There are already some consumer-grade WiFi 7 routers based on Qualcomm IPQ5322 SoC like Xiaomi Router BE6500 Pro and TP-Link Deco BE65, but if you plan on developing your own embedded solution, Compex and Wallys offer separate embedded boards based on the quad-core Cortex-A53 router processor with support for 10GbE, 2.5GbE, and up to tri-band WiFi 7.
Compex AP.MI01.2
AP.MI01.2 specifications:
- SoC – Qualcomm IPQ5322 ‘Miami’ Series quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5GHz
- System Memory – 1GB, DDR4 16-bit (1×16-bit) interface
- Storage – 128MB NAND Flash, 4MB NOR Flash, 8GB eMMC flash
- Networking
- 4x 2.5Gbps Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports (note: the photo below shows 4x Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) ports, but the rest of the documentation mentions 2.5GbE)
- 1x SFP+ receptacle (20 positions)
- Wireless
- On-board 2×2 2.4GHz MU-MIMO 802.11b/g/n/ax/be, max 25dBm per chain
- 2x U.FL connectors
- Frequency Range – 2.412~2.484 GHz
- Modulation – OFDMA: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM
- WiFi 7 via 3x M.2 PCIe sockets (See Expansion sections)
- On-board 2×2 2.4GHz MU-MIMO 802.11b/g/n/ax/be, max 25dBm per chain
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 port
- Expansion
- 3x M.2 (NGFF) E Key Socket with PCIe 3.0
- 2x rectangular 60-pin connector
- Debugging – 20-pin JTAG connector
- Misc
- LED
- 12-pin UART connector (TTL)
- Power Supply
- 12V via DC jack
- Up to 15.8W power consumption
- Dimensions – 203 x 139 x 20 mm
- Temperature Range – Operating: -20ºC to 70ºC; storage: -40ºC to 90ºC
- Humidity – Operating: 5% to 95%, non-condensing; Storage: max. 90%
- Certifications – REACH & RoHS compliance
The company mentions support for OpenWrt Barrier Breaker firmware, likely a mistake since that would be OpenWrt 14.07 (update: the datasheet has been updated with OpenWrt 23.05), and an SDK with QCA binary drivers. Accessories shipping with the board: JTAG programmer, serial converter, and a power supply.
Based on its name (AP.MI01.2), it’s likely the original Qualcomm IPQ5322 reference design, and it can be used to develop 802.11be access points, Internet of Things (IoT) gateways, and HD streaming and gaming solutions. More details, including a datasheet and a hardware guide, may be found on the product page.
Wallys DR5322S embedded board
DR5322S specifications:
- SoC – Qualcomm IPQ5322 ‘Miami’ Series quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5GHz
- System Memory – 1GB, DDR4 16-bit (1×16-bit) interface
- Storage – 512MB NAND Flash, 8MB NOR Flash
- Networking
- 2.5GbE RJ45 port with PoE input
- 2.5GbE RJ45 port with PoE output
- 10Gbps SFP cage
- Wireless
- On-board 2×2 2.4GHz MU-MIMO 802.11b/g/n/ax/be, max 24dBm per chain
- Onboard 2×2 5GHz 2×2 6GHz QCN9274/QCN6274 WiFi 7 modules
- Frequency Ranges – 2.412~2.472GHz; 5GHz: 5.15~5.825GHz; 6GHz: 5.925GHz-7.125GHz
- Modulation – OFDMA: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM, 4 K-QAM
- Antennas
- 2x UFL connectors (2.4 GHz)
- 2x MMCX-N connectors (5 GHz)
- 2x MMCX-N connectors(6 GHz)
- Cellular – Optional 5G via mini PCIe module + 2x Nano SIM card slots
- GNSS – U-blox GPS module + UFL antenna connector
- Debugging – 10-pin JTAG connector, 4-pin serial header
- Misc
- RESET button;
- LEDs for Power, LAN1/2, 5GHz, 6GHz, and 3x user programmable LEDs
- Power Supply
- 48V via DC jack
- 802.3bt PoE
- Dimensions – TBD
- Temperature Range – Operating: -20ºC to 70ºC; storage: -40ºC to 90ºC
- Humidity – Operating: 5% to 95% (non-condensing); storage: Max. 90% (non-condensing)
- Certifications – REACH & RoHS Compliance
The datasheet mentions it is based on the Qualcomm AP.MI01.2 reference design, but it’s closer to a final product with a more complete set of features on the board, including 10GbE, 2.5GbE, tri-band WiFi 7, and optional 5G cellular support.
Wallys Communication does not usually mention software support on its website, but it should be the same as for Compex with OpenWrt + QCA drivers. You’ll find more information, including a datasheet on the product page. Neither company provides pricing information, so you’d have to get in touch with them to get a quote.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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The 16-bit DDR4 can seriously hinder the device’s capabilities. Maybe it’s able to bridge in hardware at 10G, maybe even route to some extents, but as soon as you’ll enable NAT or even just conntrack, table lookups will take a bit of time. Retrieving an average 320-bytes table entry will take 160 bus cycles. At DDR4-2400 (which is apparently what the IPQ5322 supports), that’s roughly 67ns of pure transfer time that are added to the memory access time. This is just the smallest packet time at 10G. And that doesn’t account for network descriptors access for each in and out packet. The armada 8040 can route at 10G using 4 times this DRAM bandwidth for example.
Most lower-end router SoCs has a really narrow memory interface for whatever reason. I guess it’s about keeping cost down, as you get a much smaller chip die with fewer memory channels. This should be considered a 2025 entry level router platform.
What you also seem to forget, which is most likely making things even worse, is that most routers have the entire OS running in RAM, rather than on the flash, even though if you have eMMC it should be possible to run the OS on that. This is why most routers are very slow to boot as the OS image has to be extracted and expanded into RAM from the flash every time you do a cold boot of a router. This is also why saving settings takes to so long.
However, as the OS runs in RAM, it’s much faster than an OS running from flash.
I agree with you that it’s definitely a matter of cost savings (including on the board make side by having less signals to route), and that it indeed constitutes an entry level router.
Regarding loading the OS in RAM, well it depends on the OS size. In my case almost all my machines work like this, the rootfs is in the initrd and is loaded into RAM by u-boot. But a full-blown OS is around 20MB (my FW is 16MB) so that’s pretty fast to boot. In my case the rootfs is almost half as small as the kernel, so most of the boot time comes from loading the kernel in fact 🙂
Found some more details on the first board and some nice block diagrams here:
https://www.lisleapex.com/solution-wi-fi-7-smart-home-network-solutionbased-on-qualcomm-ipq5322
The post is a year old and it seems like the software was very outdated back then with OpenWRT 19.07.
Also, one port of any kind is mostly useless when it comes to Ethernet.
Doesn’t 4x 2.5GbE to 1x 10GbE make sense here?
It’s very likely the same switch as found in the link provided above by TLS, i.e. QCA8386, which seems to be SGMII+ to 4×2.5G, i.e. 2.5G on all ports including the one attached to the CPU. That might be why you’ve found a reference to “4xGbE”, it’s possible that a previous version was connecting 4 GbE ports to a single 2.5G one and that they finally upgraded the chip to provide 4 2.5G ports.
Not really, as you usually have two 10 Gbps devices you’d want to connect to each other. That said, this is a lower-end product, so 10 Gbps doesn’t really make sense at all, especially not SPF+, since most people wouldn’t invest in fibre.
Compex has contacted me. They told me the board now runs OpenWrt 23.05, and they have updated the datasheet.