You can download the openWRT from:
https://github.com/ophub/flippy-openwrt-actions/releases/tag/OpenWrt_lede_save_2024.11
Here is the direct link:
E52C is available now
2 Likes
Excellent, exactly what I needed
Thank you
Say we have ports a,b (vlan tag 1 & 2) and the network data flow is like 2.5G(b1) -> 1G(a) -> 2.5G(b2)? So when all a, b1 and b2 are all on the SAME virtual switch, traffic is limited to the slowest link = GbE@(a)? It sounds a bit odd that bandwidth would be limited in this case, as traffic should never be routed to GbE (assume vlan tag 0 / none).
Yep, ASM1182e is a good add-on with perhaps US$5 extra on BoM? for m.2 b-key, if there is one with USB 2.0 only, at least one can use it with 4G LTE as a fall back when wired internet is down, and that’s what I am looking into. But say if a new version (E52D?) that would have ASM1182e -> m.2 b-key + RTL8125B, that would also be good, though in this case the variant should be a bit bigger, then why not adding the SoC GbE as well 
though likely the layout would be quite different… that the SoC and RAM etc should be on the downward side, so there are space on the top to allow adding cards to a m.2 b-keyed slot, with a cool enclosure that also work as heatsink.
I have a “cheap” Intel 8505 based machine with 4x i226-V, but this mini machine is not really that “mini”, so the E52C definitely has an edge here over size, power consumption and cost… I think mine is like US$120 as I used my “spare parts” with it, or maybe US$200 if I have everything new.
Not sure what you mean by “virtual switch” here since a “virtual switch” normally is pure software hence has no per-port speed limit. In any case, if you have, say, a proxy connected on port A at 1G and your LAN machines at 2.5G on port B (even spread between two VLANs), indeed the communication will be limited by the slower machine at 1G, but that will not restrict the rest of the communications that can still happen on the other port with the remaining unused 1.5G.
Network architecture is always about trying to optimize the slowest path in order to remove bottlenecks, and that’s why this machine with two 2.5G ports is great, it definitely permits to do this.
There would definitely be a use case for a 3rd port connected to the internal GMAC, but it would be a larger box, possibly be less interesting to some users. One use case I’m thinking about is connecting a WiFi access point. I no longer want to use internal WLAN cards in a firewall, all of them are crap and full of bugs, and it happens very frequently that the only way to work around a bug such as two machines not seeing each other, is to reboot the device, which you usually don’t want to do on your firewall, while if it’s a dedicated machine it’s not a problem.
Regarding 4G/LTE, have you considered using an external USB adapter to connect to the existing USB3 port ? Many of them are solely USB anyway, and some dongles start at even less than $10.
1 Like
ordered one! will replace my nanopi
added a ubiquiti 2.5G switch flex mini
woot
Also, for those who’re wondering how to deal with the RTC at the moment, I’ve posted in this thread how I added one salvaged from another board. It’s really tiny and painful to deal with (I love soldering small stuff so that wan’t that much of a problem, just a matter of patience):
However in parallel I’ve ordered this RTC on Ali which should be exactly the same and which also integrates the battery:
It will just require desoldering the connector, and will be small enough to fit, supposedly with a 2ppm deviation (advertised). And with the same driver, I found a cheap SOP8 version of the HYM8563 whose manual soldering will be pretty manageable:
(yes that’s the price for 10pcs, roughly 43 pcs each). I’ll see if I can manage to make some small boards for it.
I could use USB 4G externally and I have such a case + module, but I want it to be “self contain”, say I could use internal antenna as well? In terms of “design”, I think Banana Pi’s R3 mini is quite good, except that I wanted a thinner case and RK3582 as SoC 
Sorry, but I don’t understand what you want to do nor what you have. You mean you have a 4G module ready to be soldered inside the enclosure, is that it ? Also “such a case” means what, the E52C case ? I though the board was always sold with the case.
just say that I have such a USB enclosure you’d mentioned, that I had put in a m.2 4G LTE modem there, but it would be better if there’s a m.2 B-keyed + nano SIM slot on the board instead, as it would make E52C much more flexible, but definitely it means the overall size should be bigger. Otherwise, E52C is not much better than other “solutions”, maybe good in a way that there should be better software support as it is based on RK3588, which should have good support in Linux already
Maybe there would be enough room for a nano-sim on the bottom of the board, under the cover. In this case we could imagine having a short m2 slot on the other side for the board, but yes, there’s a risk that it still inflates the enclosure, plus you’d need holes anyway to let an antenna pass through, since this is a metal enclosure. Maybe what you need is the (larger) E25 instead ?
