Teltonika Networks has announced the End-of-Life (EOL) of its RUTX series of industrial routers, marking the beginning of a gradual transition towards its newer generation of networking hardware.

The RUTX range has become a familiar choice across industrial, commercial and IoT applications, so businesses currently using these routers may understandably have questions about what the announcement means for their existing equipment and future deployments.

The important message is that there is no need to immediately replace existing RUTX routers. Teltonika has outlined a phased transition and support period, giving businesses time to assess their requirements and plan future upgrades.

Why is the Teltonika RUTX series being discontinued?

The decision to phase out the RUTX series follows the discontinuation of the Qualcomm CPU platform used within the range.

As a result, Teltonika is transitioning customers towards its newer RUTM and RUTC router families, which provide a platform for future deployments while retaining many of the features and capabilities that made the RUTX range popular.

For organisations specifying hardware for new installations, this means it is now worth considering the appropriate RUTM or RUTC alternative rather than designing a new solution around RUTX hardware.

What happens to existing RUTX routers?

If you already have RUTX routers deployed, the EOL announcement does not mean that they will suddenly stop working.

Existing devices can continue to operate as normal, and Teltonika has established a multi-year support period to provide customers with time to manage the transition.

During the initial support period following End of Production, Teltonika plans to continue providing security updates and bug fixes. This is followed by an extended period covering critical security updates and best-effort support.

For businesses managing larger estates of Teltonika routers, the announcement therefore provides an opportunity to begin planning rather than a requirement for immediate replacement.

What replaces the RUTX series?

Teltonika has identified products from its newer RUTM and RUTC families as migration options for the RUTX range.

Depending on your connectivity, performance and application requirements, potential migration paths include:

Existing Router	Potential Replacement
RUTX08	RUTM08
RUTX09	RUTM09
RUTX10	RUTM10
RUTX11	RUTM11, RUTM16 or RUTC16
RUTX12	RUTC42, RUTM52 or RUTM56
RUTX14	RUTM50 or RUTM54
RUTX50	RUTM50 or RUTC50

 

The correct replacement is not necessarily a simple like-for-like swap. Factors including 4G or 5G connectivity, Ethernet requirements, Wi-Fi, VPN performance, processing power, interfaces and the intended application should all be considered when selecting the next device.

Should you replace your RUTX routers now?

For most organisations, there is no reason to replace functioning RUTX equipment simply because an EOL announcement has been made.

Instead, we recommend considering the announcement as part of your longer-term network planning.

If an existing RUTX router is performing reliably and continues to meet the requirements of the application, it may remain perfectly suitable during the supported lifecycle.

However, businesses should consider migrating to the newer platforms when:

• Planning a new installation or project
• Expanding an existing network
• Replacing failed or ageing hardware
• Standardising equipment across multiple sites
• Moving from 4G to 5G connectivity
• Requiring greater network or VPN performance
• Planning a long-term deployment where product availability and support are important

Taking this approach can help avoid unnecessary replacement costs while ensuring that new investments are made on Teltonika’s current-generation platforms.

Planning your migration from Teltonika RUTX

Although the RUTX series is entering the final stage of its product lifecycle, businesses have time to prepare.

The most appropriate migration strategy will depend on how your RUTX devices are being used. A router installed for basic industrial 4G connectivity, for example, may have very different replacement requirements from one handling multiple WAN connections, Wi-Fi, VPN tunnels or high bandwidth 5G traffic.

Need help planning your migration?

If your organisation currently uses Teltonika RUTX routers or you’re planning a new Teltonika deployment, our team can help.

Contact us to discuss your existing Teltonika RUTX or to find the right router for your next deployment.