6 ms·

I still don’t know any good reasonably priced routers which supports Openwrt.

by vinni2 8y ago

gorbypark 8y ago
You can buy cheapo routers on Ali Express that have OpenWrt pre-installed...
lgierth 8y ago
There is hundreds: https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_864 https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_864 And sub-$20 routers have been well supported for years (e.g. TP-Link TL-WR841)
- zamadatix 8y ago
  Out of "hundreds" I see 5-7 that look like decent home wireless routers at first glance (4+ gigabit ports, available new, b/g/n/ac, no unsupported hardware when running OpenWRT, <$150). Based on that the original statement "I still don’t know any good reasonably priced routers which supports Openwrt." is very understandable. A lot of rows != an easy list of good routers.
  - bdz 8y ago
    Xiaomi Mi WiFi is the best cheap with OpenWRT support https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-WIFI-Router-3-ROM-128MB-1167Mbps-Support-2-4GHz-5GHz-wi-fi-Dual-band-4/32683853540.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-WIFI-Router-3-ROM-128...
    - paavoova 8y ago
      This does not appear to be officially supported. On top of that, it appears to require one to use Xiaomi mobile software and accounts to set up the router initially prior to any flashing.
      - bdz 8y ago
        It's there, 3G (g as gen, not 3G mobile)
        paavoova 8y ago
        The "3G" model is not the model you linked. The 3G model requires you to flash proprietary firmware and then associate the router with a Xiaomi account using mobile apps for God only knows what convoluted reason. I would not trust this router even with OpenWRT running given the amount of blobs it requires and the hoops Xiaomi makes you jump through in installing an aftermarket OS.
        bdz 8y ago
        Oops yes wrong link, this is the good https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq Well I use it with OpenWRT and it's perfect, no regrets especially for that price
    - zamadatix 8y ago
      Is this a joke? The WAN and LAN ports (all 2 of them) are 100 megabit.
      - bdz 8y ago
        Oops wrong link, I have that and it has 1 gig ports https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq
  - wtallis 8y ago
    The TP-Link Archer C7 has been meeting all of those criteria for years and is still readily available for under $70.
    - mtarnovan 8y ago
      Hardware encryption is on the C7 is not supported. If you have fast internet you're capped at 500mbps due to this issue: https://forum.archive.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=53703 https://forum.archive.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=53703
      - wtallis 8y ago
        I don't see anything on that page about encryption. Are you talking about something to do with VPNs or with WiFi encryption?
      - extra88 8y ago
        The original post, from 2014, states > I tried using both open (no auth) and WPA/WPA2 meaning even without encryption, the TCP performance with OpenWRT was worse than the original firmware.
        mtarnovan 8y ago
        I should have been clearer. I was talking about two distinct issues: * lack of hardware encryption support * poor network performance (about 50% slower than with original firmware) - the issue I linked to
        wtallis 8y ago
        > lack of hardware encryption support I don't think that the Archer C7 hardware (or most consumer router hardware) supports any kind of encryption acceleration aside from what's built in to the WiFi radios. If you want a hardware accelerated VPN, you need to either get one of the Cavium-based Ubiquiti routers or something with a relatively high-end processor implementing AES instructions. The lower routing performance has largely been solved in 18.06 with software flow offloading.
maximente 8y ago
hard to parse this statement, since the software itself is doing the lion share of making the router "good" (unless you mean wireless g/n support or something?) i've used this project to put new life into a Buffalo router that's probably 10 years old and runs way cooler and more performant than the original firmware. same with an ASUS router that's probably 6 or 7 years old.
- yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago
  Hardware is quite important; wireless standards keep evolving, some people care about how many ethernet ports they have, and system details (CPU, RAM, flash memory) determine performance and features (you lose a lot trying to fit your system in 32MB of flash).
  - aaronmdjones 8y ago
    Surely you mean you lose a lot trying to fit your system in 4MiB of flash, seeing as the stock images will flash to any 8MiB device with plenty of space left for configuration and the odd extra package or seven. My grandmother has a SiteCom WLR-4000 (aka SiteCom WL-351, aka EnGenius ESR9850) and that has a 4MiB flash chip; building OpenWRT for it is a pain, but I can still get a flashable image that does everything I need it to do, including the stock web interface (LuCI), with 100k left for persistent configuration data. It even has WireGuard (kmod-wireguard, luci-app-wireguard, luci-proto-wireguard) on it for a bridge to my router at my home. When it breaks, or if I ever upgrade my WNDR3800, I'll give that to her. But for the time being it's still perfectly serviceable.
jsight 8y ago
It depends upon your definitions of "good" and "router". If you are ok with <300 Mbps speeds, the Raspberry Pi 3B+ makes a surprisingly good router with openwrt. I suspect a lot of similar devices also work at Gbps speeds for very reasonable prices. If you also need an access point, the cost does start to increase a little, but it still isn't bad at all, IMO.
squarefoot 8y ago
The table of hardware is a good start. https://openwrt.org/toh/start https://openwrt.org/toh/start I've converted some devices in the past, the latest one being a small TL-MR3020 box which now connects my Ethernet printer to my home AP. Though I like openwrt, the web interface could be improved (meaning: making it more clear and simpler) because the above task, although trivial, required a lot more time than it should have. Openwrt also doesn't forgive errors: on another little router I mistakenly deleted or disabled the wrong interface, and now that box is unreachable from anywhere until I'll take the time to open it and connect a serial port to reconfigure it from a terminal. But that's more of a feature :)

