Sept 2021 - Latest advice on gbit routers for pppoe?

I get full bandwidth from the Fritzbox that zen sent me, but I want more control, data, metrics and insights into my network.

Looking around the net, there is a lot of conflicting info about the ER-X, the microtik hex-s, the erl-3, and more , . specifically as to whether any of these devices can really do full gbit over pppoe whilst applying any of their extended capabilities like smart queuing, etc. And they seem ... old ?

And so I am wondering if it would be a wasted purchase to buy an er-x or erl-3 and find I have to run with all the smarts turned off just to get what I paid for in terms of bandwidth .

Wondering what the current advice is and what people have done, what performance they are getting etc. , basically what am I missing if anything or is this the right product set to be choosing from (erl-3 sounds like the most powerful there?) and will I be disappointed with the performance?

For a gigabit link I doubt the Mikrotik hEX S will cut it with its dual-core 880MHz MIPS processor, but the RB4011 will easily manage, with its quad core 1.4GHz ARM.

I have both the hEX PoE (single core MIPS) and the RB4011.

The worst-case scenario with Mikrotik is when you are routing traffic that can't be handled by FastTrack; that includes all IPv6, and some scenarios which involve VLAN tagging and bridging.

With LAN-to-LAN tests, I found my hEX PoE could only just about manage 300Mbps of simple iperf3 traffic without FastTrack. But the RB4011 can handle about a gigabit on a single core in the same situation, so there's plenty of headroom. And in normal use, IPv4 over PPPoE *is* handled by FastTrack.

I have Netflow enabled, but I don't bother with any sort of queuing. I don't have any Ubiquiti gear to compare with (other than their wireless access points).

I've got a couple of ER-Xs to go with FritzBoxes. Let me know if you get them and make them work. I gave up and put them back in their boxes. (Although I was just trying to use them for VPN, not as a FB replacement. I couldn't get them to VPN into a FB.)
I'm fairly sure I did the research and think they are Gigabit. But dunno about stressing them. The ER-Xs are cheap enough, you could always buy a couple and split the work among them!
FWIW, I found them not as easy to set up as the Internet claims. You really do need to know what you are doing. I obviously don't.

For data, metrics and inights then the Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro will give you a lot of what you are after. Will handle fullGbit without issue

An ER-X won't do gigabit over pppoe so you can rule that out. It's fine if you're just using it as a switch though. In a LAN it can switch 1gb/s no problems at all but routing traffic is a different beast altogether.

I’d go a step further and recommend the OP, if they are looking to “future proof” only consider Mikrotik routers that run ARM mult-core processors rather than any legacy box that has MIPS or Tilera processors.

The ARM processors will just kill them in sheer performance for anything that is unable to scale multi-threaded wise - PPPoE and single tunnel VPN spring to mind.

Mikrotik either the RB4011 or the new RB5009UG+S+IN, if you have need for the 2.5G port, although the later is all sold out everywhere for at least the next month.

Got a UDMP here sat in its box since day one as it still cant cope with a 1G pppoe connection, look at their forums its full of people moaning about it. Metrics/DPI last time I tested it were also fairly useless, most things went to unknown on DPI.

Im not bashing, I have £1000's of ubnt kit, but I stick to their switches and AP's.

I still use WFilter by IMFirewall, software that I bought over 10 years ago tells me all I need to know on what and who is using my internet connection - runs on a small PC from mirror port on my Draytek.

Good suggestion. Unfortunately shortages and delays on all manner of goods at the moment. It’s causing me several headaches sourcing equipment that keeps getting further and further delayed. If it’s in stock it gets snapped up. We have real supply chain issues at the moment.

I was in a similar boat, bought a UDMP and was highly disappointed in it. Had an ERPro-8 for a while, until I wanted to upgrade to something else recently (first choice was a UDMP which I sent back). I liked both the EdgeRouter I had and the EdgeSwitch that I still have. Ultimately went for a MikroTik CCR2004-16G-2S+ after being advised, highly satisfied with it although some users may find it complicated or not within their budget perhaps (most everyday consumers at least won't be looking for such a router).