This video demonstrates the installation and performance testing of an unofficial OpenWrt build by Marty Jones on the Raspberry Pi 5. The setup includes an external USB-to-Ethernet adapter to compensate for the single onboard port and an active cooler to prevent thermal throttling. The presenter details the initial configuration via the LuCI web interface. Comprehensive throughput tests are performed for direct LAN routing, OpenVPN, and WireGuard VPN tunnels. While the Raspberry Pi 5 shows promising routing capabilities, achieving over 800 Mbps for direct traffic and significantly higher VPN speeds with WireGuard compared to OpenVPN, it doesn't consistently reach full gigabit speeds. The video concludes by acknowledging that the OpenWrt firmware for the Raspberry Pi 5 is still in early development, with future optimizations expected.
Raspberry Pi 5 as a Router: OpenWrt Installation and Performance Benchmarks
0:02 Unofficial OpenWrt Installation: The video initiates with the installation of an unofficial OpenWrt build by Marty Jones (found at github.com/mj2226) onto a Raspberry Pi 5. The process is straightforward, involving downloading the firmware and burning it to a microSD card using tools like BalenaEtcher or dd.
0:57 Hardware Setup and Cooling: To function as a router with both WAN and LAN ports, a D-Link DUB-1312 USB-to-Ethernet adapter is utilized as the WAN interface (its drivers are pre-included in Marty's build). An active cooler (comprising a four-pin fan and aluminum heatsink) is installed to manage thermals and prevent CPU throttling, powered by a 5.1V 5A PD power supply for stable operation.
1:40 Network Configuration: The onboard Ethernet port of the Raspberry Pi 5 is designated as the LAN port, connected to a PC. The USB-to-Ethernet adapter serves as the WAN port, connecting to the upstream router, establishing a two-port router setup.
2:20 Initial Boot and Web Interface Access: Upon first boot, OpenWrt successfully loads, and the LuCI web interface is accessible via 192.168.1.1 using the default root username (without a password initially). The system information confirms it's a Raspberry Pi 5 Model B Rev 1.0 with an 8GB RAM, running Kernel 6.1.72-1, and both Ethernet interfaces are detected and operating at 1 Gbps.
3:09 LAN Throughput Test: Performance tests for direct LAN routing using Open Speed Test show approximately 829 Mbps for download and 878 Mbps for upload. iPerf3 results are similar (847 Mbps upload, 810 Mbps download). While impressive, the Raspberry Pi 5 doesn't quite hit full gigabit speeds, with CPU load primarily concentrated on one core, and minimal improvement observed after enabling software offloading and packet steering.
4:32 OpenVPN Throughput Test: When the Raspberry Pi 5 is configured as an OpenVPN client, throughput drops significantly. Open Speed Test yields around 340-354 Mbps for download but a much lower 30-36 Mbps for upload. iPerf3 confirms these results (306 Mbps download, 44 Mbps upload). CPU utilization is higher during these VPN tests compared to direct LAN routing.
6:29 WireGuard VPN Throughput Test: WireGuard demonstrates significantly better performance than OpenVPN on the Raspberry Pi 5. Open Speed Test results are approximately 544 Mbps download and 882 Mbps upload. iPerf3 confirms these figures (494 Mbps download, 852 Mbps upload for four streams). However, a notable difference between upload and download speeds persists, and even with one stream, the download speed is lower (342 Mbps) than upload (844 Mbps).
7:52 Conclusion and Future Outlook: The video concludes that despite the current limitations (not reaching full 1 Gbps and asymmetric VPN speeds), the Raspberry Pi 5 shows strong potential as a router, especially with WireGuard. The presenter emphasizes that the OpenWrt firmware for the Raspberry Pi 5 is still in its early development stages, suggesting that significant improvements and optimizations are expected with future updates and official support.