---
title: "newRouter – Industrial Dual-W5500 & 4G Router on ESP32-S3"
url: "https://maker.wiznet.io/josephsr/projects/newrouter--industrial-dual-w5500-4g-router-on-esp32-s3/"
markdown_url: "https://maker.wiznet.io/josephsr/projects/newrouter--industrial-dual-w5500-4g-router-on-esp32-s3/md"
type: "UCC: User Created Content"
author: "lyxer123"
author_url: "https://github.com/lyxer123/newRouter"
editor: "WIZnet"
editor_url: "https://maker.wiznet.io/"
original_author: "lyxer123"
original_url: "https://github.com/lyxer123/newRouter"
published: "2025-12-02"
language: "en"
likes: 0
views: 534
comments: 0
source: "WIZnet Makers (https://maker.wiznet.io/)"
---

# newRouter – Industrial Dual-W5500 & 4G Router on ESP32-S3

> This project implements a compact embedded router architecture based on ESP32-S3 + Dual W5500 Ethernet controllers + 4G Cat.1 modem + Wi-Fi AP.

Original author: lyxer123 (source: https://github.com/lyxer123/newRouter)

## Article

## **[PROJECT INTRODUCTION & SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE]**

This project implements a compact embedded router architecture based on
**ESP32-S3 + Dual W5500 Ethernet controllers + 4G Cat.1 modem + Wi-Fi AP**.

It reproduces the structure of commercial SOHO routers, but at MCU level, providing:

- WAN/LAN separation

- Auto role-switching Ethernet (W5500 Card0)

- Dedicated LAN port (W5500 Card1)

- Wi-Fi AP in independent subnet (192.168.5.x)

- Dual Ethernet subnet (192.168.4.x)

- 4G modem as backup WAN (PPP)

- DHCP, NAT, bridge, and routing on ESP32-S3

#### **Key Components**

- **ESP32-S3** — NAT, bridge, PPP, DHCP, AP

- **W5500 × 2** — Dual-port Ethernet over shared SPI bus

- **EC600N / A7680C 4G Modem** — USB PPP fallback WAN

- **Wi-Fi AP** — 192.168.5.x subnet

#### **Port Roles**

- **W5500 Card0** — Dynamic WAN/LAN switching

- **W5500 Card1** — Always LAN + DHCP server

- **4G LTE (PPP)** — Backup WAN fallback

---

## **[DATA FLOW DIAGRAM]![](https://maker.wiznet.io/upload/ckeditor5/206446573%5F1764934191%2Epng)**

```plaintext
LAN1(W5500-1) ──┐
           │
LAN2(W5500-2) ──┤── ESP32-S3 (NAT/Bridge/AP/PPP) ── WiFi AP
4G PPP Modem (EC600N)   ─┘
```

---

## **[ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE & INDUSTRIAL VALUE]**

#### **1) Industrial router structure replicated on MCU**

ESP32-S3 successfully implements:

- Dual Ethernet

- Wi-Fi AP

- 4G WAN failover

- NAT, DHCP, DNS, routing

This positions the architecture between:
**Single-port W5500 devices ↔ Full OpenWRT Linux routers**

#### **2) Dual W5500 implementation is technically rare**

- Shared SPI bus

- Independent CS/INT/RESET

- PHY addressing

- Auto WAN/LAN switching

This project becomes a valuable reference for dual-port embedded Ethernet design.

#### **3) Ideal for low-power field gateways**

Applicable to:

- Energy systems

- Factory devices

- Remote monitoring nodes

- Industrial telemetry

- Edge IoT with LTE redundancy

---

## **[ARCHITECTURE COMPARISON — TABLE]**

| Category | MCU Router (ESP32-S3 + Dual W5500) | WizFi630S | OpenWRT Router |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OS | FreeRTOS + ESP-IDF | Embedded Linux | Linux + OpenWRT |
| Wi-Fi PHY | 150 Mbps | 150–300 Mbps | 300 Mbps–1.2 Gbps |
| Real Wi-Fi | ~60 Mbps | 80–100 Mbps | 100–200 Mbps |
| NAT Throughput | 10–30 Mbps | 80–95 Mbps | 90–200 Mbps |
| Ethernet | Dual W5500 (100M each) | 1×WAN + 1×LAN | WAN + Switch LAN |
| 4G Backup | Built-in PPP | External | Model dependent |
| Power | Very low | Low | Medium–High |
| Customizability | **Excellent** | Moderate | Moderate |
| Strength | Full control + multi-interface | Stable & proven | High performance |
| Weakness | Low throughput | Limited customization | Big, costly |

---

## **[MARKET & STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS]**

#### **1) Filling the “MCU router” market gap**

A new tier emerges:

> **SPI NIC → MCU Router → Linux Router**

#### **2) Strengthens W5500 ecosystem**

Demonstrates that W5500 can be used not only for single NIC but also:

- Dual-port router

- Field gateway

- LTE backup edge node

#### **3) Synergy with WizFi630S**

Not a competitor.
It’s a **lower-tier hardware router** suited for:

- industrial micro-gateways

- battery systems

- ultra-low power deployments
  while WizFi630S covers:

- mid-tier & consumer routing workloads

Together they form a **portfolio**, not a conflict.

