Searching for router to buy

I like the tp-link eap225 as wireless access point. Also any older OpenWrt device would work well. Archer C7 is a good candidate for example.

The UE300 is a very good choice for USB Ethernet, I recommend to use it as WAN rather than LAN, then the onboard device is the one connected to LAN and it's slightly less error prone that way.

Yes you can just connect via the network to admin the device no keyboard or monitor needed (but they're a nice option)

the raspberry pi400 even comes with a keyboard build-in and apparently a slightly more refined CPU, that runs a bit colder than the first batch of rpi4b's.... got one at home and wanted to play with as openwrt router, but instead it grew into one of the kids desktop... :wink:

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Network access to the pi is enough.

Yes the plan is to use it for the WAN, no driver is needed right?

For now I keep using my old 1043nd router for access point till I figure out if I can manage with my little Linux knowledge the Pi but it doesn’t sound hard.

@moeller0 I think that I’ll pick that one too even though it’s a bit harder to hide since it’s bigger, the kit also comes with basically everything. Can I use the Pi as SD CARD reader on different machine for creating the installer or do I need to pick a card reader separately? Sorry to ask, I didn’t search for it yet but I’m sure that the answer is out there

@amq thank you too, good that I only really need display for the install

As far as I know, not realistically. The pi typically boots from its SD card and then it would require a specific OS that allows to remove the card to use the slot for other uses...
I think one can install the OS on a USB3 connected drive or use trickery like an OS purely running from a memory loaded ramdisk, but compared to getting another SD-card reader/writer that seems preety involved for little gain, no?

there are definitely some USB ethernet related packages you need to install, unless you use the @anon50098793 community build which contains them already and a lot more, or build your own. There's even an online build service that someone has set up to build it for you. https://chef.libremesh.org/?version=21.02.0-rc3&target=bcm27xx%2Fbcm2709&id=rpi-2 you can just add the names of the packages you want. I don't remember off hand which ones they are but something about usb ethernet and realtek.

Definitely get a separate USB card reader to read/write the card. A lot of RPi4 "kits" come with them.

Ok guys I think I have enough information to start and I’ll get the parts. Thank you all for the help! If something goes wrong and won’t find the answer then I’ll be back with a separate thread, thanks again :slightly_smiling_face:

You might want to look at RPi4 threads before going this route...

I know that you are quite critical* on PIs as routers, but honestly, at least add a link to a thread that shows (one or more of the) issues, instead of a completely vague reference to threads, no?

*) And do not think your critique is without merit, it is certainly a trade-off to "press" a SoC into router duty that clearly was not designed for that purpose... On the other hand the PIs do have a relative large and vibrant ecosystem, unlike some of the more niche SoC/SBCs (which does not change the fact that a single Gbps-ethernet adapter is not ideal for routing).

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The "dance on roses" approach which is somewhat misleading (just look at the community build thread) and the constant push of that everyone needs SQM because they don't know any better is getting old.

I have zero idea what you are refering to here, care to elaborate?

Not my claim, and I am involved in SQM development. I do think that SQM can offer quite a lot to many, but I explicitly rejected the claim that SQM is strictly needed by all/anybody.
But I also do not buy the argument heard occasionally that above X Mbps linkspeed AQM/traffic shaping becomes superfluous, for ever increasing values of X.
The point is that there are only two reliable options to keep latency under load in acceptable bounds (largely independent of the actual acceptance threshold), either make sure load never exceeds capacity (traditionally done in back bones, where only short saturation epochs are tolerated before either ingress traffic is throttled or the capacity is expanded), or use methods to keep latency in bounds even under saturating loads, aka AQM. SQM just happens to be one beginner friendly AQM package that tries to come up with decent/acceptable defaults...

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AFAIK the key issue with this device is bundling of out-of-the-box ethernet drivers...

this is indeed not-so beginner friendly when it comes to beginners with openwrt...

other than that... the empirical feedback is that this device does indeed perform above and beyond what 'traditional-theology' would dictate...

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I’ve read many but I mostly see success stories, which threads are you referring to?

Guys, is this also viable option or only the UE300? It has AX88179 https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/usb-converter/ue305/#specifications

Used routers can be excellent values on ebay, etc. I just picked up a used EA8500 (ipq8064) for $40 shipped on ebay for a friend. EA6350v3's (ipq4018) are routinely ~$20 shipped. Prices may be higher where you live, but the point is that taking a chance on used hardware can be rewarding.

The EA8500 is a bit unique in that it is not the easiest to flash-you'll need a ~$7 USB to serial adapter to flash an EA8500 the first time with OpenWrt if you do not already have one of these. But it has a lot more processor capability than an ipq401x device.

Other ipq806x options might be an EA7500v1 (flash space would be a bit constrained on this one), a TP-LINK C2600, an r7500v2, etc. If you make a list of acceptable options and just keep an eye out for one of them used, you may be pleasantly surprised.

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You just have to try it. It will probably work well at speeds below 500Mbps. The ASIX chip I tried had so much interrupt overhead that it topped out at 650Mbps in my tests. But it could be something that changes with driver updates or different versions of chips etc

You may run into issues that you could otherwise avoid, anyhow if you're fine going for a more or less closed hardware solution and hang USB devices on top if it go for it.

FWIW, I'm quite happy with my RPI-on-a-stick in our summer house:

No need to mess with USB ethernet as long as you're happy sharing the single gig between WAN and LAN.

The switch is a ZyXEL GS1900-10HP running OpenWrt. It is powering the RPI4, which has an PoE hat, and a couple of Unifi 6 Lite access points (wanted LRs, but couldn't get hold of them). The Internet VLAN on the fibre port is trunked to the RPi4 as WAN, and so are the two LAN/WiFi networks from the U6s. Works for me.

FWIW, the RPI4 is not running OpenWrt. It is running Debian bullseye (the real one). Not becasue it could't run OpenWrt, but simply because I am more used to configuring Debian servers. And it is much more server than router, really.

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