Openwrt on custom hardware

pippo2@disney.com (Jack) writes:

> pcengines.ch may have what you need.

They end-of-lifed their APU boards since AMD EOLed the old SoC they were
using. They seem to be going out of business, at least the low power x86
board business, so it's pretty much last time buys only now.

Shame. I finally got off my lazy ass during the pandemic and built a
home router exactly the way I like it, with an APU board.

On 11/7/2023 10:44 AM, Anssi Saari wrote:
> pippo2@disney.com (Jack) writes:
> 
>> pcengines.ch may have what you need.
> 
> They end-of-lifed their APU boards since AMD EOLed the old SoC they were
> using. They seem to be going out of business, at least the low power x86
> board business, so it's pretty much last time buys only now.

That's the case with any component/assembly that is sourced outside of
your control; the more complex the assembly, the more dependencies you
incur.  *If* your supplier is willing to take on the task of ensuring
a "compatible" offering is continually available, then you're golden.
If not, you're at as much risk as they are.

If you want long term availability, SOMEONE has to pay for it (the days
of second, third, fourth, etc. sources are long past).  You can possibly
do a large "end-of-life buy" with scheduled delivery -- if your supplier
likes your credit and is happy with an unsecured commitment.

Or, you design YOUR device to be decoupled from the hardware as much as
possible.

[I don't bind a design to specific hardware until the design is complete
and running on some "development hardware".  Otherwise, there is a risk
that the available hardware will change (or morph to unobtainium) before
the design is finished and you play wack-a-mole for catch up.]

> Shame. I finally got off my lazy ass during the pandemic and built a
> home router exactly the way I like it, with an APU board.

Pascal is pretty reasonable; I'm sure if you need a small quantity
he will try to oblige you.  Or, help you move to some other (possibly
competing) product.