Router/Firewall options..

[niko084]

So I have about had it with trash consumer level routers that add latency, lockup, have to be reset too often, have very limited options and some have crap firmware.

So that being said..

Options are, buy a Cisco *Ya it works, but I sorta don't want to go this route do to the simple cost and the fact that cisco routers have tons of very well known vulnerabilities. Granted I could still use it, I don't have a ton to worry about.

My other though was a linux box, considering pfsense, maybe running on a mini-itx board with a Atom processor, passively cooled if possible, running from a sdcard with like 512mb of ram.
This should be plenty more than powerful enough to run 6 computers from...

No these are about the only two types of options I can seem to come up with.
Does anyone have an option I have not considered, or strongly recommend one option here over the other.

I have extremely limited knowledge and experience with pfsense, but it's pretty widely used and the documentation is definitely there.

 

[mrhuggles]

i would go with the same solution i did, openWRT, it doesn't really matter where you install it, an old x86 computer, or a compatible SOHO router, it will still be the same other than performance and amount of flash space[or hdd] / ram

i get about 30mbit routed traffic [200mhz broadcom cpu] and it has enough memory for ~ 25k connections [32mb] with 16mb of ram you wanna limit it to more like 5k connections
on an x86 computer you would have a lot more fun with it especially with a hdd, it has tons of packages, its ipkg system is basically the same as RPM i think.

the thing that makes it easy is X-Wrt [webif²] which is a snap in or can come with it web GUI that is really polished in whiterussian [not so much in kamikaze at least it wasn't last time i tried]

 

[newtekie1]

WRT54GL+Tomato Firmware

Hasn't failed me yet, hasn't locked up yet, and doesn't seem to add any latency.

 

[niko084]

WRT54GL+Tomato Firmware

Hasn't failed me yet, hasn't locked up yet, and doesn't seem to add any latency.

I have need for wireless N....

I also actually have 4 fried WRT54s....

I don't know what I do to routers, but I fry them almost like its my religion, this DIR-655 is the first one I have had that has lasted more than 6 months.

 

[Hybrid_theory]

another solution along the lines of pfsense is monowall. It's installed in a lab at my school to seperate it from the rest of the network. However this is a bottleneck for when heavy traffic is needed.

 

[niko084]

another solution along the lines of pfsense is monowall. It's installed in a lab at my school to seperate it from the rest of the network. However this is a bottleneck for when heavy traffic is needed.

Pfsense is built on monowall. But yes I do know that is another hot one, the reason I was thinking Pfsense is because I have already used it minimally.

 

[mrhuggles]

i wouldnt worry about it then, just go ahead and get an older computer and install openWRT + X-Wrt on it, make sure the WIFI card you put in is compatible with openWRT i think as long as the chip is from atheros it should be ok. all you need in it is a wifi card and a lan card, you probably wont even need a monitor or keyboard attached.

as far as how fast, don't worry about it you probably wont be able to get a hold of anything that isnt fast enough i saw a bunch of p3 500mhz boxes for sale down at the good will for 25 dollars each.

 

[niko084]

i wouldnt worry about it then, just go ahead and get an older computer and install openWRT + X-Wrt on it, make sure the WIFI card you put in is compatible with openWRT i think as long as the chip is from atheros it should be ok. all you need in it is a wifi card and a lan card, you probably wont even need a monitor or keyboard attached.

as far as how fast, don't worry about it you probably wont be able to get a hold of anything that isnt fast enough i saw a bunch of p3 500mhz boxes for sale down at the good will for 25 dollars each.

Ya I have a stack of about 100 Dell optiplex P3's at work, I just really want something small and very low power consumption that wont produce any heat, only reason I'm thinking about an Atom system.

 

[mrhuggles]

atom would work, just remember what difference in price were talking about, mine doesn't really make a lot of heat, its just that by default they don't have a heatsink. i put a little one on mine

 

[niko084]

atom would work, just remember what difference in price were talking about, mine doesn't really make a lot of heat, its just that by default they don't have a heatsink. i put a little one on mine

Ya the cost is a bit of a downer but I think I can deal with that just knowing that it will handle anything I throw at it and not have to worry about old hardware failing, otherwise I would use a P3 1ghz board I have sitting here, which I still may use... I'm up in a rut about the whole thing right now.

 

[mrhuggles]

umm, i can pretty much guarantee a p60 could handle any ammount you could ever dream of, i am positive that it could easily route 100mbit and even more.

 

[niko084]

umm, i can pretty much guarantee a p60 could handle any ammount you could ever dream of, i am positive that it could easily route 100mbit and even more.

I'm quite aware, its mostly the failing hardware part.

 

[mrhuggles]

yeah good call, wouldn't it be nice to have something that ran cool enough you could passively cool and not have to deal with dust and etc, well it looks like your gonna have fun with that project i hope new projects.

 

[driftdamage]

I have had a pfsense box running on a 700mhz p3, 256mb ram, 4gb CF card, 2x generic crappy 100mbit nics for almost a year now and it has been wonderful. Great stability, no latency increase, it has been bridged with my old router.
Has up to 10 computers behind it running on a 10mb/1mb ADSL connection with no problem.
I am pretty sure I tested it before I put it in running a computer either side transferring a file and it reached 100mbit throughput. CPU usage was high, but was fine.
Heres a cpu usage graph for my box over last 2 days. Has 4/5 computers a day going through it.