Hi I’m looking for an affordable wifi 7 router and I’m wondering if I can attach my NAS over the SFP port since there is only one LAN port that is faster then 1Gb. I’m currently using a router with 1Gb Lan ports and the transfer speeds are capping out at 100 Mbps while my NAS can do 2.5 Gbs.
But since one SFP port is WAN, and the other SFP port would be going to my PC, would the remaining LAN ports only be 1 Gb again like my old router and cap my speed when transferring from my NAS to my PC?
You could setup any of the RJ45 ports as WAN, leaving the two SFP’s free for other use.
But a BPI-R64 / R3 / R3mini / R4 can also function as router + nas, all in one. Add a SATA (R64) or NVME (R3/R3mini/R4) drive to the board and setup for network sharing.
Hoi Eric, I thought of that and then asked ChatGPT if it was possible to attach either my NAS or my PC to the SFP port marked as WAN. Since it is only marked WAN and not LAN/WAN I was worried about the compatibility with my PC or NAS. And ChatGPT told me WAN port are Wide ports that are usually reserved for ISP inputs so are hard to configure for usage by a PC or NAS.
I want to use my NAS as it holds 4 NVME drive in a raid configuration.
Yes, but one of the two SFP ports is also marked WAN, and not WAN/LAN
I need 1 SFP port marked LAN to go to my PC, and another SFP port marked LAN to go to my NAS. Yet there is only 1 SFP port marked LAN. If I would place either my PC or my NAS on a 1Gb port my transfers from my PC to my NAS would suffer correct?
Basicly all ports are simply network interfaces. It depends on software how to use them. E.g. wan-ports sometimes have a nat configured and some specific rules in firewall. Lanports are often bridged. But you can also add the wanport to the lanbr0 and remove specific rules from firewall to use a wan port as lan. This is also independ of the connector (sfp,rj45). It may only be confusing when you look on the case/board where this board is labeled wan
First of all I’m very happy that this forum is active and you guys are a big help, thanks for that.
I will buy the board if I can continue to ask noob questions when I receive it. ChatGPT say it’s complicated to setup a wan as a lan but considering I can attach a 2,5Gb port to it in to alternative ways I’m confident that, with a little help, I’ll get to my desired ports.
The wifi part of the R4 is still in development, so you might encounter a few hiccups there… Keep in mind that you’re buying a development board, not a ready to go turn-key product.
I’ll look for a 3D printed version of the case if that is the alternative I’ll go for.
I understand that this is a techy way to go. But wifi 7 routers are insanely expensive and there is a wifi 7 module for this board right?
Ah right the wifi 7 module goes into the bottom image pci-e slot. Oke I get it.
Different question, can I buy a R3 and slot a wifi 7 module in there at a later point? I need a new router asap. But the wifi 7 module takes more then a month to deliver…
The wifi 7 module is still in development, so even you receive it, no guarantee you can immediately use it.
The wifi7 module for R4 does not fit the R3.
Maybe asia-rf will later come with a m.2 key a+e wifi 7 card. Together with a key-m to key-a+e adapter it may work on the R3, but this is all speculative.
You can buy a R4 and put some wifi 5/6 card in the mpcie slot (being carefull with the second lane on the socket, that it does not disturb the mpcie card.and leave the 12V switch off!)
This all does require some knowledge about openwrt/linux/hardware.
I managed to setup my friendlyelec NAS which is uses opensource software as well. So I’m hoping I can figure this out too. But yeah, since I’m pressed for time it might be better to get an off the shelf wifi 6e router for now.
