ipq806x: add support for TP-Link Talon AD7200
Bas Mevissen
abuse at basmevissen.nl
Mon Oct 12 05:59:17 EDT 2020
On 2020-10-12 11:40, Bjørn Mork wrote:
> Bas Mevissen <abuse at basmevissen.nl> writes:
>
>> Nice work, but does it make sense to add a device that is already
>> EOL'ed by the manufacturer? I guess the installed base is also rather
>> small.
>
> Definitely!
>
> IMHO, it should me enough that there is one user with enough interest
> to
> actually do the work, submit it and - hopefully - maintain it for a
> while.
>
The latter, maintenance, is my biggest question mark. Technically
keeping the sources compile is the smallest task. You need someone to
actually use recent builds all the time and preferably in multiple use
cases to catch regressions. Otherwise, it might give a false impression
that the device is supported and working.
> In addition,
> - each supported device serves as a template and example for
> similar devices, simplifying support for other products.
It is not really an unique product. It looks like it was (just) created
to be a showcase at CES2016.
> - OpenWrt support is good for the environment by increasing the usable
> lifetime of a device
True in itself. I have a very old TP-Link TL1043ND V1.x running (for
which support will be removed soon because it gets very difficult to
keep them going with current software sizes).
> - you can still buy this device new, despite the EoL announcement
>
But should you? I would be very reluctant with buying EOL devices,
especially when being a "first" and with the price still up.
I think that OpenWRT should be careful not to spend resources on devices
that have no large install base nor any chance of getting it. In that
respect, I would prefer to prioritize on low RAM / low flash devices
instead as they are everywhere and mostly running outdated insecure
software. With things like ZRAM and an external flash drive, there life
span could be meaningfully extended.
>
> Bjørn
Bas.
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