Router suggestion

[djdwosk97]

I would like to redo my home network and I'm considering going from the traditional consumer router to a wired-router+switch+AP configuration.

I currently have an Asus RT-AC68u and a Linksys EA6400 (that I plan on using as APs) and I get about 50/25mbps (and that I doubt will get to gigabit anytime soon). I've been looking at three routers: Ubiquiti Edgerouter X, Edgerouter Lite, and a TP-Link TL-R600VPN. I don't really have a budget in mind, but I would like to do this as cheaply as possible. My other point of concern is complexity -- I want/need something that is pretty straightforward to set up (and that includes the VPN as well).

I would like a VPN, DDNS, and QOS -- I have a bunch of cameras so I need QOS to prevent them from overwhelming the network and I would like a VPN so that I can remotely connect to my FreeNAS server if I want to do a file transfer, or potentially fix a problem on the network/test something on the network.

I will also need a switch -- is there any advantage to a more expensive switch or would some cheap 4/5/8 port Netgear switch be just as good for my use case?

 

[melloa]

I use: https://www.pfsense.org/

and do all the above on my home network:

 

[djdwosk97]

I use: https://www.pfsense.org/

and do all the above on my home network:

View attachment 19057

I've thought about that, but I don't really want the cost/complexity of a PFSense box.

 

[melloa]

I've thought about that, but I don't really want the cost/complexity of a PFSense box.

Cost? I run pfSense on old desktops I buy refurbished from Microcenter and just need to add a NIC, that I buy from eBay server's pull-outs ...
Complexity? Well, didn't you say:

I would like a VPN, DDNS, and QOS

So what's the difference in doing all the above on a $300+ home grade router or a $150 pfSense box?

 

[djdwosk97]

Cost? I run pfSense on old desktops I buy refurbished from Microcenter and just need to add a NIC, that I buy from eBay server's pull-outs ...
Complexity? Well, didn't you say:



So what's the difference in doing all the above on a $300+ home grade router or a $150 pfSense box?

I'm running a VPN on my Asus RT-AC68u and it's incredibly slow to the point where it sometimes can't even connect to my FreeNAS server through windows explorer/Finder. I assumed consumer routers just didn't handle VPNs particularly well, and a pfSense box would cost more than a $50-$90 wired-router like the ones I was looking at above not to mention would consume more power and presumably be more complicated to setup/manage than a traditional wired-router.

 

[Jailer]

My APU2C4 cost $152 shipped to my door. But if you're more comfortable with a consumer router then by all means go that route.

 

[djdwosk97]

My APU2C4 cost $152 shipped to my door. But if you're more comfortable with a consumer router then by all means go that route.

I'm just under the impression that pfSense offers a lot more than I need and that something like an EdgeRouter X/Lite is more than sufficient while costing less money. I'm also under the impression that pfSense is more complicated to set up and manage and a pre-built router also has the benefit of other people owning it (support).

 

[melloa]

a pfSense box would cost more than a $50-$90 wired-router like the ones I was looking at above

One has to choose between performance versus cost and get to the sweet spot that fulfill one's needs.

I walked a similar path with several home grade routers, just to waste lost of money with them. The last one an Asus AC-3200. Functionality you can get with old routers, very cheap I should say, using DD-WRT.

At the end, I built a pfSense box and got two UniFi APs.

 

[Jailer]

I'm also under the impression that pfSense is more complicated to set up

This wouldn't be an incorrect assumption. But like anything else it takes some time to get to know it but once you do it's not all that daunting. You learned how to manage FreeNAS correct?

 

[djdwosk97]

One has to choose between performance versus cost and get to the sweet spot that fulfill one's needs.

I walked a similar path with several home grade routers, just to waste lost of money with them. The last one an Asus AC-3200. Functionality you can get with old routers, very cheap I should say, using DD-WRT.

At the end, I built a pfSense box and got two UniFi APs.