Where I find E52C better than all other equivalent devices found to date is that it’s really designed as a router/firewall, i.e. it has 2 ports of the same speed, doesn’t require a screen nor a screwdriver to reconfigure/fix thanks to the console port, and is small and fanless. The only other one I’m aware that matches this is the E20C. The difference between the two really is the network speed (1G vs 2.5G). You can find equivalent or even better products using x86 CPUs (often coming with more ports), but then they’re significantly bigger and produce way more heat. Not to mention the much higher price by the way.
Hello, I’m also looking to install openwrt on this device as indicated in the spec; can we install openwrt? or is this just to mislead us?
Ditto and if someone could explain how to install that on the device that would be great.
I have downloaded k3588-flippy and flash firmware with IOStore GUI interface (SHA doesn’t match 
).
I’m now on an ‘OpenWrt’, but I have two problems: the web interface doesn’t launch automatically (ssh: uhttpd -p 80 -h /www). And the package sources for update software are on a URL mirrors.tencent.com … In fact: nothing is official (openwrt).
I don’t know if I’m going to continue trying to use this device to protect a network: too many dark areas. I’m not too sure about this device. I’ll give myself a little more time to find out more.
And, the support doesn’t look lively outside China.
That looks like the wrong image, should be openwrt_rk3588s_e52c_R24.10.24_k5.10.160-rk3588-flippy-2410a.img.gz.
Can someone who successfully installed openwrt on the E52C comment here with what they did?
My bad, link error in my last reply, this is the image I used for the E52 (your link). The result remains the same
Thanks. My old NanoPi R2S draws around 2.5W in idle, running as a router with two cables. Despite not having mainline support, it also has had a loose contact problem from the start, so I’m thinking about replacing it with the E52C.
However, ideally there’d be something like the ZERO 3E with two Ethernet ports and a metal case, because this one already seems slightly overpowered for simple use cases. A smaller form factor and lower power consumption would be appreciated.
But maybe we’ll be able to save even more power when the Orion O6 comes out, being able to switch the Desktop for it?
I have similar needs of a slightly lower powered machine and was aiming at the E20C for these, however I recently noticed that the RK3528 in it is not yet supported in mainline, so I doubt it would be a good idea in the end. Indeed, I’d like to see a similar small 3566/3568-based dual-port machine. The A55 in it is great and such machines are quite performant for general purpose. The E25 currently does this but is quite a bit larger and lacks the debug port.
I think an E2xC that would run on a 356x, with two GigE ports, small DRAM (1-4GB) and enough internal eMMC to store a server OS (16GB), and a debug port would make a great general purpose machine for both routing and services. It would only need a DTS to run on a mainline kernel 6.1 or above, so it could run modern distros almost out of the box.
1 Like
I think an E2xC that would run on a 356x, with two GigE ports, small DRAM (1-4GB) and enough internal eMMC to store a server OS (16GB), and a debug port would make a great general purpose machine for both routing and services.
Yup, many of these smaller SBCs try to do too many things at once instead of focusing on something specific. For an ethernet router, I don’t need a hexacore CPU with video decoding capabilities or GPIO pins. Just a super small form factor, a good cooling case and mainline (and be it with patches) would suffice. Ideally some eMMC and we can ditch the USB and micro SD ports for a smaller footprint.
But an absolute killer feature that would make a bit larger of a form factor okay would be if we had a DSL or cable modem integrated. 
Imagine you could ditch your ISPs outdated, fat and proprietary thing with some cool RADXA device. 
Yes, unrealistic, but let’s dream.
Anyway, the E52C looks like a great device too and if it works with mainline I’ll likely purchase it in the coming months to replace my R2S. I hope this one doesn’t have any loose contact issues?
For having suffered in the past from integrated devices that cannot be reset without power-cycling the machine, I would certainly no longer want an internal DSL modem. It looks great at first, but when you’re regularly forced to reboot your machine because the crappy device no longer responds to USB, you quickly change your mind regarding the benefits vs trouble :-/
Anyway my E52C has been running my firewall for the last 2 weeks without trouble, after roughly a month of burn-in to verify there was no hang. So far so good.
1 Like
What do you think about the Cubie A5E? https://arace.tech/products/radxa-cubie-a5e?variant=43786178756788
It’s hard to find anything about it on the forum. Not sure about performance and power consumption, also we’d need a case. But it looks good otherwise.