[TriLUG] Router recommendations

[John Franklin via TriLUG]

I won’t say a bad word about Ubiquiti.  I haven’t had an opportunity to use their edge routers, but I have used their APs, which are excellent.

I will put in a good word about pfSense.  It’s essentially FreeBSD preconfigured to be an edge router with a nice web interface and a collection of add-on packages.  Supports all the NAT and fir walling you’d expect from a router, plus NTP, DHCP(v6), DNS, and VPN (OpenVPN and IPSec) out of the box. Snort is in the packages library and can be installed with a couple clicks.  (Learning how to use Snort takes a bit more effort.)

I’m running it here at home on a Protectli FW4B, essentially a barebones PC with four Intel GigE ports and a CPU that supports AES-NI.  There is no fan, the case is one giant heatsink.  If you’ve got some spare DDR3L-1600 and an SSD lying around, you can get the barebones hardware for $250.  A two-port version is about $50 cheaper.  I don’t recommend the WiFi kit for this box, as an external AP will provide much better service.

jf
--
John Franklin
franklin at elfie.org



> On Oct 13, 2018, at 11:54 AM, Matt Pusateri via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
> 
> I also run a PF sense PC, but I’m getting ready to replace it with a Ubiquity probably a USG. I have a Ubiquity access point, which I absolutely love. I’ve also run Ubiquity APs and several commercial installations, I highly recommend them.
> 
> Matt P
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Oct 13, 2018, at 11:37 AM, Steve Litt via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
>> 
>> On Sat, 13 Oct 2018 09:44:43 -0400
>> Nathan Yinger via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> My old router bricked itself - I tried to restart it, and it won't
>>> turn back on. No ethernet, no wifi, not a single LED lights up on it.
>>> So now I need a new one.
>>> 
>>> What I'm looking for:
>>> - Lasts longer than 3 years.
>>> - 4 gigabit ports is fine.
>>> - I only use wifi a little bit, so any kind of wifi will do.
>>> - Easy shell access would be nice.
>> 
>> The way I do it is I put pfSense on a computer, with a network card for
>> each needed zone. For my LAN, I feed a pfSense port into a switch,
>> which feeds the LAN. For Wifi, I have a Wifi router configured to be an
>> access point only. It's more money, more moving parts, bigger, but I
>> know what's inside of it.
>> 
>> Mine is running on an old hand-me-down computer. If one lives in a warm
>> climate, the proper way is to put pfSense on a very low power computer.
>> Do as I say, not as I do.
>> 
>> SteveT
>> 
>> Steve Litt
>> September 2018 featured book: Quit Joblessness: Start Your Own Business
>> http://www.troubleshooters.com/startbiz
>> --
>> This message was sent to: M. Pusateri <mpusateri at wickedtrails.com>
>> To unsubscribe, send a blank message to trilug-leave at trilug.org from that address.
>> TriLUG mailing list : https://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
>> Unsubscribe or edit options on the web    : https://www.trilug.org/mailman/options/trilug/mpusateri%40wickedtrails.com
>> Welcome to TriLUG: https://trilug.org/welcome
> 
> --
> This message was sent to: franklin at elfie.org <franklin at elfie.org>
> To unsubscribe, send a blank message to trilug-leave at trilug.org from that address.
> TriLUG mailing list : https://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> Unsubscribe or edit options on the web	: https://www.trilug.org/mailman/options/trilug/franklin%40elfie.org
> Welcome to TriLUG: https://trilug.org/welcome

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 235 bytes
Desc: Message signed with OpenPGP using GPGMail
URL: <http://www.trilug.org/pipermail/trilug/attachments/20181015/aac7d7af/attachment.pgp>