Operating System

The ALPON X4 ships with a Sixfab-customized build of Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64-bit (Bookworm), optimized for industrial edge computing workloads. Cellular connectivity, Sixfab Connect agent, Docker, and remote management are pre-installed and configured at the factory. Power the device on and it is ready to register with ALPON Cloud, run containers, and accept SSH sessions.

Overview

What operating system does the ALPON X4 run?

The ALPON runs a Sixfab-maintained build of Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64-bit Bookworm tuned for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. The image bundles the cellular stack, the Sixfab Connect agent, Docker, and remote management tooling so the device comes online and registers with ALPON Cloud on first boot with no manual OS setup.

What's pre-installed

The image is ready to boot and register with ALPON Cloud without additional setup. Key components already on the device:

Architecture

The ALPON X4 runs on a 64-bit ARM architecture (arm64 / aarch64) via the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. All custom binaries, Docker images, and third-party packages must be compiled for or compatible with arm64. x86 / amd64 binaries are not supported.

First boot & setup

The ALPON is ready to use the moment it is powered on. On first boot it brings up networking, registers with Sixfab Connect (if provisioned), and starts the device agent. From there, set up user access so you can log in for day-to-day administration.

Default credentials

Every ALPON X4 ships with a factory-configured system user. Use these credentials for initial login only. Change them before deploying the device to production.

Device hostname

Each ALPON X4 has a unique hostname derived from its primary MAC address, in the format:

The MAC address is printed on the device label. This ensures multiple ALPON devices on the same network never conflict, and it lets you reach the device over mDNS as alpon-<MAC>.local without needing to know its IP.

Set up user access

# Resolve by mDNS hostname
ssh alpon@alpon-<MAC>.local

# Or connect by IP directly
ssh alpon@<DEVICE_IP>

passwd
# Current password: sixfab
# New password:     <your_secure_password>
# Retype:           <your_secure_password>

# 1. Create the user and home directory
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash <USERNAME>

# 2. Set a password for the new user
sudo passwd <USERNAME>

# 3. Grant administrative (sudo) privileges
sudo usermod -aG sudo <USERNAME>

# Recommended: mDNS hostname (no IP lookup needed)
ssh <USERNAME>@alpon-<MAC>.local

# Fallback: direct IP
ssh <USERNAME>@<DEVICE_IP>

System updates

The ALPON X4 OS uses standard Debian package tooling. Apply security patches and upgrades with apt, and manage deployed applications separately through Docker or the ALPON Cloud fleet update flow.

How do I update the ALPON X4 OS?

From a shell on the device, run the standard Debian update cycle:

1. Refresh the package index with sudo apt update.
2. Apply available upgrades with sudo apt upgrade -y.
3. Reboot if a kernel or firmware package was upgraded.

# 1. Refresh package lists
sudo apt update

# 2. Apply available upgrades
sudo apt upgrade -y

# 3. Reboot if the kernel or firmware was updated
sudo reboot

How do I update deployed applications?

Application updates are separate from OS updates. Use the method that matches how the app was deployed:

• Containers deployed through ALPON Cloud: push a new image tag from the Manage & Deploy Applications dashboard. Sixfab Connect orchestrates the pull, restart, and rollback.
• Manually-run containers: run docker pull <image>:<tag> on the device, then recreate the container with docker compose up -d or docker run.
• System packages: run sudo apt install --only-upgrade <package>.

Firmware and modem updates

Modem firmware and the Sixfab Connect agent are delivered through the normal apt channel and, where applicable, through Sixfab Connect OTA. You don't need to manage them manually. When a Sixfab-maintained package is updated, apt upgrade pulls it in.

Troubleshooting apt failures

If apt update or apt upgrade fails, the cause is usually no internet path, a broken GPG key for the Sixfab repository, or a partial upgrade that left dpkg in an inconsistent state. Recover in this order:

# 1. Verify connectivity first
ping -c 3 deb.debian.org

# 2. Repair any half-configured packages
sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt -f install

# 3. Refresh and retry
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

OS image & re-flashing

The ALPON X4 OS image is pre-installed at the factory on every device and is not distributed as a public download. Shipping the OS on the device avoids the edge cases and hardware-specific quirks that come with end-user flashing of industrial edge computing images.

If your device is in a state where you believe the OS needs to be re-flashed, for example it won't boot after a failed upgrade or it has been misconfigured beyond recovery, contact Sixfab support.

Where to next