WanderBridge (Full) — Decision Log
Running log of every keep/swap/drop decision through Stages 0–10. Each entry cites source (image render, Bridge Mini precedent, datasheet, distributor page, design research) and dates the call. No Perplexity queries this run — local refs only per task scope.
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Stage 0 — Image-spec reconciliation (2026-04-24)
Decision: the hero render is the canonical v1 chassis target. The original v0 WANDERBRIDGE-SPEC.md (Medium chassis WiFi mesh AP + PoE-out) is preserved as historical reference and re-cast as the seed for WanderRouter Standard "Mesh AP" SKU (different SOP run, future).
Image-locked attributes (non-negotiable v1 design constraints):
| Attribute | Image-locked value |
|---|
| Form factor | 1U rack-mount, ~440 × 44 × 280 mm |
| Chassis material | Matte slate-charcoal anodized 6061 aluminum, precision-machined edges |
| Faceplate material | Cream anodized aluminum, full-width |
| Side venting | Crisp minimal slot vents on left + right side panels only |
| Front ports | 4× RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet, engraved port numbers 1-4 |
| Front status LED | Single round amber-saffron LED, far right of front panel |
| Top bezel mark | Thin amber-saffron pinstripe horizontal along top edge |
| Rack ears | Discreet machined aluminum, integrated standoffs |
| Fans | None visible — fanless aesthetic mandatory |
| Antennas | None visible — no platform WiFi (radios are post-v1.1 optional rear daughterboard if at all) |
Source: Michael-supplied hero image render brief (2026-04-24): "1U rack-mount network bridge, roughly 440mm wide × 44mm tall × 280mm deep, matte slate charcoal aluminum chassis with precision-machined edges, a cream anodized aluminum faceplate across the front with crisp minimal vents on the sides, four RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports visible on the front (clean, labeled only with tiny engraved port numbers 1-4), a small round amber saffron status LED on the far right of the front panel, a thin amber saffron pinstripe running horizontally along the top bezel edge (WanderVerse family mark), and discreet machined rack-ear brackets flanking the unit. Minimalist industrial aesthetic — Unifi Dream Machine Pro × Mikrotik CRS × Teenage Engineering OP-1."
Reconciliation actions taken (silent change avoided — every change documented):
1. v0's MT7988A → v1 dual-chip approach (Marvell switch fabric for the L2 plane + MT7981B management SoC). ⚠ needs validation on switch-fabric pick. 2. v0's WiFi 7 mesh AP role → re-cast as WanderRouter Standard SKU (future SOP). v1 Bridge Full has zero RF on platform. 3. v0's 4× 2.5GbE → v1 4× Gigabit RJ45 on front (image binds; 2.5G might be promoted to v1.1 if stage-3 verifies SerDes routing on the cream faceplate). 4. v0's 10G SFP+ uplink → v1 keeps it but moves it to rear panel only (image shows clean front; SFP+ cage is rear-only). 5. v0's PoE-out 0/2/4 → v1 keeps it but moves it to optional rear daughterboard (front shows 4× clean RJ45; PoE-out is rear if installed). 6. v0's "Medium chassis" cover swap (polymer/CNC/Lux walnut) → v1 chassis is single material (slate-charcoal aluminum); customization lives in faceplate signature tier (Standard cream / Lux Ambassador-engraved). 7. v0's optional 40mm fan → v1 fanless mandatory (acoustic + image binding). 8. v0's UPS module → v1 keeps as optional rear-bay accessory (image doesn't preclude rear; Bridge Full's primary use case in HAVEN safehouses justifies UPS option). Cell chemistry: LiFePO4 preferred (per v0 § Open items).
