1. Running NAS on it with USB attached '2.5 HDD (exposed by smb)

2. Hardware acceleration for openVPN encryption

3. Raspberry-pi compatible programmable pins for home automation that I do

4. Supporting the only company that delivers opensource hardware and software for it, everything works out of box, good for non-technical users

5. The company still develops new software for the router, every month my router gets new shiny things

6. 2.4Ghz + 5Ghz WiFi

7. SFP + gigabit ethernets for fast data storage

8. OpenWRT out of box + simplified UI for non-technical users

9. SIM card socket for backup Internet connection is case of emergency

10. Ability to attach sound card and camera for in-house security

Basically, before getting Omnia I had 4 raspberry pi devices that did the same and had lower performance on openVPN. The only thing I miss is DOCSIS socket.

Pro:

- Really near to complete linux mainline support. Meaning newest kernel versions can be used and is future proof. Maybe put normal Debian on it.

- Security updates. OpenWRT isn't that strong about this if you don't want to compile yourself.

- Quite and energy efficient, because its a home router.

- Pretty strong CPU and enough RAM for compiling ARM stuff native.

- 3x Mini-PCIe slot for future proof design, customizability and upgradability.

Con:

- Not ARM64. Devices with 2 GB RAM should be a 64 bit architecture[0].

- Price

Next to it, I have a PCEngines APU2[1] board running, that might be a good alternative. Cheaper, Mainline-Linux, x86_64 arch

[0] http://www.realworldtech.com/forum/?threadid=76912&curpostid...

[1] http://pcengines.ch/apu2.htm

> Maybe put normal Debian on it

Yep, https://github.com/tmshlvck/omnia-debian/wiki

Yes that is Debian. But I said "normal" and implicitly meant with original debian kernel.

That should[0] work, too. Debian has armhf port[1].

But yeah, it's not as easy as dding the image to some flash drive and booting the installer… yet. :)

[0] https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/TurrisOmnia [1] https://wiki.debian.org/ArmHardFloatPort

In my case the main reasons for getting it were:

  * Disposable income
  * Opensource hardware ideology

Buying the Omnia I could get rid of the only closed source network device I had in my home, my old Time Capsule/Wifi router.

It has two separate, physical wifi cards (one for 2.4 GHz, 2x2, and one for 5 GHz, 3x3) and as a result, the wifi performance is unbelievable.

Additionally, I've put mSATA SSD into mine and I'm running CentOS for ARM inside a lxc container. Just for kicks and toys.

I'd definitely get one just for the WiFi boost and the ability to turn it into a caching accelerator proxy for my guest/honeypot VLANs.