Connectivity
The OPi 6 Plus board comes with two 5Gbps Ethernet ports, which is a huge upgrade for single-board computers that usually have 2.5Gbps. This makes it an excellent choice for running as a small mini server in a home or office. Also, the Wi-Fi is upgradable via an M.2 E-Key slot (socket), which is a big advantage from a user’s standpoint.
The Orange Pi’s WiFi card features the Realtek RTL8852BE chipset, which works perfectly with Linux in a plug-and-play manner and supports the Wi-Fi 6 standard. However, it does cap your data rate at a maximum of 1201 Mbps. Having said that, if you’re looking for a better option with greater bandwidth, it’s a good idea to research and find out which Wi-Fi cards are fully compatible with Linux OS.
A closer peek at the Orange Pi’s WiFi/BT M.2 E-Key card
Dual Ethernet 5Gbps LAN ports
Once again, a significant upgrade offers a clear advantage in achieving higher throughput speeds in a single-board computer. A third or fourth LAN port might be an even better addition, but hey, we can’t complain.
Checking network devices
root@orangepi6plus:~# ethtool eth0
Settings for eth0:
Supported ports: [ TP ]
Supported link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
1000baseT/Full
2500baseT/Full
5000baseT/Full
Supported pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
Supported FEC modes: Not reported
Advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
1000baseT/Full
2500baseT/Full
5000baseT/Full
Advertised pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Advertised FEC modes: Not reported
Link partner advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
1000baseT/Full
Link partner advertised pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Link partner advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Link partner advertised FEC modes: Not reported
Speed: 1000Mb/s
Duplex: Full
Auto-negotiation: on
Port: Twisted Pair
PHYAD: 0
Transceiver: internal
MDI-X: on
Supports Wake-on: d
Wake-on: d
Current message level: 0x00000033 (51)
drv probe ifdown ifuproot@orangepi6plus:~# ethtool eth1
Settings for eth1:
Supported ports: [ TP ]
Supported link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
1000baseT/Full
2500baseT/Full
5000baseT/Full
Supported pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
Supported FEC modes: Not reported
Advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
1000baseT/Full
2500baseT/Full
5000baseT/Full
Advertised pause frame use: No
Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Advertised FEC modes: Not reported
Speed: Unknown!
Duplex: Unknown! (255)
Auto-negotiation: on
Port: Twisted Pair
PHYAD: 0
Transceiver: internal
MDI-X: Unknown
Supports Wake-on: d
Wake-on: d
Current message level: 0x00000033 (51)
drv probe ifdown ifup
Link detected: no
This is great, but i have a Orange Pi 5 Max almost a year and still there is only first versions of few images for that board and few beta on some forums. So support for that is like zero after board is released.
From my checking, the Orange Pi 5 Max supports around 3-4 distributions. There’s often a delay for new images after hardware release, but the popular RK3588 SoC has solid support. You can always upgrade your existing distribution and install a newer kernel with the latest packages. You can always switch to an RP5 that has less powerful hardware but comes with better software support.
I think this is BS, no announcements form the Orange PI, nothing on the forums.
I would definitely buy this with 32GB or 64GB, now that would be a decent platform
It’s not ready yet, but the news is reliable, and the company has also shared some updates about it.
Well, if they truly on this, this will be a great SBC, I would buy one immediately.
This should be marketed using like 5$ vouchers in ARACE, OrangePI would immediately gauge the interest and get some early revenue o produce the board