I have been using an ASUS AC-68U with a custom firmware for a long time. It has a lot of capability and has worked very well. Sometimes I just think that it could be bottlenecking me as I have a 1Gb connection but I never get close to that on any speed tests. I know that’s not scientific proof but it’s another reason why I want to upgrade. I want to enhance and get more current security as well so it’s just more reason. I am also planning to separate WiFi by using pfsense and a separate AP. Thinking Ubiquiti for AP’s but have no experience with those.
I could make a 4 port work and just get another switch to use with it. So the 6 ports are not a hard requirement but I figured I’d look at it if the cost was close. If I get a device like this, I plan to add the ram and ssd myself. I will trust those brands more if I do it. I have looked at the NetGate and Protectli devices and would consider those too but they are pricey and the specs are pretty low. When looking at all these device options, the cpu is the one that I wonder the most about. Benchmark scores are one thing but the age and the corresponding chipset capabilities are a whole other thing. From the j4125, n6005, 8140u, 8260u, and so on, it’s hard to make sense out of picking one.
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That one seems to have 6 ports and the i225 chipset but it only offers the i3 or i5 and not the n6005. Not sure how those 3 CPU’s would compare for this use case and if they would all work well in a fanless scenario.
It would likely be very difficult to bottleneck a RT-AC68U on ethernet. I run 3 in AiMesh for my APs, though the main node has been set back to router mode while I wait for my new Topton appliance to arrive (my Jetway N2930 appliance died suddenly after serving me for years). Are the majority of your devices on WiFi? That can be the problem, as the RT-AC68U is a "gen1" 802.11ac router. It doesn't even have MU-MIMO, beam forming, or band steering, and the WiFi disconnect handling isn't that great. Actually mine were T-Mobile TM-AC1900 units that I got for very cheap brand new and re-flashed to stock RT-AC68U. In my home, I've been resistant to installing ceiling/wall-mount APs. Kinda hoping there will be a desktop style mesh unit that supports VLAN tagging, but that's probably not going to happen anytime soon in the consumer space.
A bit of anecdotal observation:
My old Jetway appliance with the N2930 CPU has a PassMark of 1,003, and it had no issue running fairly flat network segmented into 3 subnets, along with full IDS/IPS stack via pfSense plugins. The point where it struggles is for VPN throughput, as the CPU clock speed is quite low, and that generation of Atom wasn't that efficient in terms of IPC. The Topton N6005 appliance I'm expecting (same one you linked up there) has a PassMark of 4,662 and much higher clock speed, along with much better IPC. I was trying to wait out for the "next gen" Atom based on Gracemont (Alder Lake-N), however, Tremont was "released" almost 3 years now I think, and finally the CPUs are available in the form of Jasper Lake (which itself was released last year) outside of Intel Snow Ridge (for 5G/communications edge, and even that was delayed). So I'm not holding my breath for Gracemont Atoms anymore.
i3-8140U has similar PassMark as the N6005, though half the cores. i5-8260U is quite a bit faster, almost 2x on PassMark, and should be overkill for most homelab environments. Ofc we always want more, and the i7-1165G7 has a PassMark of 10,558 and and the Topton appliance has i225V NICs, which support 2.5 Gbps. As I and others discussed in my router/firewall thread though, I think at that point, it may be worth it to roll my own router appliance with a used TMM node and a fiber 10 Gbps NIC, with a managed switch doing the VLANs.
