Serious Discussion OpenWrt One - Aims for $100 open-source Router

[Ink]

tl;dr

In 2024 the OpenWrt project turns 20 years! Let's celebrate this anniversary by launching our own first and fully upstream supported hardware design.

If the community likes the idea outlined below in greater details, we would like to start formal vote 643.

OpenWrt One - celebrating 20 years of OpenWrt

@blogic posted following on the OpenWrt mailing list for developers: tl;dr In 2024 the OpenWrt project turns 20 years! Let's celebrate this anniversary by launching our own first and fully upstream supported hardware design. If the community likes the idea outlined below in greater details...

forum.openwrt.org

OpenWrt, the open source firmware that sprang from Linksys' use of open source code in its iconic WRT54G router and subsequent release of its work, is 20 years old this year. To keep the project going, lead developers have proposed creating a "fully upstream supported hardware design," one that would prevent the need for handling "binary blobs" in modern router hardware and let DIY router enthusiasts forge their own path.

OpenWRT project members, 13 of which signed off on this hardware, are keeping the "OpenWrt One" simple, while including "some nice features we believe all OpenWrt supported platforms should have," including "almost unbrickable" low-level firmware, an on-board real-time clock with a battery backup, and USB-PD power. The price should be under $100 and the schematics and code publicly available.

But OpenWrt will not be producing or selling these boards, "for a ton of reasons." The group is looking to the Banana Pi makers to distribute a fitting device, with every device producing a donation to the Software Freedom Conservancy earmarked for OpenWrt.

News via OpenWrt, now 20 years old, is crafting its own future-proof reference hardware

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

OpenWrt's first "unbrickable" reference router is now available

Nearly a year after its initial announcement, OpenWrt enthusiasts can now purchase the first "official" router powered by the namesake open-source firmware. The OpenWrt One model includes everything necessary for a robust networking experience – though it comes at a price.

Non-profit Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) partnered with OpenWrt to develop OpenWrt One, the first reference router based on the OpenWrt project. Announced in January, OpenWrt One is a wireless router focused on software freedom and the right to repair.

The router features a MediaTek MT7981B SoC CPU and an MT7976C chip for Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Its base hardware specifications include 1 GB of DDR4 RAM, 128 MB SPI NAND and 4 MB SPI NOR flash storage, two Ethernet ports (2.5 Gbit and 1 Gbit), a USB host port, and an M.2 2042 slot for NVMe storage devices. A USB-C port is also available as an alternative power source.

The hardware is built on Banana Pi's open-source boards and is available in two options: a pre-assembled unit priced at $89 or as a router board for $68.42. According to SFC, the OpenWrt One is versatile, hacker-friendly, and essentially unbrickable, thanks to a dedicated switch that allows separate flashing of the NOR and NAND portions of the flash memory.

OpenWrt's first "unbrickable" reference router is now available

Non-profit Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) partnered with OpenWrt to develop OpenWrt One, the first reference router based on the OpenWrt project. Announced in January, OpenWrt One is...

www.techspot.com