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Comment by mtron_ | Hacker News Reader

Only 1 lan port and only usb2 is not great...

It's designed to be a wireless router without a lot of extra fluff. If more lan ports are needed, add a switch behind it (though it'd probably be better to have the switch elsewhere unless it's a really simple network). The USB looks like it's used for admin tasks like updating firmware, so I don't see why they'd need to add more than USB2.0.

Uses for a USB3 port:

- An LTE dongle as a fallback for the wired upstream connection.

- An SSD for quick onsite backup / mirror of the most important files.

Nothing critical, and can work via USB2 at 480 Mbps, but USB3 would be nicer.

USB 3.1 brings this new connector, usb-c. Many newer devices use that connector these days and customers may wish for a port with that connector. If you have a laptop with such a port, you'd be able to use a usb-c to usb-c cable to connect it to the router, perhaps for debugging, without needing a usb-c to Ethernet dongle, plus Ethernet cable. Plus not needing to disconnect the single LAN port.

It already has a usb-c connector. No need to patronize me.

USB-C Serial console != USB 3.1 port. Nor does a usb-c power supply port count either.

No need to get defensive, I wasn't the one asking if there was a use for USB > 2.0. If you didn't know before, now you know. If you did already then at most you read a sentence full of information you already knew. Hardly a terrible offense. Other readers who might not have known also now know. :)

I wasn't asking if there was a use for USB 3.1, I am already aware of how it's commonly used on routers (apart from the LTE fallback the other commenter mentioned. That's pretty cool). But even so, your comment didn't list a use for it. You listed uses for usb-c, most of which it seems that it's already capable of. It's not a big deal really, just clarifying.

It's supposed to be a router, not a NAS or switch (bring your own). The LAN port being only 1 gigabit (especially with a 2.5G WAN) makes it a pass for me.

> The LAN port being only 1 gigabit (especially with a 2.5G WAN) makes it a pass for me.

I think the intended use is the other way around - 1 Gbit WAN, 2.5 Gbit LAN.

Do you need more than 1 Gbps from your wired network to your internet connection?

Otherwise you may have 2.5G or 10G LAN, or even fiber inside home like some [1], and only have to use the slow 1G to hit the internet from that. (Another 1.5G of bandwidth is available over WiFi.)

[1]: https://sschueller.github.io/posts/wiring-a-home-with-fiber/

If I decide to get 2 gigabit internet, yes (and my local phone and cable companies both offer it). I also run a server in my basement (on ethernet), so not being able to get the entire bandwidth on it would be disappointing.

While it's cool that OpenWRT has their own routers, I feel that this one is not for me.

Interesting, the Filogic 820 SoC might have USB 3, but I bet it's wired up to the Mini PCI-E port.

https://www.cnx-software.com/2024/07/18/acelink-sm81-mediate...

says it has 1x USB 3

It has single USB2/3 port, but the SSUSB pins are shared with PCIe port, so you can't get USB3 and PCIe at the same time (if I'm reading the datasheet right).

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