I still don’t know any good reasonably priced routers which supports Openwrt.

by vinni2 8y ago

I still don’t know any good reasonably priced routers which supports Openwrt.

gorbypark 8y ago

You can buy cheapo routers on Ali Express that have OpenWrt pre-installed...

lgierth 8y ago

There is hundreds: https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_864 https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_864 And sub-$20 routers have been well supported for years (e.g. TP-Link TL-WR841)

zamadatix 8y ago
Out of "hundreds" I see 5-7 that look like decent home wireless routers at first glance (4+ gigabit ports, available new, b/g/n/ac, no unsupported hardware when running OpenWRT, <$150). Based on that the original statement "I still don’t know any good reasonably priced routers which supports Openwrt." is very understandable. A lot of rows != an easy list of good routers.
- bdz 8y ago
  Xiaomi Mi WiFi is the best cheap with OpenWRT support https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-WIFI-Router-3-ROM-128MB-1167Mbps-Support-2-4GHz-5GHz-wi-fi-Dual-band-4/32683853540.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-WIFI-Router-3-ROM-128...
  - paavoova 8y ago
    This does not appear to be officially supported. On top of that, it appears to require one to use Xiaomi mobile software and accounts to set up the router initially prior to any flashing.
    - bdz 8y ago
      It's there, 3G (g as gen, not 3G mobile)
      - paavoova 8y ago
        The "3G" model is not the model you linked. The 3G model requires you to flash proprietary firmware and then associate the router with a Xiaomi account using mobile apps for God only knows what convoluted reason. I would not trust this router even with OpenWRT running given the amount of blobs it requires and the hoops Xiaomi makes you jump through in installing an aftermarket OS.
        bdz 8y ago
        Oops yes wrong link, this is the good https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq Well I use it with OpenWRT and it's perfect, no regrets especially for that price
  - zamadatix 8y ago
    Is this a joke? The WAN and LAN ports (all 2 of them) are 100 megabit.
    - bdz 8y ago
      Oops wrong link, I have that and it has 1 gig ports https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/9UbBYxq
- wtallis 8y ago
  The TP-Link Archer C7 has been meeting all of those criteria for years and is still readily available for under $70.
  - mtarnovan 8y ago
    Hardware encryption is on the C7 is not supported. If you have fast internet you're capped at 500mbps due to this issue: https://forum.archive.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=53703 https://forum.archive.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=53703
    - wtallis 8y ago
      I don't see anything on that page about encryption. Are you talking about something to do with VPNs or with WiFi encryption?
    - extra88 8y ago
      The original post, from 2014, states > I tried using both open (no auth) and WPA/WPA2 meaning even without encryption, the TCP performance with OpenWRT was worse than the original firmware.
      - mtarnovan 8y ago
        I should have been clearer. I was talking about two distinct issues: * lack of hardware encryption support * poor network performance (about 50% slower than with original firmware) - the issue I linked to
        wtallis 8y ago
        > lack of hardware encryption support I don't think that the Archer C7 hardware (or most consumer router hardware) supports any kind of encryption acceleration aside from what's built in to the WiFi radios. If you want a hardware accelerated VPN, you need to either get one of the Cavium-based Ubiquiti routers or something with a relatively high-end processor implementing AES instructions. The lower routing performance has largely been solved in 18.06 with software flow offloading.

maximente 8y ago

hard to parse this statement, since the software itself is doing the lion share of making the router "good" (unless you mean wireless g/n support or something?) i've used this project to put new life into a Buffalo router that's probably 10 years old and runs way cooler and more performant than the original firmware. same with an ASUS router that's probably 6 or 7 years old.

yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago
Hardware is quite important; wireless standards keep evolving, some people care about how many ethernet ports they have, and system details (CPU, RAM, flash memory) determine performance and features (you lose a lot trying to fit your system in 32MB of flash).
- aaronmdjones 8y ago
  Surely you mean you lose a lot trying to fit your system in 4MiB of flash, seeing as the stock images will flash to any 8MiB device with plenty of space left for configuration and the odd extra package or seven. My grandmother has a SiteCom WLR-4000 (aka SiteCom WL-351, aka EnGenius ESR9850) and that has a 4MiB flash chip; building OpenWRT for it is a pain, but I can still get a flashable image that does everything I need it to do, including the stock web interface (LuCI), with 100k left for persistent configuration data. It even has WireGuard (kmod-wireguard, luci-app-wireguard, luci-proto-wireguard) on it for a bridge to my router at my home. When it breaks, or if I ever upgrade my WNDR3800, I'll give that to her. But for the time being it's still perfectly serviceable.

jsight 8y ago

It depends upon your definitions of "good" and "router". If you are ok with <300 Mbps speeds, the Raspberry Pi 3B+ makes a surprisingly good router with openwrt. I suspect a lot of similar devices also work at Gbps speeds for very reasonable prices. If you also need an access point, the cost does start to increase a little, but it still isn't bad at all, IMO.

squarefoot 8y ago

The table of hardware is a good start. https://openwrt.org/toh/start https://openwrt.org/toh/start I've converted some devices in the past, the latest one being a small TL-MR3020 box which now connects my Ethernet printer to my home AP. Though I like openwrt, the web interface could be improved (meaning: making it more clear and simpler) because the above task, although trivial, required a lot more time than it should have. Openwrt also doesn't forgive errors: on another little router I mistakenly deleted or disabled the wrong interface, and now that box is unreachable from anywhere until I'll take the time to open it and connect a serial port to reconfigure it from a terminal. But that's more of a feature :)