I am wondering if I should buy a MIKROTIK ROUTERBOARD ROUTER RB2011UiAS-IN as I see them on sale or should I save and buy a mini PC and make that my router? I have seen it. The mikrotik is no longer being made and I’m wondering if it is still a good option for home lab router?
ODROID-H4 – ODROID + https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/h3-h2-net-card-2/ ?
There’s also an i3 variant if you need more processing power and cases are available
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Figure out your speed and feature needs and make sure what you are looking at getting can meet those.
I’ve gone the MikroTik route(r) myself. I really prefer something which just works, but gives me loads of playroom. With a DIY setup, I’m too afraid to mess things up too much 
If I had to pick one now, I’d probably go with the RB5009UPr+S+IN 
That one is still in current production, but depending on your needs you could look at another model.
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So I am looking for minimun 2.5gb to try and future prof well remaining in budget of 250 right now but if i wait another 4 to 6 months I can increase that to about 5 to 600. Also that budget includes the access point so POE would be nice but I do have a POE gigabit switch, as well as a 10g + 2.5 combo switch (though it has no POE and is currently for my nas and computer). The Odroid I will look into as it does look like it might work and fit my current budget, the RB5009UPr is nice and would be a debate in 6 months as per my budget, which is one reason I ask as I can make do for now. (I am currently using a linksys ea9200 with my two external switches)
Also I am newish to networking but want to learn which is part of the reason for the upgrade. Also playing with settings and added features are a pulse but I also want it easy enough to not feel overwhelmed as I go
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Hmm… the CRS310-8G+2S+IN does fall under that category nicely. Except for the PoE.
Though it is technically a switch, it is powerfull enough to handle most routing tasks. Unless you want to go all hardware encoding/decoding with a VPN hosted on it and loads and loads of firewall rules on it. Then it might be better to get something else.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006231070878.html
There are may more options available on Aliexpress.
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That thing is old! Could still be entirely suitable to your needs, consider the RB5009 exists in a PoE variant. The single (!) 2.5G port is not that limiting considering there is an SFP+ slot available too.
I have a CRS309 to provide 10G networking in my setup.
Depending on your mix of gear, the CRS312 may make more sense as a “core” switch.
Mikrotik APs are a bit fiddly to show up in their central management thing, but so are Cisco APs (which cost 10x).
No matter what you get, you will learn to hate and love whatever equipment you pick. Some have funky commands, others have the worst webinterface, some are pretty flexible in letting you configure them, others have their way or no way.
I have a MikroTik RB5009 and it’s been perfectly fine. Bit of a steep learning curve, but very powerful and feature rich for the price.
Alright so it does look like it would be doable but probably better to wait for my budget to increase. Also a friend of mine said that were he works might be upgrading in a bit so I might wait and see on that hardware (ubiquiti forgot what model) and some AP’s. Thanks for the help with the decision.
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Also thanks for the added places and choices to look.
if you want to buy a chinese product i think buying from actual manufacturer is way cheaper. for these kind of SBC , bkhdpc.com is the safe bet. they even offer some unique board such as BKHD-C612NP-21 (2011-3 socket with good options to make nas+switch)