¶ Buyers' Guide
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution focused on networking and enables you to deploy a vast repository of software including routing, firewall, QoS, wired/wireless, bandwidth monitoring, logging, and much more. Your hardware is the only limit. This guide is intended to help you pick the right hardware to meet your particular needs.
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OpenWrt does not recommend specific hardware or manufacturer! There is no "best hardware", since needs are so different. To think through your requirements, read Which Router Should I Buy? Once you have that list, ask for a recommendation on the forum. You don't have to spend a lot: OpenWrt is what does the magic! |
¶ Features
¶ Devices with OpenWrt as a stock firmware
Most routers from GL.iNet, Turris, and others run forks of OpenWrt, this makes upgrades to official releases available on Firmware Selector more simple.
¶ Bootloader
* The [[docs:techref:bootloader]] should not only be under a [[wp>Free_and_open-source_software|FOSS]] license, but preferably under the GPL, so that the OEM is forced to release the complete source code
* Some bootloaders allow you to //boot from a USB device// or //boot over Ethernet// but many do not
* Some bootloaders make installing OpenWrt unnecessarily complicated or even impossible!
¶ LAN
* **How many [[wp>Network interface controller|NICs]]** does the [[wp>System on a chip]] incorporate? Common are one or two, sometimes more.\\ These are implemented as [[docs:techref:hardware:soc]]-integrated Ethernet-[[wp>Media access control|MAC]]-blocks, which are each connected over a [[wp>Media Independent Interface|xMII]] to a distinct [[wp>PHY (chip)]].\\ **''Note:''** Do not confuse the number of Ports with the number of NICs.
* Which Ethernet-Layer-1 standard does the NIC/NICs support?\\ **BASE100-TX** (i.e. 100MBit/s, [[wp>Fast Ethernet]]) or\\ **BASE1000-T** (i.e. 1000MBit/s, [[wp>Gigabit Ethernet]])?
* Is there an **integrated Ethernet switch**?
* Which Ethernet-Layer-1 standard does the integrated switch support? (BASE-100TX or BASE1000-T)
* How many RJ45 ports are there? Most common are 5 Ports (4 for LAN and 1 for WAN).
* Is the switch manageable? Which capabilities does it offer?
* Support for EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet), Green Ethernet officially: [[wp>IEEE 802.3az]]
* Support for PoE (Power over Ethernet). non standard "passive" 12V, 24V or standardized [[wp>IEEE802.3af]],IEEE[[wp>802.3at]]
* Support for SFP (Small Form-Factor Pluggable): [[:toh:views:toh_sfp_ports|Table of Hardware: SFP ports]], [[:unsupported:sfp|Unsupported SFP]]
¶ Wireless
(Please consult the Wireless Overview)
- How many [WNICs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless network interface controller)? Common are one or two. These can be:
- SoC-integrated: this is commonly called WiSoC
- Onboard: the wifi chip is the same used in Mini PCIe cards but soldered on the main PCB
- MiniPCI: the wifi card can be extracted, and replaced by another different MiniPCI model
- MiniPCIe: the wifi card can be extracted, and replaced by another different MiniPCIe model
- Which substandards of the [IEEE 802.11](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE 802.11)-family does the wireless hardware support? This includes 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be
- Capabilities: 1T1R, 2T2R, 3T3R, etc.
- Frequencies (or bands):
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* 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz? (see e.g. [[wp>Electromagnetic_interference_at_2.4_GHz|Electromagnetic interference at 2.4 GHz]] or [[wp>Fresnel zone]] or [[http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/32316-how-to-buy-a-wireless-router-2014-edition?showall=&start=1|Throughput and Range]]). Click tag to help you find Wi-Fi 6 devices easily {{tagpage>wifi6}}.
* For the AP to be capable to provide 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz at the same time, the router should have at least two radios. This tag shall help you find suitable devices more quickly: {{tagpage>802.11abgn_simultan}} for many 2-radio devices.
* A single radio that allows use of both bands at the same time supports dual band simultan aka //<color green> RSDB (Real simultaneous dual band) </color>// aka //<color green>DBDC (DualBand-DualConcurrent)</color>// standard. It is not widely adopted (Q1-2021; only some mt76 hardware supports it and mt76 driver support for DBDC is new and not completely stable)
* At 2.4GHz you only have **3** distinct channels without overlap, in the 5GHz band there are **19** (EU)/ **13** (USA)/ **??** (Japan) channels without overlapping available
* The 2.4 GHz band is quite crowded with [[http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Documentation/Bluetooth-coexistence|Bluetooth]] [[wp>Personal area network|PAN]], while 5GHz is less crowded.
* Newer Wi-Fi standards use 6GHz ([[wp>IEEE_802.11ax#Wi-Fi_6E_products|Wifi6E]]) or 60GHz bands ([[wp>IEEE_802.11ad]]) possibly having 3 radios
* Is it relevant to you whether the WNICs are [[https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/developers/documentation/glossary#softmac|SoftMAC]] or [[https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/developers/documentation/glossary#fullmac|FullMAC]] devices?
