I’ve been using an ASUS RT-AC87U with dd-wrt for quite a number of years now, but have wanted to switch to using OpenWrt for the next device I get, both for something different , and so I can play around with it more if I want.
Getting a device like the RP4 means the freedom of having a modem/router with the power of a single board computer combined, rather then having two separate devices meaning I need to account for another plug space for power. Depending on what I try to do, such as trying to run my own DNS server on top of being a modem/router I know is going to add more complexity and require more time investment, I have a lot of time on my hands to spare so it really just comes down to when I feel like tackling some new project.
I have read how support and usage of WiFi 7 has been sketchy, but I’m not overly concerned about that at the moment as I’m likely not going to have a WiFi 7 compatible device until Samsung release their 2025 flagship phones, which is when I’m thinking to upgrade my Fold 5 which can only go up to 6E.
So with all that established, my thoughts being the difference if I was to buy the R4 and NIC module now, compared to waiting ~6 months time is going to be the hardware itself. This is where I’m most seeking advice, as a newcomer I don’t know what BPI’s typical schedule is like when it comes to releasing new hardware, be it a new model or variant, or even just a improved revision of an existing model.
The more time that passes, the more people that will inevitably get their hands on the R4, the more time the existing people will have to improve the software, so the way I see it choosing to buy one early is a long-term investment. I just don’t want to buy something now, only for a better/improved version to come out later which I would have to spend more money on. Hence my question is, what are BPI like when it comes to future proofing their hardware.
It is mostly a demo board of new mediatek chipsets.
It can do a lot of things with all the features on board, but it also means it draws a lot of power and gets rather warm. And software support depends on a handful of people working on it. Like dangowrt (paid by banana pi to work on it) and then volunteers like frank, Eric and others I don’t even know of.
You might be better off with a flint.3, which uses similar hardware but is a consumer oriented product.
Oh thanks for that, I haven’t come across the Flint in my searching. Looking at it and it’s predecessor model it very much looks like the ideal open but consumer friendly product, as it has most if not all of all the things people want built into it. I signed up to the mailing list and will keep a close eye on it. I’m not in any rush so I don’t mind waiting.
I was also looking at SPR by Supernetworks which seems to be more or less the same kind of thing but still more on the DIY side of things, whereas Flint is very out of the box. I guess that’s why I can find very little people talking about SPR, because all of the people who have gone down the DIY route are wanting the greater control of managing everything themselves, over a AIO solution.
I found they have a setup guide/image for the R4 and the R3, and I’m waiting to hear back if they also currently support the WiFi 7 NIC. If not actual WiFi 7 at least 6 & 6E, as the page doesn’t currently state.
Power hungry?!? My R4 idles at less than 5W (wired only, 10g fiber to ISP and 10g DAC LAN) and mostly does not even turn on its fan…
There is, of course a third option for the OP: get the R4 to use as wired router now (keeping the Asus as AP) and add WiFi7 to it later.
I predict the Flint3 will be a fairly mediocre experience seeing that it appears to be qualcomm-based. The Flint 2 at least is MTK and appears to be well supported.
Oh for damn sure. Symmetric 10gbit using plain simple mode fiber. Does not get any nicer than that, or well, technically they offer the same with 25gbit for the same price but I really can’t bothered trying to route that
How is the NVMe working for you? I read differing reports on the reliability of that on the R4…
FWIW, I just hooked up a USB C power meter to my GL MT3000, even that simple creature draws almost 4W acting as dumb AP with one LAN downstream and 8W with 1gbit load on wifi