Carried forward from v0 (preserved):
- Dual-mode architecture (Mode 1 / 2 / 3) per
_STANDALONE-AND-PLATFORM-INTEGRATION.md
- Community Pool 60/30/10 revenue split
- Ambassador-assembled with Signature Mark
- 7-year parts commitment
- Open STL files (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- HAVEN integration via Bridge Mini fleet downstream
- WanderOS management plane (single pane across Bridge Mini + Bridge Full + WanderRouter Standard + Pro v2 + Ultra)
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Stage 1 — Intake + freeze (2026-04-24)
Decision: Native SOP v2.4 design (no Blueprint bundle). Device ID WV-NET-BRIDGE-FULL, revision v1.0-image-locked.
- Chassis: 1U rack-mount, 440 × 44 × 280 mm, slate charcoal anodized aluminum + cream anodized faceplate.
- Ship target: Q1 2027 (paired launch with Bridge Mini).
- Validation references: Michael's apartment (multi-room scenario) + small-nonprofit MDF (4-8 endpoint scenario) + HAVEN safehouse rack-room (4 Bridge Mini fleet scenario).
- Target price span: $249 Standard → $579 Lux.
- Single SKU stance: one chassis, configurator handles all variation per Standard 6.
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Stage 2 — Component selection (2026-04-24)
Full BOM at BOM-normalized.csv. Key architectural decisions follow.
Switch fabric SoC: Marvell 88E6191X (preferred) ⚠ needs validation
- Why: 11-port L2+ managed switch with 4× SerDes (suitable for SFP+ uplink + PoE management ports + management-CPU port). Mainline OpenWrt support documented for Marvell 6xxx family. Used in MikroTik CRS series (industry-validated). Estimated $14-18 vol-1k. ⚠ needs validation on 2026 distributor stock + lifecycle.
- Considered + rejected:
- Realtek RTL8380M — cheaper (~$8) but mainline OpenWrt support thinner; closed driver concerns
- Marvell 88E6390 — 11-port but no SFP+ SerDes (would force separate SFP+ PHY)
- MediaTek MT7531AE — Bridge Mini's switch but only 5 ports (not enough for 4× LAN + management + uplink + PoE budget)
- Source: Bridge Mini precedent + general silicon-roadmap knowledge of 1U managed-switch designs (MikroTik CRS305/309 use Marvell 88E6xxx series).
Management SoC: MediaTek MT7981B (Filogic 820) — UNIFIED with Bridge Mini
- Why: same SoC as Bridge Mini — single firmware codebase across both Bridge SKUs. $8 vol-1k. OpenWrt mainline. Internal switch port can serve as the CPU-port to Marvell 88E6191X. PCIe 2.0 x1 available for future v1.1 WiFi client backhaul module.
- Architecture: MT7981B is the management plane; Marvell 88E6191X is the data plane. CPU-port between them via SGMII at 2.5G (sufficient for management + tagged-VLAN traffic; data-plane stays line-rate at the switch fabric).
- Source: Bridge Mini Stage 2 decision (this BOM row 1).
RAM: 1GB DDR4 soldered
- 1GB sufficient for OpenWrt + WanderOS-Bridge-Full + management daemon (no AP services, no PoE-management daemon's RAM-hungry features). Soldered (no SODIMM in 1U thin chassis is a chassis-driven deviation from Standard 2 — same logic as Bridge Mini RAM/eMMC).
- Upgrade path: whole-mainboard swap via send-back service.
Storage: 16GB eMMC soldered
- 16GB for log depth (managed switch generates more telemetry than Bridge Mini). Soldered, same chassis-deviation as RAM.
4× Front Gigabit RJ45 — image-locked
- PHYs: 4× Realtek RTL8211F or equivalent 1G PHY (~$1.50 each at 1k). Single-port PHY.
- Magjacks: 4× Bel Fuse SI-46001-F (same 2.5G-rated magjack as Bridge Mini; over-spec'd for 1G but lets us promote ports to 2.5G in v1.1 without magjack respin).
- Front-panel layout: image binding — 4 ports horizontally arranged on left side of cream faceplate, with engraved "1" "2" "3" "4" at port openings.
- Status LEDs per port: integrated in magjack (link/activity bicolor), no separate front-panel LED per port.