* Do the current capabilities of the [[http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers|Existing Linux Wireless drivers]] for your WNICs satisfy your requirements?
* Are the [[docs:techref:hardware:antennae]] detachable? If so, you could replace them with ones with a better gain, or with (home-made) directional antennae.
* [[wp>FLOSS]] drivers: this is very important for wi-Fi performance/behavior. For years Broadcom didn't supply enough quality FLOSS drivers (or hardware specifications) and it seems won't ever happen, proprietary drivers often causes crashes or incorrect behavior so avoid Broadcom for wifi. It is recommended **Qualcomm Atheros or MediaTek** based devices are often the best choice due to higher quality wifi drivers.
¶ Modem
(Please consult the Internet access technologies)
- Common Layer 1 protocols that utilize a Modem are: [DSL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital subscriber line), DOCSIS and [Mobile telephony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile telephony), e.g. [LTE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP Long Term Evolution). See tags
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- If a device has a built-in modem, is the modem fully supported by OpenWrt?
- There are no FOSS drivers for the Broadcom modems in the BCM63xx SoCs, but there are FOSS drivers for Texas Instruments/Infineon/Lantiq Modems in these SoCs: soc.lantiq!
¶ Cryptography
- TRNG: Most devices use a software random number generator. Only few are equipped with a true hardware random number generator, see
tag
- Cryptographic Hardware Accelerators: routers equipped with these accelerators may bring you faster speed transfers if you use encrypted connections such as OpenVPN or WireGuard.
¶ Ports
* USB: connect a hub, hard disks, SSDs, USB sticks, UMTS modems, cameras, sound cards, etc. ->[[docs:guide-user:hardware:usb.overview]]
* Serial: very useful for developers, limited uses for end users ->[[docs:techref:hardware:port.serial]]
* JTAG: very useful for developers and also for end users ->[[docs:techref:hardware:port.jtag]]
* [[wp>TAE connector|TAE sockets]]: a telephone connector used mostly in Germany
¶ Buttons
* You can boot your device into //[[docs:guide-user:troubleshooting:failsafe_and_factory_reset|OpenWrt Failsafe]]// with a reset button. Without one, this is only possible through connection over serial! Also, after boot up, you can [[docs:guide-user:hardware:hardware.button|attach functions]] to the buttons, like start/stop WLAN, reconnect DSL, start/stop a daemon, mount/unmount partitions, etc.
¶ Architecture
OpenWrt targets many platforms including x86-64, ARM, and MIPS CPUs. Running inside a VM or on common x86 hardware is also possible. Hardware for IPC (Industrial PC) or server mainboards are built and advertised for 24/7 operation. Other embedded devices including SBC (Single-board_computer) such as NanoPi are viable options.
¶ Processors and Memory
- RAM is a key specification when selecting a device to run a lot of services. If you are going to run
asterisk,mumble,Direct Connect,bittorrent, a web server and other stuff, enough RAM will make them run smoothly. Some of them tolerate swap pretty good, others do not. Also, the SoC sometimes only supports so much. For example, the Marvell Kirkwood, supports a maximum of 512MB. - CPU performance can also be a bottleneck. This occurs with NAT/routing throughput and QoS features such as SQM. To compare you should have a look at the CPU included on with SoC. Do not only consider raw MHz, e.g. a MIPS 34KE@300MHz is in most scenarios faster than a MIPS 24K@400MHz.
- Storage is also an important factor, while OpenWrt can be installed on very small flash sizes, you may want more for additional packages. 128MB or more is common as you can see by referring to the flash layout.
¶ Certified Operation Modes
¶ Temperature
Most hardware is constructed to run at a temperature range from 0-40°C (Operating Temperature). This is appropriate for most indoor use cases. However - increased temperature can speed up the aging of electric components. Industrial PC, Server Hardware or outdoor equipment may be certified and constructed to extended temperature ranges:
- 0-70°C (server, IPC)
- -30-75°C (outdoor AP)
¶ Environment
Some plastics used in wiring or enclosures are problematic in outdoor operations under direct sunlight. Specialized UV resistant outdoor cabling and enclosures exist. Shielding from water (rain) and/or dust is certified with an IP_Code.
¶ Price comparisons
On many price comparison sites you can search for OpenWrt. Beware, though, that sometimes OpenWrt only works on certain versions. Check with the OpenWrt Table of Hardware to see if the router is really supported.
If you find a site with an effective price comparison please add it below, or report it on the OpenWrt forum.
¶ United States
Amazon also lets you search for OpenWrt, but you cannot filter for OpenWrt support:
Note that the filter is not 100% perfect, be sure to double check a router before buying.
¶ Find hardware matching your criteria
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¶ Table of Hardware
- Table of Hardware: Ideal for OpenWrt (16/128MB or more)
- The Collection of views offers different views of the ToH, with more data and multiple filter options.
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¶ Tags
You can use the tags to find devices with your desired features.
Beware: Tagging of device pages is incomplete, resulting in incomplete listings below.
The ToH Collection of views should be your first choice when searching for a device. It is more complete, up to date, and shows you the current OpenWrt support status.
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