All-in-one solution vs modular setup for a $250 (€235) budget

Hardware Questions and Recommendations
1

I am thinking about upgrading my networking setup and I have created two setups based on locally available hardware.
I'm aiming for closer to gigabit speeds and would like good future support for software and for adding hardware down the road.

The configurations are as follows:

  1. Modular setup:
1. Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ER-X-SFP ($93/€86) (or the UCG-ULTRA ($120/€111), though I can't install openwrt on it)
2. Ubiquiti UniFi U6+ Access Point ($137/€136)
                                          Total: $230/$257(or €213/€238)
3. (Later addition) A gigabit POE Switch (my only POE swith currently is not gigabit)
  1. All-in-One Routers
1. GL.iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) ($140/€130)
2. GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) ($93/€86) (would get it later for travel anyways, but I'm including it here mostly because it's on sale right now)
                                          Total: $233/€252
3. I would then use my current router (ASUS RT-AX1800U) in dumb AP mode to do a DIY mesh network.

All prices include VAT. I am open to other suggestions in the $250/€235 range, since these ones were rather hastily made and I'm a rookie when it comes to dedicated router and AP combos. I do understand they're better for expandability and perform better for heavier use cases, which might be good for future plans.

In regards to the Flint 2 I appreciate the better openwrt support and I think it would also allow for expansion, but might not be as performant/flexible as the dedicated options...?

I also need to keep in mind that I'm only trying to cover what's already pretty well served by my current router and increase WiFi speeds at least somewhat, as I'm only getting roughly 250Mbps down 180Mbps up from a gigabit connection.

To also complete the data from the Which router should I buy? post:

Advertised speed: gigabit
Do you need WiFi? - Yes
Do you need Gigabit ethernet? - Yes
Do you need USB ports? - Not necessarily, but would be nice to have one.
How many family members/devices? - 3 family members, rougly 10 devices
What other services do you want? - I am already running an adblocker, jellyfin media server and I plan to add a Tailscale or ZeroTier VPN (because plain Wireguard hasn't worked out, see previous posts)
Price Range: rougly €235, with prices in USD listed as well, to help the american contributors.

2

How big is your house ( floors ,area , diagonsl size, any garden with barn) and where are you. If you ship from € to $ you lose a hundred or so.

Do you have old devices to work as extenders
What is your internet connection speed (current or planned?)

3

Try to aim for connection your APs via ethernet (direct cable or via a switch) to the main router... doing the backhaul link also via WiFi tends to be not as robust.

3 Likes
4

What I am writing here is just my personal preference and experience, so please don't judge me for it.

Personally I always go for more modular approach, because that prevents creating a SPOF.

Besides APs should always be connected by Ethernet (or another physical media), because that's how it's meant to be. An access point is a bridge and by definition a bridge is an adapter between two different data medias, like Ethernet and WiFi.
Besides APs can not really operate well, if both sides are WLAN. They lose too much of therr bandwith because of the overhead, and as a result of this your performance will decrease immediately.
The backbone of a reliable network is always physically connected and WiFi is just an extension of it.

2 Likes
5

Strictly speaking a bridge does not need to contain interfaces of different media... e.g. in Linux you can bridge ethernet interfaces effectively creating a switch... and in DSA a switch is treated as a bunch of bridged interfaces IIRC, that is why it is called br-lan, the br stands for bridge... and that is true whether you also add the WiFi interfaces or not...

6

+1; In a pinch this can be made to work reasonably, e.g. by using a dedicated radio for the backhaul, but that is still not as robust as real wired ethernet.

1 Like
7

I am not 100% sure about the area. Somewhere around 250sq meters. It's a two story house (ground floor + attic), with a yard I am not planning to cover extensively. Walls are wood and plaster.

I am already getting acceptable coverage with my ASUS RT-AX1800U, so I am mainly looking for better speed at least in the room with the router. I do not have any other devices to use as extenders, but I use powerline, so I can possibly install some almost anywhere.

8

You are correct, if the bridge is software based, but an access point is still a peace of hardware. In that case it is just virtual and can be almost anything with more than one interface.
I was talking about what a bridge is meant to be. It is always valuable to remember the origins of technical devices and their original purposes. That saved me lots of extra working hours in my job as a network administrator.

9

Choose whatever filogic is available near you
https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_16128_ax-wifi
For optimal speed install ethernet cable to upper floor and use ax1800u as an extender there. Place it garden side to get some 20-30m coverage in garden.

1 Like
10

Disregarding geography for now, what would be a top 3 devices you'd suggest? I should have mostly anything available.
For example I wasn't expecting to find Ubiquiti or GL.iNet for sane prices, but now they're my top two options.

11

T-56s, unless the ones being sold now have the new fw, with secure boot enabled.

12

Disregarding location - ASUS and TPLINK are found in fridge and laundry machine shops.

13

are we encouraging breaking and entering now ? :wink:

1 Like
14

The EdgeMAX EdgeRouter product line is pretty close to End of Life.

The EdgeRouter ER-X has an under powered CPU, limited memory and small internal partition size that makes installing OpenWrt more difficult to install.

A pre-loved EdgeRouter 4 would be a better option, note it only runs Linux 4.9.79. I have Tailscale binaries installed on the ER-4 with EdgeOS and it works well. The move to OpenWrt on the ER-4 seems to be inevitable.

The UCG-Ultra is part of the UniFi range but they don't allow persistent changes via the CLI or the installation of Tailscale or ZeroTier. UniFi is a closed Ecosystem.

I prefer modular to All-in-one, note with Tailscale the need for a Travel Router should disappear.

1 Like
15

To cover 250 m2 (+yard) I would advise to have at least two devices from where WiFi is emitted.

Example 1

Example 2

  • All-In-One router: GL.iNet GL-MT6000
  • Access Point: Cudy AP3000 or Zyxel NWA50AX Pro (powered over DC adapter)
1 Like
16

Used Fujitsu S920 with a quad port PCIe card and a riser is still ~50€, seems slightly future proofer...

1 Like
17

Good to know. In that case the rest of my options have gotten way more expensive...

I would also prefer it, but I after looking around my options for a router in the price range seem to be the TP-Link ER605 v2 or MikroTik RB760IGS, in combination with one or two TP-Link EAP613 access points which seems like a meh combo and not particularly well supported by the wiki either....

18

I'd have more luck obtaining an OpenWrt One over a CM4 unfortunately, but the AP suggestions are welcome.

With the sales going on this is a little more reasonable, funnily enough (thanks in no small part to free shipping on the EU GL.iNet store).

1 Like
19

mt6000 is in line with other filogic, and re-use ax1800u as access point. Kind of inexpensive in the end.

20

If it is EU GL store- follow @frollic suggestion - https://wifilinks.nl/products/zyxel-t-56-modem-dual-band-wireless-ax6000-ethernet-iad. 50 Euro - 5 mins job to get OpenWrt on it.
They are still selling the OpenWrt flashable version - as per monday.
Btw - I had Futro S920, but it seems T-56 CPU is better... I would not rcommend S920 over T-56.
Kr
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