[TriLUG] Wireless Router Recommendations

[Justin]

Pfsense is freakin awesome!  Pretty easy setup and supports just about
as much stuff as a Cisco switch (short of etherchannel and port
trunking) ie traffic shaping, vlan's, *FREE*, and will run on pretty
much any old desktop hardware.

great article and setup how-to here:
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/configure_professional_firewall_using_pfsense

Justin

On Wed, 2008-11-19 at 10:23 -0500, Cristóbal Palmer wrote:
> Just wanted to echo Joe and add a few details.
> 
> On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 7:17 AM, Joseph Mack NA3T <jmack at wm7d.net> wrote:
> >
> > I have the router and wap as separate boxes.
> 
> If you have the money or the spare hardware to do it this way, you can
> get something much more powerful and flexible. I would recommend using
> a spare or cast-off desktop with a couple of extra PCI NICs and the CD
> version of pfsense (http://www.pfsense.com/) as the router. You could
> then run more than one WRT-based AP.
> 
> Alternatively you could get something small and fanless to act as your
> router. Where I used to live I did this with a Soekris Net4501.
> Soekris has a Net4801 bundle on their website that would more than
> meet your needs for $278.00:
> 
> https://www.soekris.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=87
> 
> Note that if you get that you'll also have to get a CF card & power
> supply separately. Again, the only product of theirs i have used is
> the net4501. If that sounded expensive to you, stop and remember that
> a Cisco-branded (not Linksys with Cisco in small print) will run you
> >$300, while I can get a Linksys WRT54GL for about $60 from newegg.
> 
> > I'm happy with the early series WRT54GS, which I get off
> > e-bay. I'm running WRT, but there are other linux distros
> > for the same machine that people on this list like.
> 
> If you're doing the cheap machine + a couple of WRTs, then it doesn't
> matter terribly much what model WRT you get, but if you're _just_
> getting a WRT then get yourself a WRT54GL so that you can have more
> options in terms of what firmware to use. I'm a fan of tomato
> (http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato) but you could also use ddwrt or
> openwrt. I _do_ recommend using an alternative firmware since it (for
> some of them) gives you ssh access and other functionality beyond the
> default firmware.
> 
> > I would have at least two waps, so that you can bring one
> > down for service, and maintain connectivity. I have them on
> > UPSs as they lock up occassionally if you don't
> 
> Clean Power-ness is next to godliness.
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> Cheers,
> -- 
> Cristóbal M. Palmer
> "Small acts of humanity amid the chaos of inhumanity provide hope. But
> small acts are insufficient."
>     -- Paul Rusesabagina