router build

[Killer_Rubber_Ducky]

Hey all,

I'm looking into building my own router after watching the Hak5 episode where they used smoothwall to do it.

What is a good inexpensive build for that purpose? I'm interested in multi-core router setup with gigabit and wlan. i still want to keep price low and fast with low power usage if possible.

 

[Athlon2K15]

wouldnt you just grab a motherboard with 7 expansion slots and fill them with gigabit cards ?

 

[Killer_Rubber_Ducky]

wouldnt you just grab a motherboard with 7 expansion slots and fill them with gigabit cards ?

true but i need suggestions of parts ( mobo, cards, etc)

 

[Athlon2K15]

onboard gpu e7200

 

[Killer_Rubber_Ducky]

onboard gpu e7200

wtf is that?

 

[ktr]

I highly recommend you to get Intel NICs. As for the rest of the hardware, for personal use, you don't need anything powerful.

 

[Killer_Rubber_Ducky]

I highly recommend you to get Intel NICs. As for the rest of the hardware, for personal use, you don't need anything powerful.

Gaming with up to 4 Machines?

 

[unsmart]

The only real value in smoothwall is running it on your old hardware. gigabit ethernet cards are around $10 a piece and then everything less will be $100. You can get a real nice gig /wifi[ with usb ]router for much less. See what you can round up for free and go form there but I wouldn't put more then $30 into it.

 

[ktr]

Gaming with up to 4 Machines?

Intel Atom or even embedded solutions would be more than enough. I know people who run PfSense on embed for a small business just fine.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

If you decide not to do a home build, but get a ready made router, I would recommend one of the ubiquiti products which are incredibly flexible and a great price. e.g. http://www.ubnt.com/airrouter. I am migrating my Netgear Pro stuff to these, and am using Nanostation 2M's with great success.

 

[unsmart]

If you decide to do a build, you should consider a Linux server to host the games. I'm not a linux guy but I believe most games can be hosted on the popular distros and still not require a "monster machine" to run. If you just want a router a AM2 x2 sempron in a ATX MOBO[preferably with onboard gigabit] with 512 of ram would be cheap and over kill even if downclocked.

 

[Disparia]

Gaming with up to 4 Machines?

Intel Atom or even embedded solutions would be more than enough. I know people who run PfSense on embed for a small business just fine.

Oh yeah! Definitely.

Use to run Microsoft ISA Server on a P3 1Ghz/768MB. Connection was 15/15 and there were 25 users.

Tested it with torrents once. A new Ubuntu had just been released and we downloaded desktop and server, both x86 and x64. Handled thousands of connections all day long with ease, and they weren't even nice NIC's.