Gowin R86S (aka GW-R86S) is an affordable Intel Celeron N5100 or Pentium N6005 Jasper Lake mini PC, router, and firewall appliance with 2.5GbE and 10GbE networking that sells for $310 and up on Aliexpress. 10GbE used to be reserved for the enterprise market due to the cost of hardware, but costs have gone down a lot as illustrated by the Gowin R86S system with up to three 2.5GbE ports, two 10GbE SFP+ cages, as well as ports that you would typically find a mini PC such as HDMI 2.0 video output, M.2 socket for NVMe SSD, two USB 3.0 ports, and a WiFi module. Gowin R86S specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core Jasper Lake processor @ 2.0GHz / 2.9GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics 605; 10W TDP Intel Pentium N6005 quad-core Jasper Lake processor @ 2.0GHz / 3.3GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics @ up to […]
Brume 2 router review with WireGuard, OpenVPN, Tor, and Adguard Home
We started the review of GL.inet GL-MT2500A security gateway, aka Brume 2, with an unboxing and teardown, and I’ve now had time to test the router in more detail so I’ll report my experience using the router with OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN, Tor, Adguard Home, and more. In a nutshell, it’s super easy to use, unless your ISP causes troubles, which it did in this case. Brume 2 connection and initial setup I connected the WAN port of the Brume 2 router to 3BB’s modem router (3BB is an ISP in Thailand), the LAN port to my laptop, and finally the USB-C power supply (power draws is 2.3 Watts at idle). Let’s now go to the dashboard using the default IP (192.168.8.1). This will take us through the configuration wizard to select the language and set up the admin password. I was then immediately greeted by an “Upgrade Reminder” and […]
Partaker J6412 is a fanless network appliance/mini PC with 3x 2.5GbE, 3x video outputs
We wrote about the low-cost T8-Pro Celeron N5095 mini PC with three HDMI outputs and two Gigabit Ethernet ports last week, but if you’d prefer a model with 2.5GbE networking instead, the Partaker J6412 might be a better, albeit costlier option, with still three displays support (2xDP, 1xHDMI), and three 2.5GbE ports. As its name implies, the fanless mini PC/network appliance is powered by an Intel Celeron J6412 Elkhart Lake processor, coupled with up to 16GB DDR4 memory and a 512GB SSD, and it features six USB ports, plus an RS232 COM port. Partaker J6412 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core Elkhart Lake processor @ 2.0 GHz / 2.6GHz (Burst frequency) with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 10W TDP System Memory – 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB DDR4-3200 via 1x SO-DIMM socket upgradeable up to 32GB Storage M.2 M-Key 2280 SATA socket 1x SATA III (6 Gb/s) port […]
OpenWrt 22.03 released with Firewall4, now supports over 1,580 embedded devices
OpenWrt 22.03 open-source Linux operating system for routers and entry-level embedded devices has just been released with over 3800 commits since the release of OpenWrt 21.02 nearly exactly one year ago. The new version features Firewall4 based on nftables, switching from the earlier iptables-based Firewall3, and adds support for over 180 new devices for a total of more than 1,580 embedded devices, including 15 devices capable of WiFi 6 connectivity using the MediaTek MT7915 wifi chip. OpenWrt developers explain that Firewall4 keeps the same the UCI firewall configuration syntax and should work as a drop-in replacement with most common setups, just generating nftables rules instead of iptables ones. You’ll find more details about OpenWrt firewall configuration in the documentation. OpenWrt 21.02 added initial support for the Distributed Switch Architecture (DSA), the Linux standard for configurable Ethernet switches, and OpenWrt 22.03 migrated more targets from swconfig to DSA namely all bcm53xx […]
Compact fanless firewall appliance offers 6x 2.5GbE ports for $230 and up
KingNovy has introduced a small fanless firewall appliance powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor, equipped with six 2.5GbE ports through Intel i225-V Rev 3 Ethernet controllers, and selling for as low as $230 for the barebone model. The system supports up to 32GB RAM, mSATA and 2.5-inch SATA storage, features HDMI output and four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, plus an RJ45 console port, and is said to work with pfSense 2.5.x, OPNsense 22.1, OpenWrt, ROS7, ESXI, Proxmox, CentOS, and more. Specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 2.0 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) / 2.4 GHz (Turbo all cores) with Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 250/750 MHz; 10W TDP System Memory – Dual-channel Memory DDR4 (2400MHz) supporting up to 32GB RAM in total Storage – 1x mSATA socket, 2.5-inch SATA bay for SSD or HDD Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K […]
Lantronix G520 cellular gateways target industrial communication, cybersecurity, and transportation
Lantronix G520-series 4G LTE Cat 4 and 5G cellular gateways are designed to address challenges in Industry 4.0, security, and transportation markets with three/four separate gateways all based on an unnamed ARM926EJ-S-based CPU running at 600 MHz that’s most likely Microchip SAM9X60 processor introduced in 2020. All gateways are from the same base with variation for specific markets: G526 Industrial Gateway with LTE Cat 4 Ethernet, Serial, I/O, Fieldbus conversion, and other industrial protocols G527/G528 Security Gateway with LTE Cat 13 or 5G, built-in cryptographic secure element and PSE-PoE G528 Transportation Gateway (coming soon) with LTE Cat 4, GNSS, accelerometer, CAN Bus reading, and other tracking features Lantronix G520-series specifications: SoC – ARM926EJ-S-based processor running at 600 MHz with 32 KB instruction cache and 32KB data cache System Memory – 256MB DDR2 SDRAM Storage – 8MB SPI flash for OS, 256MB parallel NAND flash, MicroSD slot, or USB flash drive […]
6x GbE Intel Tiger Lake network appliance supports pfSense
If you’re after a network appliance with a recent processor and supporting pfSense you may be in luck. HUNSN RS36a is a mini PC-like device that comes with six Gigabit Ethernet ports, and features an Intel Core i5-1135G7 Tiger Lake processor with support for up to 64GB RAM, 2.5-inch SATA and mSATA SSD that is sold on Amazon for $527.99 and up. The company says the system is compatible with many FreeBSD-based router systems, Linux distros, and Windows operating systems., and it has already been tested with pfSense, Untangle, OPNsense, and other open-source solutions for firewalls, VPN, network security, and so on. HUNSN RS36a specifications: SoC – Intel Core i5-1135G7 quad-core Tiger lake processor @ 2.50 GHz / 4.2 GHz (Turbo) with 8MB cache, 80EU Intel Iris Xe graphics; 15W TDP Syste Memory – 2x SODIMM DDR4-3200, up to 64GB RAM Storage – 1x mSATA SSD socket, 1x 2.5-inch SATA […]
FWS-2275 3 LAN Ports Rugged Network Appliance is Designed for Secure Industrial IoT Networks
AAEON FWS-2275 is a rugged network appliance powered by an Intel Celeron N3350 processor and equipped with 3 LAN ports to bring vital functions and security to industrial networks. Specifically, the device is designed for network solutions such as UTM (Unified Threat Management) systems, firewalls, and SD-WAN (Software-defined WAN) appliances. FWS-2275 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.10 / 2.40 GHz with Intel HD graphics, built-in Intel AES-NI; 6W TDP System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 (soldered) Storage – 16GB eMMC flash (32GB optional) Video Output – Optional HDMI connector Networking 3x Gigabit Ethernet ports (1x WAN + 2x LAN) via Intel i211 Optional WiFi or 4G LTE via mini Card (see expansion section) USB – 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports; 1x micro USB port for console Serial – 1x RS-232/422/485 Expansion Full-size mini PCIe slot with SIM Socket 8-pin external header with 4x digital […]