Hi, I have a R7000 netgear and I would like to install OpenWrt first if you can reliably manage the scenario shown below:
altogether about 8 devices. Of these 8 3 are in a VLAN network that I define housewife, all via LAN. One of these devices must not be able to go on the internet. Other 2 devices are in a network that I call (housewife 2 or office 1) via LAN. The remaining devices are connected via Wifi but I would prefer to set up for each a vlan network and in the case one goes on the 2.4mhz network the other (s) on a 5mhz network isolated from the rest of the network. Finally, the printer for (housewife 2 or office 1) must be reachable from the reference VLAN but not visible to the rest of the network and not from the internet by connecting it via WiFi (if possible).
Switch on / off the Wifi via the key and at start up, the Wifi networks should be OFF. Managment of network devices through only one of the built-in vlan, with MAC filter or LAN port. I hope I have explained my needs correctly.
Thank you.
The r7000 is a broadcom design, with BCM4360 wlan cards which aren't (well, barely) supported. This particular device is one of the worst choices when considering to install OpenWrt, at least if your intention is to use its wlan at all.
Router selection depends a lot on the ISP speed, you need to have enough CPU performance to keep up. But something like a R7800 on a 21 / 3 Mbps ADSL line would be a waste of money.
My own choices lead me to x86_64 / AMD64 devices, managed switches, and used Archer C7s for APs (they're around US$40 here). If I were to purchase an all-in-one device for use as a primary router and had bandwidth requirements over a couple hundred mbps, I'd go with a later-model ARM-based device with lots of flash and RAM. The very similar Zyxel NBG6817 would be on my "short list" as well. It is occasionally available on Amazon (US) for $150. Price tracking available at https://camelcamelcamel.com/Wireless-StreamBoost-Beamforming-Antennas-NBG6817/product/B01I4223HS