Single round amber-saffron status LED — image-locked
- Part: Cree CLM3C-AKA amber LED 0603 + light-pipe to round 4mm aperture on far-right of cream faceplate.
- Driver: MT7981B GPIO via DMN2215U MOSFET, PWM-modulated for pulse/blink states.
- Saffron color spec: ~590-595nm wavelength (warm amber, distinct from emergency red). ⚠ needs validation — pick LED part that matches the saffron pinstripe color on the top bezel (color matching is mandatory, not nice-to-have).
Saffron pinstripe (top bezel)
- Decision: anodize-masked cream-with-saffron-stripe single-anodize process. Two-tone anodizing established technique; 5+ US anodizers offer it.
- Width: 1.5mm pinstripe, ~5mm from top edge of bezel.
- Color spec: match LED amber-saffron at ~592nm wavelength visual.
- Rejected: painted stripe (chip risk over 7-year service life); inlaid aluminum strip (assembly cost + alignment fragility).
- ⚠ needs validation on anodizer capability for two-tone single-process.
Rack ears: machined integrated 6061 aluminum
- Material: 6061-T6, MIL-A-8625 Type II hardcoat anodized in slate-charcoal to match chassis.
- Mounting: chassis-side fastens via 4× M4 captive screws inside chassis (image shows discrete machined mounting); rack-side fastens via standard 10-32 rack screws.
- Open STL: rack ear contour published CC BY-SA 4.0 for user-printable variants (e.g., wall-mount alternate or short-depth rack adapter).
PoE-out — REAR DAUGHTERBOARD only (image binding)
- Decision: PoE-out is an optional rear-mounted daughterboard that plugs into a rear PoE-output cutout. The front face stays clean per image.
- Variants: none / 2× 802.3at (50W combined) / 4× 802.3at (100W combined) / 4× 802.3bt (240W combined).
- PSE chip: TI TPS23881 (Type 4) per port (same family as Bridge Mini).
- Internal PSU sizing: see "PSU" below.
SFP+ 10GbE uplink — REAR ONLY (image binding)
- Decision: SFP+ cage moves to rear panel only, not front. Image binds front face.
- Cage: Amphenol SFP+ host connector + cage assembly.
- SerDes: Marvell 88E6191X has 4× SerDes lanes; one lane dedicated to SFP+ when installed, otherwise unused.
Internal PSU: Mean Well RPS-200-12 200W 12V (default Standard config) ⚠ needs validation
- Why: standard 1U-friendly internal PSU. 200W is over-spec for a no-PoE-out Bridge Full (15W typical) but under-spec for full PoE-bt config (15W self + 240W PoE-out = 255W). Two-PSU strategy:
- Standard config (no PoE-out): Mean Well RPS-50-12 50W internal — quiet, fanless-compatible, $14 vol-1k.
- PoE-out config: Mean Well RPS-300-12 300W internal — handles 240W PoE-bt + 60W headroom for chassis self + redundancy. ⚠ needs validation on fanless thermal at 300W in 1U passive chassis.
- External 12V barrel jack (rear) for non-PoE-out configs as backup / lab-bench use.
Redundant PSU option
- Decision: add a second internal PSU bay for AC+AC redundancy (data-center pattern). Mean Well RKP-1U 600W or similar. Lux config only — adds ~$60 BOM, ~$120 retail delta.
- ⚠ needs validation on dual-PSU thermal in fanless 1U.
Console USB-C (rear)
- Same Amphenol 12401610E2 as Bridge Mini. Hidden behind a rear panel cutout. UART-over-USB debug + flash. USB 2.0 only.
Faceplate signature tier — Lux engraved
- Standard: thermal-printed Ambassador card affixed to inside-top-cover (visible when chassis opened for service).
- Lux: Ambassador-designed engraved insignia laser-etched onto cream faceplate (front-visible, permanent). +$80 retail delta.
Chassis manufacturing path
- Prototype (1-50 units): CNC 6061-T6 from billet at Protolabs/Xometry, ~$95/chassis (4 anodized chassis pieces — top, bottom, faceplate, rear).
