Surelink tests)

 (Ethernetonly)

Dual APN (aka split-tunnel) connectivity

Automatic APN search (Zero Touch Provisioning)

Improvements to DIGI SureLinkTM

Secure Boot and other DIGI TrustFenceTM features

WAN load-balancing

Ability to run native Linux applications and shell scripts

Common UX with unified platform, across EX, TX, and IX product lines

Firewall zones

Cisco Umbrella web content filtering

NTP authentication/broadcast

Serial AT modem emulation

Serial to multiple outbound TCP hosts with a configurable socket ID

 
(supports multiple UDP hosts)

Multiple/concurrent inbound TCP connections to serial port(s)

Web based serial access

Digi RealPort

DIA python framework

Wi-Fi bridged client

Wi-Fi roaming and background scanning

Wi-Fi WPA3 encryption

PPTP tunnels

Send GRE keepalives

 
auto-responds to GRE keepalives

Stateful route inspection
inspect protocol-layer traffic flowing through device and take Surelink-like actions


packet analyzer available, along with custom firewall scripting

Install python modules via pip

DMVPN spoke


does not support NHRP authentication

 

 

Resources

Below is a video presenting the key differences and improvements between SarOS and DAL OS:

Migrating from Digi WR21 to the Digi IX20 Industrial Cellular Router

Below is a conversion tool for translating a WR-series configuration into configuring a IX- and TX- series router:

Digi Router Migration Tool - SarOS to DAL

If you require assistance with a single configuration section or are having an issue in configuring your new Digi IX- and TX- series router, please contact Digi Tech Support. Support personnel will be able to provide guidance on setup and configuration.

If you need more extensive configuration assistance and migration support, Digi's Professional Services team can provide a quote for services. Professional Services offers the ability to build a full working DAL configuration from your current router's setup. Also, we can assist in implementation, provide application development, as well as site surveys and recommendations for successful deployment.
DAL release notes


Disclaimers

  • The DAL OS on IX- and TX- series routers utilizes python version 3, whereas SarOS on WR-series routers utilizes python version 2. Any custom python scripts written for WR-series devices will need to be updated and likely rewritten in order for them to operate properly on python3

 

  • The DAL OS includes an updated web UI and CLI. Both will have a new look, updated functionality, and more modern operations compared to the CLI and web UI of the WR-series products.
  • The datastreams and health metrics reported by the IX- and TX- series products to Digi Remote Manager will have a different format and path than the datastreams reported to DigiRM. This will impact any alarms or notifications you’ve setup based on the datastreams from your devices. You will need to setup new alarms that trigger off of the new datastreams coming from the IX- and TX- series routers

Last updated: Jul 10, 2024

Filed Under

Cellular/Transport

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