Well, I'm not looking at normal consumer routers -- I already have an AC68u and it's more than capable of handling everything I need except that the VPN that runs on it is incredibly slow (at least I'm assuming it's the router and not something else limiting the VPN).

I'm looking towards, what I would think, is a step up from the traditional consumer router -- Ubiquiti Edgerouter X/Lite.

This wouldn't be an incorrect assumption. But like anything else it takes some time to get to know it but once you do it's not all that daunting. You learned how to manage FreeNAS correct?

I would still say I'm very limited with what I can do in FreeNAS. I figured out the basics like setting up storage, I can install/run plugins (plex) and add storage to jails (again, plex), but honestly, much more is out of my ability. Sure, I could probably spend a dozen hours and figure something else out, but I don't really want to.

I don't want the router to be something that I have to put hours towards figuring out. I basically want to go into the router, setup a few QOS rules on a handful of MAC addresses, assign a few static IPs, and quickly setup a VPN that I can use to remotely connect to my network without having to do much, if any, research. So I want simple, yet still capable. My current (consumer) router falls into that category and as I said in the first part of this reply, it handles everything fine except the VPN.

 

[chris crude]

(at least I'm assuming it's the router and not something else limiting the VPN).

99% of home grade Routers dont have the processing power for the encrypt/decrypt that goes with VPN, so it slows to a crawl.

 

[djdwosk97]

99% of home grade Routers dont have the processing power for the encrypt/decrypt that goes with VPN, so it slows to a crawl.

Would the Ubiquiti Edgerouter X/Lite have enough power or still not?

 

[Jailer]

setup a few QOS rules on a handful of MAC addresses

Well that's going to rule out pfsense then. Traffic shaping in pfsense is one of the more difficult things to set up. It can be done but it's complicated.

 

[m0nkey_]

Why is this under Help & Support / Networking. Shouldn't this be in Off-topic?

 

[Ericloewe]

Beep beep. Moving thread to Offtopic. Union rules dictate that I must preface menial tasks with silly robot sounds, as well as terminate them with heavy vehicle in reverse gear noises. Beeeeeeep. Beeeeeeep. Beeeeeeep.

 

[chris crude]

Would the Ubiquiti Edgerouter X/Lite have enough power or still not?

Have no experience with that brand, couldn't say without guessing.

 

[D-Tijori]

While I understand your needs are not very complex (a notion I started out with as well). However, read this to get an understanding of the kind of responses you an expect - https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/pfsense-home-router-hardware-suggestions.55017/

Then, figure out the extent of your resources you can invest. A general rule of thumb is - quality is not cheap (as you might already know). Resources here are signified more so by time than money. And, Pfsense is worth your resources given you value your network.

 

[cyberjock]

I know someone using an edge router for VPN. They work "okay" but if you set the encryption levels really high for "good security" they can bottleneck. If you are hoping for no more than 5MB/sec I'd say an edge router will work. Otherwise I'd look for something like a pfsense box.

I personally have an edge router lite on my desk that I planned to setup for work VPN stuff, but never got around to it. As we don't expect more than about 1MB/sec of traffic, it will certainly do its job at a good price.

Edit: I use pfsense for my home router, and it did take some time to learn to use. For me, pfsense was (and still is) the way to go for my needs despite having to spend some time reading docs to use it properly. YMMV though.

 

[anodos]

One has to choose between performance versus cost and get to the sweet spot that fulfill one's needs.

I walked a similar path with several home grade routers, just to waste lost of money with them. The last one an Asus AC-3200. Functionality you can get with old routers, very cheap I should say, using DD-WRT.

About a year ago I set up a wireless bridge using DD-WRT and a wireless router I picked up at a yard sale for $1. It's still going strong. :D

 

[danb35]

I haven't heard a lot about them, but what I have heard about the Edgerouters has generally been favorable. If I'm not mistaken, @jgreco has some experience with them. I'm running a pfSense box, which works well and doesn't draw much power, but it doesn't sound like you're interested in that.