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| Buying a router or making one with X86 computer |
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| soldar:
At home I am presently using a router TP-Link TL-WR841N with OpenWRT. It does what I need but it does not have enough flash memory to do more, like install OpenVPN TP-Link TL-WR841N CPU: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9533-AL3A, Cores: 1, f= 550Mhz Flash MB: 4 RAM MB: 32 Ethernet 100M ports: 5 So, mainly for the purpose of playing, learning and improving my setup I would like to start building a new router with greater capabilities.. 1- Buying a router One way would be to get a better router HW. I have a crate full of routers but most are just too old for OpenWRT and many are Chinese and undocumented. You would think Chinese routers would basically be the same board with different firmware but it seems this is not the case. So it seems buying a new router with more flash and ram would be the way to go. I went to the OpenWRT page to see what routers might work and I immediately got lost in the deluge of models. Also I get the impression now they come with plug-in ram rather than on-board. This is getting complicated. https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_16128 They recommend - 16MB Flash will provide for bare minimum installed packages. Devices with more storage is recommended. - 128MB RAM will provide for minimal functionality. Devices with more RAM is recommended. So the first question is if you can recommend a router suitable for OpenWRT. I am guessing something similar to what I have, 5 Ethernet ports, WiFi, but more memory, say 16 or 32 MB flash and 128 or 256 MB RAM. Probably this should be available second hand at a good low price or maybe free. Can you recommend a model? 2- Building a router with an X86 computer box. I guess this is another option as I already have some computers available. But it seems installing OpenWRT is very complicated. Very. I would like a solution of the type where you can burn an ISO to a USB drive and run it from there without further complications. But from what I gather it requires complicated installation and, frankly I do not want to spend the effort and frustration. https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-developer/uefi-bootable-image There is RouterOS from Mikrotik which can be run live on an X86 machine but it is for pay. Or I can buy one of their router which includes it. But if I can I would rather stay with OpenWRT because I am already familiar with it. - Conclusion The way I see it the ideal solution would be to find a router box where I can install OpenWRT or, better still, that comes with OpenWRT installed. The next best option would be to find a *really* simple way of installing OpenWRT on a computer drive. If none of these are possible I'll probably do nothing and leave things as they are. |
| Bobson:
You can install OpenWRT on PC. Another choice could be PFSense (It's FreeBSD based instead of Linux). Ethernet should be Intel, not Realtek. Avoid Mikrotik - it has bad interface and violates GPL. |
| DiTBho:
Or ... a router with an amd-geode (x86 32bit compatible) made by Soekris. I am working on it :D |
| DiTBho:
--- Quote from: Bobson on December 20, 2024, 11:31:51 am ---Avoid Mikrotik - it has bad interface and violates GPL. --- End quote --- Their routers - as far as I tried - have a lot of quirks with the Linux kernel. I am still fighting against them on a couple of their MIPS routers. |
| madires:
Maybe a used TP-Link Archer A7 v5 (https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_a7_v5) or TP-Link Archer C7 (https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/archer_c7), both at the low end of HW specs (sufficient for VDSL throughput). Or if you want something more future-proof look for routers with MT7986AV, e.g. GL.iNet GL-MT6000 (https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt6000), meant to handle FTTH throughput. |
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