[AusNOG] 4G router alternatives to Cradlepoint

[James Andrewartha]

On Mon, 7 Dec 2020, Andrew Yager wrote:

> I'm looking for a solid alternative to Cradlepoint for a large rollout (about 400 sites) with 4G primary connection. The sites
> have unreliable power, which means things like SRXs are not a go. (I do like the 320s with LTE mPIM "mostly").
> 
> Aside from Cradlepoint's IBR commercial model becoming a bit more challenging with subscriptions,  we are keen for something
> that is solid, basic, and reliable, and can ideally run on DC power. It's even better if we can connect an external antenna.
> 
> Only real requirement is two ethernet ports and the ability to do IPSEC tunnelling. BGP/VRF support would be nice (yes, over the
> IPSEC circuit) - but honestly, it's a requirement that can be engineered around.
> 
> Customer would settle for something solid around the $800-$1k mark, so any reasonable options around this price point would be
> *greatly* appreciated.

The Fortigate-40F-3G4G meets most of your requirements (12V, Cat 12 LTE, 
external antennas, 5 ethernet ports, IPSec, BGP, VRF) apart from the 
price, which I see online at $1,327, but if you're buying 400 of the 
suckers then I'm sure they can cut it down.

On the OpenWRT side, there's the Telco T1 Cat 6 LTE with two ports, 24V 
passive PoE, one external LTE antenna. Quagga or FRR for BGP, no VRF in 
the default kernels but you could compile it in I'm sure. Yours for the 
low price of $396 each plus however many hours of your time it takes to 
get the config working. https://www.telcoantennas.com.au/telco-t1

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