Need a new hardware source

We need to find a new hardware solution for an application that we sell privately.

For several years, we've been using OpenWrt as our OS on devices such as the tp-links, Nexx, Gl.iNet and others.
The problem is that the hardware is constantly changing or becomes hard to find and we have to spend time finding a replacement device then updating our software, testing then buying up more devices if they work. This is something that is taking up a lot of our time.

The requirements for the device are as follow.

-So far, we've been able to keep the prices sub $20.00 which is where we would like to remain.
When we need to order dozens or hundreds, we need the price to move around the -$15.00 point.

-Don't need much for CPU, 500Mhz and up seems to work fine.
-Need minimum of 16MB flash and 64MB RAM. That is more than enough.
-Need devices to come in the cases or cases be easy to order and install when we install our software.
-While we use single NIC devices, we would prefer dual NIC devices.
-Need NICs in both 100Mbps and 1Gbps. If all devices come with 1Gbps, even better.
-Need to run almost any Linux flavor, so long as we can find plenty of the standard packages for the distro.

Wondering if I might be able to get some input/feedback, thoughts on this.

Thank you.

The way we do this is to design a board on our own and therefore we control the bill of materials. Get the printed circuit board correct and order more than enough for the lifetime of what you need, since it is a custom. Also order sufficient supply of components which can be modified under you, such as the CPU or memory chips. Most regular stuff like resistors and capacitors are common enough that you wouldn't need to buy them in advance.

That's an interesting thought but we don't have the resources to make that work yet. At some point it might make sense but for now, we need to buy from someone.

What we need should be pretty basic, and it is really. It's just the manufacturers of the devices we use keep changing things which causes us more work.

Thanks for the input, I'll certainly look into it to see if its something we could do.

I get what you say. But you can't have a serious restriction on what you purchase, because they will always change their bill of materials. Unless you can get them to agree to sell a particular product code to you and lock in the BOM for that item. You'd have to make it worth their while and that would mean high volume.

Since you've mentioned this, I'm looking at what parts we might need. We would need the main board with the NICs already installed, the resources required, flash/ram and a case. That's about it really. We have no need for much else such as USB, GPIO, etc.

What I need is a board which has the basic requirements, runs Linux, not just openwrt for example and has a case available.
I think I need to find a forum where users are aware of lots of different hardware at this point.

There are plenty of boards, Pi, Beagleboard, Hummingboard, to name a few. Also cost effective. There are also more reliable SOMs on the market, however they'll cost more. Many of the manufacturers for embedded SOMs will agree to sell you a customized solution, but once again it is a numbers game in that it will cost you and be more feasible given quantity. I like Gumstix but those are in excess of $100. You get what you pay for sometimes.

The mini routers work perfectly but the time involved is what is killing us. I should edit my post to mention I'm not stuck on the sub $20.00 price, but if it goes any higher than $50, then we won't be able to change hardware. The cost per install would end up being unworkable.

I'm looking at all kinds of devices right now and emailing manufacturers also. Hard to find.

This is kind of interesting. It already has the 1GB port and maybe I could use one of the USB ports as a second 1GB port.

These guys may have what you want? GL.iNet

I second the idea that you look into one of the Pi/CHIP/BeagleBone/etc.

I thought I listed them as one type that we use but yes, we use gl.inet also but need something that runs Linux so we don't have to get into the openwrt conversion. That is the main problem.

Think it may be worth it to see if one of their products will run linux. The latest kernel does add a number of ARM support. Never know, they may load some version on it if you bought a few thousand.

Yes, I'm in contact with them also. Thanks very much for the lead.

http://hackerboards.com/open-spec-co...-sells-for-15/