Hello, I am starting my journey with OpenWRT x86, I have expereice with normal OpenWRT on a regular router,
My question is, can I add in cards to the computer I'm creating that will allow me to transmit a Wi-Fi signal, and will also allow me to have 10Gbps connectivity.
In addition, any tips on best practices when starting with x86 would be welcome.
Thanks
yes * 2, assuming you pick the right wifi card.
get something future proof, that can route at least 1gbit, or perhaps even 10gbit ...
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About WIFI, avoid intel cards, you can only make the 2.4Ghz to work in AP mode.
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Thanks for your reply, could you recommend one?
I have an hp 8200 with a first gen i5 CPU that's running my pfsense router right now.
I'm planning on running both PiHole and squid cache on the same machine, PiHole in a docker and squid through the OpenWRT package.
Thanks, do you recommend any type in particular? If possible, I want something with a strong output and hopefully Wi-Fi 6.
Qualcomm is fine
For multi-gig, especially towards 10 GbE, you might want to take a look at cards that do SFP+ like an Intel X520-DA2 e.g. (two ports). RJ-45 form factor consumes a lot more energy than SFP+. And you can still use SFP to RJ-45 adapters if need be.
Wifi AX adapters 802.11ax wifi AP mPCI-E cards
10gbe NICs X86 device, which network chip should be chosen for "headache-free" functioning?
Note, multigig NICs and switches are newer, and more expensive whan 1/10gbe. 10gbe been around longer, and used devices are often sold on sites like eBay.
About the wifi, i have a compex WLE600VX and a WLE900VX in an APU2C4 router. i'm totaly satisfied with these cards too. But they are both AC and not AX.
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I already looked at those, the price with the adapters vs the price of the straight RJ45 is about the same. Maybe even pricier, but you're saying it consumes less power?
These topics are still ongoing as far as I saw, are there any specific models that are recommended? Ones I can search for on eBay and other markets?
Thanks, but if I buy a card, I want to be able to get a relatively current technology, AC has been around for a long time now. And I'm not going Wi-Fi 7, just 6, maybe 6a if that's possible.
Yes, if you read far enough...
Just beware that OpenWRT isn't really "geared" (targets) high speed routing, you will need to do various tweaks and debugging is also limited. You can to some extent adjust OpenWrt for this type of operation but it involves doing changes in the code and possibly patches too. As for Wifi you're better off getting a separate device and using it as a AP.
I found this:
Silicom Intel 82599 Dual Port 10GB Fiber Channel PE210G2SPI9A-SR
which is a 2 ports card, I highly doubt I could saturate both ports on the pcie gen 2 slot I have, but if it works better than 1Gb I'm fine with it. I can always upgrade the computer later on.
Also, the topic on the Wi-Fi is for mini PCIE, which I don't have on the board.
Well, I was hoping that it being a PC and not a device it will have a lot more power to give the Wi-Fi antenna, hence more range and stability. But if I get this running, I could just get an AP that's Wi-Fi 6, and not a whole router.
#1 If performance matters you probably want to get something newer than cards using 10+y old chipsets (yes, hardware is going to get more expensive).
#2 Wifi doesn't work like that at all so you can scrap that idea 
Well, it's just the proof of concept, if this router proves stable and performant enough, it will get upgraded, but for now I'll use what I have and can get.
I was also looking into bringing my VDSL modem into this, but there's only 1 device that isn't manufactured that can do VDSL in PCI, so that's off the table.
10+y hardware is probably not going to be "stable" due degradation or due to the fact that 10G was pretty new technology at that time so expect some rough edges. You're also likely to find out that it's actively maintained at this point rather more or less in "it's not broken" maintence mode.
Just use your VDSL modem as is and preferably in bridge mode otherwise adding another router on top is most likely going to cause more issues than it will solve.
That's what I have today with my PfSense as the router, and VDSL Router in bridge mode only. It worked like that even with my normal d-link 825, so I'm not worried about that.
This is pure bullshit. Sorry.
The Intel 82599 cards were more than mature enough when they arrived. They were not the first generation Intel 10gig cards. And they have proven to be rock solid. They also don't suffer from some of the firmware issues newer cards have, where you never can know if it will accept an SFP+ or not. The 82599 will accept anything, if you configure the driver to allow it.
Sure, you can get newer and more efficient cards. But on a budget the 82599 is perfectly fine.
FWIW, I've been using an X520-DA2 for 7 years (and bought it used). It's still running fine. Never had a problem with it.
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Which part, that hardware degrades over time? 82599 is from what I can tell Intel's second gen 10Gbit hardware so still pretty fresh. 82599ES (other variants are already eol) is slated for eol 2024 so you probably want to like to look for something release more recently if you're looking at getting hardware. If you're in for 10Gbit HP 561t (Intel X540) and can be found pretty cheap off eBay (such as https://www.ebay.com/itm/295002270422) at least if you're going for copper networking for example.
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