Hi Lemmy Community,
At the moment i got a router-modem-combination from my ip and i want to be more independent. Therefore i want to use the provided hardware as bridge and buy my own router to manage my network.
In my home network i got
- 2 Desktop PCs (cable)
- 1 Switch (cable)
- Several WiFi devices including smart home devices
- Pi-Hole
- Mac Mini as a linux Server (cable)
- Synology NAS (cable)
- AVM repeater
Before i start my own extensive research, may you recommend me a Router for my setup?
Thank you in advance :-)
If you want a really good, capable firewall that’s easy to configure, go with OpnSense.
If you want granular control and [near] enterprise grade features for a low price, go with Mikrotik.
I’d recommend one of those combo router/mini-PCs, and it can replace a bunch of your other equipment.
Otherwise I have a GLi-net router that is absolutely amazing.
If you just want something cheap, just grab any old WiFi 6 router compatible with OpenWRT.
a router that supports openwrt. relatively new, affordable, good specs/features. non-bs model.
or a computer with NIC that supports AP mode.(if u know how to do that)
I personally like mikrotik routers. They have all the features you could wish for and then some and they’re relatively cheap for the things they can do. I have RB4011iGS+ (I don’t think that exaxt model is available anymore) and it’s been rock solid. As I have fiber I just pulled the SPF-module from ISP’s box and plugged it in on my own hardware, so the router ISP provided is just gathering dust right now.
But it depends on what you’re really after. If you just need basic firewall/NAT/DHCP functionality and your connection speed is below 1Gbit pretty much any router will do. If you have fast connection and/or need for totally separate networks/VLAN/something else it’s a whole another matter.
I have an hex s and it’s great, but it’s a pain in the ass to setup if you’re not an expert at this stuff.
I have an RB5009 and it’s great. I’d say they’re actually quite easy to get going with the default config. It’s when you get the itch to start messing with stuff that the learning ramps up.
I use Asus routers, they have good hardware. But then I install Fresh Tomato on them to give them full professional routing capabilities. It’s amazing what’s included in that, including vlan support, dns masquerade support etc etc.
