In the world of networking, the name "Realtek" often evokes mixed feelings. For enthusiasts, the RTL8196E is a notorious system-on-chip (SoC). You will find it lurking inside countless ultra-budget routers from brands like TP-Link, D-Link, Tenda, and Mercury. These are the gray or white plastic boxes sold for $10–$20, often bundled with ADSL modems or as basic N150/N300 access points.
Despite the lack of official support, several developers have attempted to bridge the gap: rtl8196e openwrt
We benchmarked the resulting OpenWrt firmware against the stock vendor firmware. In the world of networking, the name "Realtek"