- Mid-run (50-500 units): 6061-T6 sheet-metal-bent + welded + machined edges, ~$45/chassis. Common 1U-rack approach.
- High-run (500+ units): sheet-metal stamped + machined; aluminum extrusion with end-caps option for 2k+ runs. ~$28/chassis.
First-run target: 250 units at mid-run pricing. ~$140 FOB BOM → $249 retail Standard config = 44% gross margin (matching Bridge Mini margin discipline).
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Stage 3 — Compatibility review (2026-04-24)
40-part BOM (full list BOM-normalized.csv) verified electrically + mechanically coherent. Full output: COMPATIBILITY.md.
Resolved:
- MT7981B ↔ Marvell 88E6191X SGMII handshake at 2.5G CPU port (standard SGMII, both spec-conforming)
- Marvell switch fabric ↔ 4× Realtek RTL8211F PHY via 4× MII or RGMII (Marvell 88E6191X exposes per-port MAC interfaces)
- 1U thermal envelope: 8-15W typical sustained → fanless aluminum chassis 440×280mm easily handles
- Image-locked dimensions (440×44×280mm) → all parts fit; no chassis-stretch needed
- PoE-out daughterboard rear cutout fits 4× RJ45 stacked (or 2× RJ45 short variant)
- Cream faceplate magjack cutouts: precision-machined to fit Bel Fuse SI-46001-F dimensions
Deferred / open:
- 🟡 Marvell 88E6191X 2026 distributor stock + lifecycle ⚠ needs validation Stage-4 RFQ
- 🟡 OpenWrt mainline support level for 88E6191X (DSA driver maturity) ⚠ needs validation
- 🔴 Saffron-pinstripe two-tone anodizing — vendor capability ⚠ needs validation Stage 5
- 🟡 Internal-PSU pick: 50W vs 300W vs both (config-dependent) — Stage 5 DFM
- 🟡 Rear panel cutout flexibility — single rear PCB layout that handles all 4 daughterboard configurations (no PoE-out / 2-port PoE-out / 4-port PoE-out / SFP+ uplink) — Stage 5 DFA
- 🔴 Production origin (US vs Taiwan CM) — gates EVT, same posture as Bridge Mini
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Stage 4 — Sourcing (Perplexity-deferred)
Same posture as Bridge Mini: training-knowledge architectural review; Stage-4 Perplexity RFQ verification queued for next session. ⚠ needs validation flagged on Marvell 88E6191X / RTL8211F / Mean Well PSU stock + lifecycle.
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Stage 5 — DFM/DFA/DFT (2026-04-24)
Full output: DFM-DFA-DFT.md.
Key decisions:
- Mainboard: 6-layer ENIG, 380×220mm. Prototype via JLCPCB; mid-run via Sierra Circuits or Advanced Circuits.
- 16-step Ambassador-station workflow, 12-18 min/unit.
- DFT: 16 test points, 14-test automated fixture (more than Bridge Mini due to per-port + management-plane coverage), 180s/unit.
- First-run target: 250 units, ~$140 FOB, $249 retail typical = 44% gross margin.
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Stage 6 — Thermal/EMC/ESD (2026-04-24)
Full output: THERMAL-EMC.md.
Key decisions:
- Fanless mandatory (image binding). Aluminum chassis as heatsink.
- Standard config (no PoE-out) ~10W typical → comfortable in passive 1U envelope.
- Full PoE-bt config 240W chassis-internal-conversion-loss ~15W self → still passive-feasible at 25°C ambient. Advisory at >35°C ambient.
- EMC stacks: standard L2-switch practice (per-port magjack ESD + chassis bond + shielded magnetics); PoE-out adds SMAJ58A per port + EMI ferrite.
- ESD: Level 4 on all external I/O (per-port and PoE-out).
- FCC Part 15 Class B (residential allowed) — image-locked aesthetic supports residential use case.
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Stage 7 — Compliance (2026-04-24)
Full output: COMPLIANCE.md.
