router

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on WiFi 7 access point and client M.2 modules are cheaper than I thought

WiFi 7 access point and client M.2 modules are cheaper than I thought

WiFi 7 M.2 modules

We have already seen WiFi 7 mini PCIe and M.2 modules from Compex for business customers, but I’ve recently noticed AsiaRF AW7991-AE2 M.2 module rated BE5000 offers an affordable alternative design for access points for just $58 plus shipping. But adding WiFi 7 to a consumer device can be cheaper than I expected as Intel BE200 or MediaTek MT7925-based M.2 modules can be purchased for around $20 to $30. Let’s have a look at some of the options available. AsiaRF AW7991-AE2 dual-band WiFi 7 “access point” M.2 module AsiaRF AW7991-AE2 specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT7991AV (Filogic 660?) with 32bit RISC-V MCU for Wi-Fi protocol and Wi-Fi offload Chipset – MT7976C WiFI 6 3×3 MIMO chipset System Memory –  8MB WLAN IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be compliant Frequency bands 2.4GHz – Bandwidth: 20/40MHz; 2T2R 2ss 5GHz – Bandwidth:20/40/80/160MHz; T3R 3ss Dual-Band Dual Concurrent (DBDC) Supports up to 4096-QAM Data rate of up to 688Mbps […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on iKOOLCORE R2 Max review – Part 2: 10GbE on an Intel N100 mini PC with OpenWrt (QWRT), Proxmox VE, Ubuntu 24.04 and pfSense 2.7.2

iKOOLCORE R2 Max review – Part 2: 10GbE on an Intel N100 mini PC with OpenWrt (QWRT), Proxmox VE, Ubuntu 24.04 and pfSense 2.7.2

iKOOLCORE R2 Max Review Proxmox VE Ubuntu 22.04

I’ve already checked out iKOOLCORE R2 Max hardware in the first part of the review with an unboxing and a teardown of the Intel N100 system with two 10GbE ports and two 2.5GbE ports. I’ve now had more time to test it with an OpenWrt fork, Proxmox VE, Ubuntu 24.04, and pfSense, so I’ll report my experience in the second and final part of the review. As a reminder, since I didn’t have any 10GbE gear so far, iKOOLCORE sent me two R2 Max devices, a fanless model and an actively-cooled model. I was told the fanless one was based on Intel N100 SoC, and the actively-cooled one was powered by an Intel Core i3-N305 CPU, but I ended up with two Intel N100 devices. The fanless model will be an OpenWrt 23.05 (QWRT) server, and the actively cooled variant be the device under test/client with Proxmox VE 8.3 server […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on $16 Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 router is powered by Siflower SF19A28 dual-core MIPS SoC

$16 Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 router is powered by Siflower SF19A28 dual-core MIPS SoC

Banana Pi BPI WiFi5 Low-cost WiFi 5 router

Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 is a low-cost WiFi 5 AC1200 router with four gigabit Ethernet ports powered by a 1.2 GHz Siflower SF19A28 dual-core MIPS SoC coupled with 64MB DDR2 and an 8MB flash. It’s not the first low-cost router from the company, as the Banana Pi BPI-WiFi6 Mini was introduced this summer for $30 with Triductor TR6560 SoC, and with the Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5, they’ve now introduced a lower-end WiFi 5 router going for just about $16 plus shipping on AliExpress or $29.99 on Amazon. Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 specifications: SoC – Siflower SF19A2890S2 dual-core MIPS processor @ 1.2GHz System Memory – 64MB DDR2 RAM Storage – 8MB flash Networking Switch – Airoha AN8855R Gigabit Ethernet switch 1x Gigabit Ethernet WAN port 3x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi 2×2 MIMO up to 300 Mbps 5 GHz WiFi 2×2 MIMO up to 866.7 Mbps Frequency bands 2.4GHz – 2.4GHz […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Giveaway Week 2024 winners announced!

Giveaway Week 2024 winners announced!

Giveaway Week 2024 Prizes

We’re now ready to announce the winners of CNX Software’s Giveaway Week 2024. We offered some of the review samples we tested (and some we did not test) in the last year, and for the fourth year running, RAKwireless also gave away two IoT development kits shipped directly to winners. This year’s prizes also included a RISC-V motherboard, a 3D depth camera, a few Arm development boards, two touchscreen displays, and an Alder Lake-N mini PC/router. All those products can be seen in the photo, minus some accessories. You’ll find more than seven devices because we organized the third Giveaway Week on CNX Software Thailand simultaneously with four prizes. We had seven winners on CNX Software: Jupiter RISC-V mini-ITX motherboard – François-Denis, Canada Orbbec Femto mega 3D depth and 4K RGB camera  – Reifu, Japan RAKwireless Blues.ONE LoRaWAN, LTE-M, and NB-IoT devkit – OldCrow, Portugal Mixtile Core 3588E development kit […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 369 Comments on Giveaway Week 2024 – iKOOLCORE R2 Core i3-N300 mini PC and quad 2.5GbE router