---

## **[AUTHOR SUMMARY — Condensed]lyxer123** is an applied embedded network engineer skilled in ESP-IDF, W5500, multi-interface routing, and USB-PPP modem integration.
He successfully reproduced a **commercial router-grade architecture at MCU level**, including dual Ethernet, Wi-Fi AP, 4G failover, and NAT/bridge logic.
His work provides a rare, high-quality reference that expands practical W5500 usage in real embedded gateway designs.

---

## **[PROJECT INTRODUCTION & SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE]**

이 프로젝트는
**ESP32-S3 + W5500 두 개 + 4G Cat.1 모뎀 + Wi-Fi AP**로 구성된
초저가·초저전력 임베디드 라우터 구조다.

상용 SOHO 라우터의 구조를 MCU 수준에서 그대로 재현했으며,

- WAN / LAN 분리

- W5500 Card0 자동 WAN/LAN 전환

- Card1 고정 LAN + DHCP

- Wi-Fi AP 독립 서브넷(192.168.5.x)

- W5500 듀얼 서브넷(192.168.4.x)

- 4G PPP 백업 WAN

까지 완전한 형태로 구현됐다.

---

## **[전체 데이터 흐름도]![](https://maker.wiznet.io/upload/ckeditor5/206446573%5F1764934202%2Epng)**

```plaintext
LAN1(W5500-1) ──┐
           │
LAN2(W5500-2) ──┤── ESP32-S3 (NAT/브리지/AP/PPP) ── WiFi AP
4G 모뎀(EC600N)   ─┘
```

---

## **[ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE & INDUSTRIAL VALUE]**

#### **1) 산업용 라우터 구조를 MCU로 축소 구현**

보통 Linux SoC(OpenWRT)에서 처리하는 기능을
ESP32-S3가 단독으로 수행.

#### **2) 듀얼 W5500 완성형 레퍼런스로서 가치**

- 공유 SPI 버스

- CS/INT/RESET 독립

- PHY Address 구분

- 자동 WAN/LAN 전환

이 조합은 실제 산업 설비에서도 유효한 고급 구조.

#### **3) IoT 현장 게이트웨이에 최적화**

- 전력 소모 최소

- 저비용 BOM

- 4G 백업 필수 장비에서 강점

- 임베디드 장비 내부 라우터로 적합

---

## **[비교 테이블 — MCU Router vs WizFi630S vs OpenWRT]**

| 항목 | MCU Router (ESP32-S3 + Dual W5500) | WizFi630S | OpenWRT 라우터 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OS | FreeRTOS | Embedded Linux | Linux + OpenWRT |
| Wi-Fi PHY | 150 Mbps | 150~300 Mbps | 300 Mbps~1 Gbps |
| 실효 Wi-Fi | 약 60 Mbps | 80~100 Mbps | 100~200 Mbps |
| NAT 성능 | 10~30 Mbps | 80~95 Mbps | 90~200 Mbps |
| Ethernet | 듀얼 W5500 | WAN+LAN | WAN+스위치 |
| 4G 백업 | 내장 PPP | 외부 조합 | 모델 차이 |
| 전력 | 매우 낮음 | 낮음 | 중간~높음 |
| 커스터마이징 | **최고** | 중간 | 중간 |
| 장점 | 완전 제어, 저전력, 4G 결합 | 안정적 성능 | 고성능 |
| 단점 | 고대역폭엔 부적합 | 제한된 수정 | 전력·비용 부담 |

---

## **[시장·전략적 시사점]**

- W5500 생태계 확장: “Dual Ethernet Router” 레퍼런스

- WizFi630S와 충돌이 아니라 포트폴리오 상호보완

- 초소형 산업 게이트웨이 분야에 현실적 수요 존재

- 초저전력·초저비용 라우터 시장층을 새로 창출

## **[AUTHOR SUMMARY]lyxer123**는 ESP-IDF, W5500, 멀티인터페이스 라우팅, USB-PPP 모뎀 통합에 숙련된
**실무형 임베디드 네트워크 엔지니어**.

그는 듀얼 W5500, 4G PPP, Wi-Fi AP, NAT/브리지까지
**상용 라우터 구조를 MCU에서 완성도 있게 재현**했으며,
이는 W5500 기반 설계의 확장성과 생태계 활용 가능성을 실제로 입증.

---

Source: https://maker.wiznet.io/josephsr/projects/newrouter--industrial-dual-w5500-4g-router-on-esp32-s3/