- FCC Part 15 B (Class B residential) ~$4-5k
- CE RED + UKCA + ISED ~$5-6k combined
- UL 62368-1 — required (mains-connected internal PSU). ~$8-15k pre-cert + cert. This is the cost delta from Bridge Mini (Bridge Mini avoided UL 62368 by deferring Powerline; Bridge Full has internal PSU = mains).
- Energy Star Network Equipment cert — optional but achievable (fanless low-power design); $1-2k.
- RoHS / REACH / WEEE — declarations.
- DA-26-278 — Bridge Full is bridge/switch class; ⚠ needs validation on classification but bridges historically not "consumer routers" under FCC framing.
- Cert budget total: $20-30k US+EU+UK+Canada launch.
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Stage 8 — Canonical BOM + GUIDE + STLs (2026-04-24)
BOM-platform.csv (in every Bridge Full), BOM-modules.csv (configurator-driven), GUIDE.md (rack install + VLAN setup + monitoring + Bridge Mini fleet integration), STL-OPEN-FILES/README.md (rack ears + dust covers + accessories).
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Stage 9 — HW↔FW (2026-04-24)
Full output: HW-FW.md.
- OpenWrt 24.10 base + WanderOS-Bridge-Full overlay (shared codebase with Bridge Mini, per-SKU feature flags).
- DSA driver for Marvell 88E6191X switch fabric ⚠ needs validation on 24.10 mainline support (verify in OpenWrt git tree).
- One firmware image, runtime hardware discovery.
- Secure boot via U-Boot signed bootloader + dual-partition rollback.
- 14-test production bring-up (vs 13 for Mini — adds switch-fabric link-state + VLAN-tag pass coverage).
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Stage 10 — Gate review + service flow (2026-04-24)
GATE.md (EVT 2026-Q3, DVT 2026-Q4, PVT 2027-Q1) + SERVICE-FLOW.md (rack-mount-friendly send-back procedures + user-replaceable PSU + Ambassador refurb).
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Flags carried forward (consolidated)
| # | Flag | Severity | Disposition |
|---|
| 1 | Marvell 88E6191X 2026 stock + OpenWrt DSA support | 🟡 | ⚠ Stage-4 Perplexity RFQ |
| 2 | Saffron pinstripe two-tone anodizing vendor capability | 🟡 | ⚠ Stage-5 anodizer RFQ |
| 3 | Saffron LED color spec match to pinstripe (~592nm) | 🟡 | ⚠ Stage-5 LED part matching |
| 4 | Internal PSU thermal at 300W fanless | 🟡 | ⚠ Stage-6 thermal model |
| 5 | Production origin (US CM vs Taiwan CM) | 🔴 | gates EVT |
| 6 | UL 62368-1 cert path (mains-connected) | 🟢 | budgeted, standard process |
| 7 | DA-26-278 classification (bridge/switch vs consumer router) | 🟡 | ⚠ Stage-7 Perplexity / FCC FAE |
| 8 | Single rear-panel PCB handling all 4 daughterboard configs | 🟡 | ⚠ Stage-5 DFA |
| 9 | Faceplate Ambassador-engraving (Lux) anodizing thermal post-process | 🟢 | standard laser etching after anodize |
| 10 | Rear UPS module LiFePO4 cell choice | 🟡 | ⚠ Stage-7 UL safety review |
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Source-of-truth chain
hero image (2026-04-24, Michael) →
_MANIFEST.md Stage 0 reconciliation →
DECISIONS.md (this file) →
[BOM-normalized, BOM-platform, BOM-modules, COMPATIBILITY,
SOURCING, DFM-DFA-DFT, THERMAL-EMC, COMPLIANCE, CONFIGURATOR,
GUIDE, HW-FW, SERVICE-FLOW, GATE, STL-OPEN-FILES/README]
WANDERBRIDGE-SPEC.md v0 is preserved as historical reference; v1 image-locked decisions in this log supersede where they conflict.