just to be clear, when i wrote “what do y’all do”, i was mainly asking about libre options. is there anything whatsoever less expensive than the turris mox start + a turris mox module?
that said, if i go proprietary, it would be nice to be able to find an option where, e.g., there were security updates.
In terms of ethernet switches, the cheapest switches are unmanaged and are generally not FOSS. Netgear has some not-crazy-expensive managed switches with FOSS firmware. See here for the firmware ( NETGEAR Open Source Code for Programmers (GPL) - NETGEAR Support ) … I think their switches start with “GS”. For example there is FOSS firmware for a GS108Ev3 (8 port Gigabit managed switch) … which runs $65 on Amazon (US) and you can find them on ebay for $45 new and $25-ish used.
That said: I don’t care with my switches. All the traffic I care about is encrypted/safe.
This is not Libre but Abierto. No te Confundas.
If you want a Truly Libre buy: Buffalo wzr-600dhp and Burn it with LibreCMC. I have Many of this.
i don’t see where the thinkpenguin
is libre. sure, it is sold by thinkpenguin, but it seems to be just a standard proprietary box. what am i missing?
unfortunately, when you download the file for this model, it turns out it only contains a license pdf informing us of the conditions under which some non-libre code from broadcom is licensed. presumably the gs108ev3 uses this broadcom code.
Liberty is not cheap.
this seems to be mainly a wifi box. but it does have 4 ethernet ports.
hoping there is just a libre switch.
purism, when are you going to see us a libre switch?
I pretty sure there are Just Switch, but i need to do a Scan.
The Turris products use Turris OS, which is based on OpenWrt.
Most of the source code is GPL, either 2.0 or 3.0. OpenWrt itself is GPL 2.0 only.
I only looked at the 10 or so most updated repositories, not all 136.
Openwrt it is not Libre but Open, there are big differences at both.
You are going to have to explain that difference to me, as my perception of libre means “strong copyleft” and “Four Freedoms”.
Libre is stand from FSF to Gnu system to Free, but Libre mean 100% Libre-of-Blobs and 4 Freedoms. OpenWRT “Maybe” have the 4 Freedoms but is including a Huge Amount of Blobs which cannot be a Libre system.
So basically, the FSF’s definition of a free distribution:
Clearly, Purism no longer follows this paradigm by installing Intel AX200 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modules on new Librem 14s.
Yes and same to Librem 5 SparkLAN too.
So Librem 5 with Sparklan and Librem 14 with Intel AX200 the System can not be Libre anymore.
However, There was a valid Excuse for Purism because Purism seems ran out of Libre Controllers to keep going…so simply by saying that Purism ran out of supplies of the Libre Controllers this will an Acceptable Excuse for, BUT they made the Big Mistake by saying that the BLOBs is better controlled by the system, which is a NOT Valid Excuse for Libre Systems but also a Scam from Purism by affirm that.
unfortunately, when you download the file for this model, it turns out it only contains a license pdf
Interesting. The GS108T seems to have source on that page. Not only that, there are helpful notes about how to compile and install (without creating a netgear account) on here: https://openwrt.org/toh/netgear/gs108t_v3
Purism is correct: there are no libre options moving forward. Putting firmware blobs in a jail is a practical stopgap until a better solution exists.
Purism
Or, “Liberty” is automatic; fundamental. The value of your personal data and privacy is part of the price, so the price of a proprietary system + the value [above] = the price of a non-proprietary system.
this seems to be mainly a wifi box. but it does have 4 ethernet ports.
Just like the cheapest MP3 players nowadays are smartphones, the cheapest “4 port switches” come with wifi (and probably with a 5th “WAN” port while at it).
Many of those cheap wifi routers with 4 ethernet ports have OpenWRT support, and while most of them include some blobs (there are currently no 100% Free wifi drivers for anything beyond 11n 
), the blobs are usually needed only for the wifi, so you should be able to deblob the OpenWRT image and still have a functioning (and 100% Free) ethernet switch.