89 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
89 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Teltonika Router"
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date: 2025-04-01T14:50:23+02:00
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draft: true
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---
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This is my first product review. I really wanted to write it, because:
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- from my very limited (~1 month outdoor) use, it is off a very good start.
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- I haven't heard of the product line, even though the company HQ is a few
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kilometers from me (and is a well-known brand and employer, but not for
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routers!).
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Background
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----------
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I am building a house. Huge thanks to my very helpful neighbors for putting a
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webcam on his windowsill and sharing the feed (and recordings), I was able to
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see a view the construction. It was *extremely* helpful for reasons I will not
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get into here.
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This post is an extract from an earlier [construction site surveillance
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post]({{< ref "log/2025/construction-site-surveillance" >}}) with more details
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about router alone.
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In order to connect the camera to the internet in a relatively remote site, I
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spent a good amount of time over the last few days looking for a device
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combination that is:
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- A 4G/5G modem, so the feed can be downloaded by the NVR, which is in my
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closet.
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- WiFi router, so I have more on-site troubleshooting options, besides climbing
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a 4m pole to attach the RJ45 cable.
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- Should be installable and service-able by a non-specialized contractor.
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- Highly desired, but optional: tailscale support.
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- All equipment will be outside, on a pole, in [Vilnius climate][vilnius],
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during winter & summer seasons.
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Having been Mikrotik user for the last decade or so, that was obviously my
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first choice. However, Mikrotik does not have a device that is both an LTE
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modem and a WiFi router. Internet searches for this combination uncovered
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Teltonika Networks. Teltonika, as you may know, is headquartered in Lithuania.
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I did not know they are making routers right until this search. Bad marketing?
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Anyhow, [RUTX11][rutx11] is the cheapest 4G+WiFi router that meets my spec (not
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that it's cheap). They also sell a [separate enclosure][enclosure] that makes
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it into an outdoor-capable device (IP67).
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Setting it up felt like using a yet-another consumer router, which is good.
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This is a prerequisite, so I can recommend it to my non-geek friends. Setting
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up tailscale felt like setting it up on a consumer router, glitch-free, which
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is great.
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OpenWRT origins
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---------------
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RutOS is based on OpenWRT, as OpenWRT is a solid choice engineering-wise.
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Teltonika is a hardware company, not a Router OS company. Talking from my
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personal experience, customizing OpenWRT does not take much Router OS is not
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something where one needs to "differentiate". The differentiation is in:
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- the hardware build, which is solid,
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- hardware reliability and service-ability, about which feel free to ask me in
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2-3 years.
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- software and hardware integration (the "add-ons").
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- system upgrades.
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Experiences so far
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------------------
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It's been hanging on a pole for about a month, relaying the video traffic over
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tailscale. So far there are two issues:
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- Tailscale consumes a lot of RAM. If I want to upgrade the router _while
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taiscale is on_, the upgrade will fail, because it does not have enough
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memory for the new image (in ramfs).
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- During the first upgrade router "forgot" my Tailscale credentials and I
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needed to re-login the router to my headscale network. I found a [forum
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post][rutx-tailscale], which just says "fixed in the next release".
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In general, I will be upgrading my router firmware when I am on-site.
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[jpg]: https://jpg.lt/
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[frigate-hw]: https://docs.frigate.video/frigate/hardware
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[frigate]: https://frigate.video
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[vilnius]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius#Climate
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[rutx11]: https://teltonika-networks.com/products/routers/rutx11
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[enclosure]: https://teltonika-networks.com/products/accessories/antenna-options/outdoor-ltewi-figpsbluetooth-antenna-for-rutx11-and-rutm11-routers
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[rutx-tailscale]: https://community.teltonika.lt/t/tailscale-needs-logging-in-after-each-rutos-upgrade/11826/12
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