An edge router is a specialized router found at a network boundary that is paramount in mitigating bottlenecks and traffic slowdowns. It facilitates an internal network connection to an external network, enables remote accessibility, and allows remote employees to connect to the corporate LAN through the network edge.
There are several EdgeRouters available in the market, such as ER-X and ER-4. Both are excellent EdgeRouters that use the same operating system (EdgeOS). However, they differ in available hardware feature-set and have various quantities of interfaces, including SFP/SFP+ slots and available resources. The ER-X has a two-core 880 MHz CPU with 256MB of available RAM, while the ER-4 has a 4-core 1GHz CPU with 1GB of available RAM. The ER-X has an integrated switch and POE, and the ER-4 has a console, SFP port, and a lot more power.
What are the differences between Edgerouter X and EDgerouter 4?
The main difference between ER-X and ER-4 is their overall performance
ER-X and ER-4 functions are identical. They both run on the same operating system (EdgeOS), both use UNMS, and both do not support the Unifi controller. These two differ in available hardware feature-set and quantities of interfaces, including SFP/SFP+ slots and available resources. The ER-X has a two-core 880 MHz CPU with 256MB of available RAM, while the ER-4 has a 4-core 1GHz CPU with 1GB of available RAM. But the main difference between ER-X and ER-4 is their overall performance. A lot of users said that ER4 has a much higher performance rating than ERX, especially for a larger home network.
Is it worth upgrading to an Edgerouter 4?
It is worth upgrading depending on the system requirement
The price of ER-4 is four times higher than that of ER-X. So, before upgrading your EdgeRouter, you must consider identifying your needs, including network, ISP, work requirement, etc. For a small network, EdgeRouter-X would be sufficient. But, for larger networks, consider upgrading to EdgeRouter-4.
For example, if you are a heavy user like gamers with some other family members using the internet connection, either they are streaming YouTube videos, downloading or uploading files, etc., you would likely to experience lag. Playing online games requires a fast and steady internet connection. Thus, using ER-4 is the best option than the ER-X to mitigate the buffer bloat caused by heavy network traffic to your internet connection.
Which has a better performance rating between Edgerouter X and EDgerouter 4?
ER4 has a higher performance rating than ERX
A lot of users say that ER-4 has a higher performance rating than ER-X. Most of the reviews online, like Amazon, show that users are more satisfied with the ER-4 experience than ER-X, especially when the household has more connected devices like IP cameras, phones, tablets, computers, TVs, thermostats, etc. Most of the end-users of ER-4 say that buffer bloat and latency have improved with ER-4, even with multiple devices streaming, all at the same time. The CPU in the ER4 is much more capable of QoS at higher speeds than the ERX. It is more future- proof in case you get more bandwidth later.
EdgeRouter X vs EdgeRouter 4 throughput
The ER-4 has a greater throughput than the ER-X.
ER-4 has a throughput of 1.8 Gbps, whereas the ER-X has 957 Mbps only. A higher throughput means better network performance. With higher throughput, the number of messages delivered successfully is higher. In contrast, lower throughput will have lesser messages delivered in a specific amount of time. The lower the throughput is, the worse the network is performing. For example, a low throughput in a VoIP call would cause a poor-quality call with audio skips. Therefore, ER-4 with 1.8 Gbps has better network performance than ER-X with only 957 Mbps.
Which is better between ER-4 and ER-X for slower connections?
Both works fine with slower connection. The ER-X could handle slow connection, so an upgrade is not yet necessary. But, if you are looking for a more future-proof EdgeRouter, you can have ER-4.
Edgerouter X vs Edgerouter 4 comparison chart
Hardware
- CPU core count- EdgeRouter X has 2, while EdgeRouter 4 has 4 CPUs
- CPU Frequency – Edgerouter X has 880 MHz, while Edgerouter 4 has 1 GHz
- RAM size- Edgerouter X has256 MB, while Edgerouter 4 has 1 GB RAM
- Storage- Edgerouter X has256 MB, while Edgerouter 4 has 4 GB
- Ports (USB, Console) – Edgerouter X has no USB and Console ports, while Edgerouter 4 has USB and
- Internal switch– Edgerouter X has internal switch, while Edgerouter 4 has no internal switch
Interface
- 1GbE RJ45– ER-X has 5, while ER-4 has 3
- 1Gbps SFP- ER-X has none, while ER-4 has 1
Power
- Max consumption (without PoE) – ER-X has 5W, while ER-4 has 13W
- Power input– 12 VDC or 24V Passive PoE for ER-X, whereas AC for ER-4
Routing (fast path)
- Throughput (1518 bytes packets)- ER-X has1 Gbps throughput, while ER-4 has 4 Gbps throughput
- PPS (1518 bytes packets)– ER-X has80,000 PPS, while ER-4 has 320,000 PPS
- Throughput (64 bytes packets)- ER-X has957 Mbps throughput, while ER-4 has 1.8 Gbps throughput
- PPS (64 bytes packets)– ER-X has1,400,000 PPS, while ER-4 has 3,400,000 PPS
