Please advice: BPI-R4 `.*`, Turris Omnia NG or something else?

Banana Pi Router design BPI-R4/BPI-R4 Pro(MT7988)
1

Hi All!

Please advice me on which one of these routers to get:

  1. BPI-R4 4GB or 8GB.

  2. BPI-R4 PRO 4E.

  3. BPI-R4 Pro 8X.

I am inclined to get the “BPI-R4 4GB or 8GB” because I don’t really need all the extra ports.

Requirements

  1. 10GB SFP+ WAN uplink.

  2. 10GB SFP+ LAN or 10GB RJ45 LAN. Either will do. I need this to operate at the same time as the 10GB SFP+ WAN uplink/

  3. WiFi 7.

  4. I need to know if any of the below XGS-PON SFP+ modules will work without issue. They are essentially preloaded with 8311 firmware:

4.1. Yunvo XGSPON ONU STICK 8311 Firmware Web Managed SFP+ Transceiver With Fan 10G 1270/1577nm SC/APC/UPC for FTTH = https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Yunvo-10G-1270-1577nm-SC-APC_1601269313920.html?spm=a2756.trade-list-buyer.0.0.4aa076e9owHIy5.

4.2. Better Internet XGS-PON SFP+ ONT module = X-ONU-SFPP – Better Internet - Store.

I’ve noticed there is a page at Banana Pi | Hack GPON but it really does not say if it will work or not.

Follow up questions:

  1. Do I need to open up the board to connect to UART on the “BPI-R4 4GB or 8GB”? I notice there is a USB-C port that acts as the debug/UART console port on the “BPI-R4 PRO 4E” or “BPI-R4 Pro 8X”. Is it possible to do the same thing with the USB-C port on the “BPI-R4 4GB or 8GB”? I really don’t want to open up the case just to access UART.

  2. Does anyone know of a supplier that will ship to the UK who are offering reasonable prices for the “BPI-R4 4GB or 8GB”?

  3. Does anyone have experience with the Turris Omnia NG - About - Turris Documentation. WiFi 7 chipset: Noni 56M2-B based on the QCN-6274 (Qualcomm)? How would you rate that against the “BPI-R4 4GB or 8GB”?

Many thanks,

- Bana (Please reach out to me directly at [email protected] if you work with Banana PI)

2

the most important part on all bpi devices is wifi: how important is it. what do you exactly need. i live in a 2 room flat, i have no problems with wifi7 on my r4. but many others do, because they have walls etc.

if wifi is important and you want to cover a wider area or have obstacles in the way, dont go with bpi.

i had the turris omnia, but not the NG variant.

3

Hiya, what would you suggest I go with then?

The WiFi 7 card on the BPI-R4 looks bigger than that on the Turris Omnia NG and also it has more antennas. Why didn’t you add Wi-Fi to your Omnia?

There is also GL-BE14000 / Flint 4 - GL.iNet but it has not been released yet nor do I know if it will support one 10GB SFP+ and 10GB RJ45/SFP+.

I’ll wait a bit to get some more answers to the specific questions I asked.