Giveaway Week 2024 – iKOOLCORE R2 Core i3-N300 mini PC and quad 2.5GbE router

iKOOLCORE R2 Proxmox review

Let’s end CNX Software’s Giveaway Week 2024 with a bang! The last prize is an iKOOLCORE R2 mini PC and router powered by an Intel Core i3-N300 Alder Lake-N CPU, equipped with 8GB RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD, and featuring four 2.5GbE ports. The tiny PC also comes with HDMI and USB-C ports for dual 4K video output, an M.2 E-Key socket to install a wireless module for WiFi and Bluetooth, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 (5 Gbps) Type-A ports, a USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port with DisplayPort Alt. mode, and a not-so-useful USB-C audio port using Realtek ALC987 codec. My review of the iKOOLCORE R2 last year was a learning experience as it was the first time I used Proxmox VE and pfSense, and since I wanted to use the system both as a mini PC running Ubuntu 22.04 desktop and a router/firewall running pfSense […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments on Radxa E52C – A Rockchip RK3582 router with dual 2.5GbE, USB 3.0 port, USB serial console port

Radxa E52C – A Rockchip RK3582 router with dual 2.5GbE, USB 3.0 port, USB serial console port

Radxa E52C 2.5GbE router

Radxa E52C is a compact router based on Rockchip RK3582 hexa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC and featuring two 2.5GbE ports, a USB 3.0 port, and a USB-C port for serial console access which will make some readers happy… It’s an update to the earlier Radxa E20C “Mini Network Titan” router, which was limited to two Gigabit Ethernet ports and a USB 2.0 port, and powered by an entry-level Rockchip RK3528A quad-core Cortex-A53 SoC. The Radxa E52C is better in every way with a much faster CPU, higher maximum memory and flash storage capacities, faster networking, and support for USB 3.0 storage or wireless dongles leading the company to call it an “Enhanced Mini Network Titan”. Radxa E52C specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3582 CPU Dual-core Cortex-A76 with up to 2.4 GHz Quad-core Cortex-A55 at up to 1.8GHz GPU – None (all good since we are talking about a router here…) AI accelerator – 5 […]

Posted on by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 31 Comments on SONOFF ZBMINIR2 review – A mini Zigbee switch & Zigbee router tested with eWeLink and Home Assistant

SONOFF ZBMINIR2 review – A mini Zigbee switch & Zigbee router tested with eWeLink and Home Assistant

Sonoff ZBMiniR2 Cover

We have received another Zigbee device from SONOFF for review, namely the ZBMINIR2 which we’ll review with both eWelink adn Home Assistant. Many people may be familiar with the first-generation mini Zigbee Switch that SONOFF released in 2020, known as the ZBMINI. ZBMINI was one of the early Zigbee Switch models, which also acted as a Zigbee Router. The ZBMINIR2 is SONOFF’s second-generation mini Zigbee Switch including both software and hardware upgrades compared to its predecessor. Improvements include a smaller size, better signal quality, an increase in the number of supported devices (2x), wider coverage (5x), and additional features. Let’s dive into the details. Unboxing ZBMINIR2 Zigbee switch Inside the box, you’ll find a small user manual and the ZBMINIR2 device as usual. It is notably smaller than the predecessor model, which makes installation much easier in many cases. For example, it can now fit into the wall box behind […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 3 Comments on Qualcomm Networking Pro A7 Elite is a WiFi 7 SoC with a 40 TOPS NPU for AI-optimized traffic and range

Qualcomm Networking Pro A7 Elite is a WiFi 7 SoC with a 40 TOPS NPU for AI-optimized traffic and range

Qualcomm Networking Pro A7 Elite

The Qualcomm Networking Pro A7 Elite platform is a new wireless networking platform that integrates WiFi 7 with edge AI. The wireless networking platform can deliver up to 33 Gbps of throughput and features an AI coprocessor that provides up to 40 TOPS for AI workloads. AI features are designed to enhance Wi-Fi and networking user experience and include Smart Traffic Classifier, Range Boost, and Networking AIOps. The platform also includes 10Gbps Fiber (XGS-PON), Ethernet, front-end modules, and filters into an integrated platform. All these features are designed to streamline system development and reduce design complexity by integrating key elements—from broadband to antenna—into an integrated platform. Qualcomm Networking Pro A7 Elite platform specification Qualcomm’s Wireless Networking Platform CPU – Unnamed quad-core processor, built on a 14 nm node, and clocked at 1.8 GHz NPU – Up to 40 TOPS (AI coprocessor featuring Qualcomm Hexagon NPU) System Memory – DDR3L/DDR4 Storage […]

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