What's your favorite enthusiast LEDE/OpenWrt device?

Hi,
I already have a BT home hub 5 and it is a very good and cheap modem/router. However, its CPU is too low for openVPN and even if for wireguard.
I'm thinking to build a VPN router with a raspberry pi 3-4 or something equivalent with a budget 80-100 $. Another option is to buy a new modem/router with a strong CPU as netgear R7800 150-180 $. I would like to achieve as maximum 100 M bit/s in both directions.
In your opinion, what is the best solution?

A great topic for your own thread. You’ll get lots of specific opinions there.

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I'm surprised no one mentioned Fritzbox 4040. For around €70 you are getting a 4-core IPQ4018 device, meaning pretty much unlimited SQM and Wireguard.

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The design of the devices of that brand are HORRIBLE.

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I'm using avm 4040 and it's really stable with 18.06.4 :slightly_smiling_face:

Just flashed this week (7/20), so only up for 2 days so far, no issues. Depending on the Board Rev., flashing without header pins for the Serial TTL -> USB cable is a bit challenging though.

I'm not sure I'd recommend the EA8500 at this point. I'm running into issues with it. If you have any advice it would be much appreciated. Linksys EA8500 U-Boot/Flashing Issue

It has great specifications but Belkin/Linksys have really hampered it from what I can tell.

Unique and alone. I didn't think so, but now I'm certain of it. The best device for OpenWRT is the LinkSYS WRT3200ACM. Although it is as old as a product, it is still the best that can be found on the market and is the real first in our beloved open source operating system. I also have a Turris Omnia, very noble, but which in reality does not hold the comparison in terms of power and adherence to the OpenWRT project. Perhaps Turris Omnia has the advantage of being modular and able to change it with different chasses, but the software, mixed OpenWRT and a proprietary open source system, called Turris OS, is quite a mess. The Linksys still has a perfect dual-core core supported throughout that handles my 1 Gbit/s GPON connection without any problems. I have connected 12 devices on three VLANs and all in WiFi both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Never any problem and 4K streaming on multiple TVs. Although it does not support the MU-MIMO in OpenWRT, it continues to be very powerful. The Turris Omnia is only very bitter in the mouth and has little satisfaction. I mention this not to discredit the Turris product, but because I was super enthusiastic about it, but I became disillusioned.

I advise against the wrt3200acm for OpenWrt, unless you know the short comings.

https://github.com/kaloz/mwlwifi/issues/278 was a deal breaker for me. What a pita if the router doesn't just work? Just get a mt76 unit and avoid tech support headaches.

People are getting rid of it Replacing Linksys WRT3200ACM. It's a shame there is no clear cut best replacement.

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See also that mesh doesn't work with those drivers, as I understand it -- https://github.com/kaloz/mwlwifi/issues?utf8=✓&q=is%3Aissue+802.11s

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I've read all that stuff. But I can't say anything else that the device is fully supported, except MU-MIMO). For me it works perfectly. I'm still using it now. My advice is based on the experience I had with two working OpenWRT versions and each type of Developer Preview, never had a problem.

Ok I am going to just open a can of worms and ask for some advice. 1U Server. It is generally known that while intel j1900 is the standard for x86 builds - I wanted to see if there is a better option. I did not intend to build another PC to serve as a server and I did not intend to buy a 10,000 cisco router. What I am seeing is that these generally use the denverton atom chip from the 300 to 3000 systems. If I wanted to build a gigabite switch capable of ips/ids or purchase a prebuilt one what are my options? I see these are generally the same and are common within the home router enthusiast market:

Netgear XG-7100
Neatgear SG-5100
Supermicro A1SRi

Once again, since not everybody has seen it:

Please use this topic for hardware recommendations only.
For questions please open a new topic.

Thanks!

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Never mind the design and don't judge a book by its cover!

Like "amq" said: you will get a fast and reliable router, with enough RAM and flash for the next couple of OpenWRT releases.

And especially if you're living in Germany, you should take a close look at the 4040, because it blends in perfectly with the router that your ISP has most probably provided you with. Standing side by side in the shelf those two routers make an unbeatable team!

I just hit the annoying 2.4GHz issue with the WRT3200ACM. I am going to try the WMM 0 workaround but I dont know if it will cut down my N performance.

It will, as far as I remember 802.11n and newer have WMM as a requirement, by disabling WMM your AP will need to fall back to 802.11[a|b|g] speeds so expect a gross rate <= 54 Mbps (with achievable goodput as seen e.g. in speedtests around 540.5 = 27 to 540.7 = 37.8 Mbps, assuming all your links qualify for 54 Mbps gross rate).
This might still be acceptable if you currently have no working 2.4GHz wifi, but it will not be pretty...

+1 for the GL.iNet MV1000 Brume. Only problem is it hasn’t been added to the OpenWrt project yet. I had to manually modify the 19.07 branch to build my own image. But I use it with a Unifi nanoHD AP and managed switch and it’s great. The Marvell SoC (mvebu) is a nice improvement from my old R7800. And having a separate AP means I can keep the COTS firmware on there. I was having issues with the Wi-Fi on the R7800 whilst running OpenWrt. I think the Brume not having Wi-Fi is a good thing. It’s a router that’s just a router.

is the speedtest.net test done on wifi?

I just loaded OpenWRT onto a Cudy WR1000 V2 (with lots of help), running for a couple of days now and it seems like a winner - $18 USD on Amazon for a dual band access point.

Caveats:

  1. Running as an access point so can't comment on routing performance
  2. As I said, need to solder in the serial header and load via tftp using u-boot console
  3. Only has 100Mb Ethernet

But, with an old house that has lead paint in every wall I need lots of APs to get coverage inside so a cheap AP that runs reliable FOSS software is a welcome change.

ARM NanoPi R2S RK3328 $ 30


nanopi2

  • CPU: Rockchip RK3328, Quad-core Cortex-A53
  • DDR4 RAM: 1GB
  • Network:
    • 10/100/1000M以太网口 x 1
    • USB3.0转10/100/1000M以太网口 x 1
  • USB2.0 Host: Type-A x1
  • MicroSD Slot x 1
  • MicroUSB: 供电和Slave功能
  • Debug Serial Port: 3.3V TTL电平,3Pin 2.54mm间距排针
  • LED: LED x 3
  • KEY: KEY x 1 用户自定义功能
  • PC Size: 55.6 x 52mm
  • Power Supply: DC 5V/2A
  • Temperature measuring range: 0℃ to 80℃
  • OS/Software: U-boot,Ubuntu-Core,OpenWrt

Could you give a global opinion feedback about the nanopi r2s?
Sadly this board is not supported by openwrt.
Do you use friendlywrt?
So the nanopi r2s powerful?
I have been see on telegram group a lot of pictures with added fan, the r2s run too hot?
Coould you run the following benchmark.

https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/perf_and_log/benchmark.openssl