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