Cheap home router hardware recommendation reddit / BSD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-25 15:23 Hey there, After reading [this](http://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/OpenBSD-on- ERL) article I got interested in replacing my current TPLink thingy at home. And I'm curious if anyone can suggest me a hardware for no more than 100$ that is better than the Ubiquiti machine mentioned in the above post and is suitable for routing and firewall purposes? Any advice appreciated! Thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BumpitySnook · 2015-08-25 16:21 Do you just want a home router that's fit for routing and firewall, or do you want to run OpenBSD on it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- moosepile · 2015-08-25 17:38 I can't look up pricing for you, but if you decide it's your thing I will say I've rarely met a SuperMicro that didn't "just work" with OpenBSD. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-25 18:26 sorry if I wasn't clear. I want to run OpenBSD on it,yes. And I'm just wondering if there are better options out there than the Ubiquiti Edgerouter. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-25 18:29 thanks for the tip, though I don't think a DIY SuperMicro server will fit into my budget (100, max 150€) and honestly I'm not sure if I even want to spend more than that for my home network. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mrpippy · 2015-08-25 18:32 tedu did a review of a no-name Atom box with 2 NICs last year. It's $130 though, and you'll need to add RAM and storage (although those should both be very cheap) http://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/new-home-router ---------------------------------------------------------------------- rhavenn · 2015-08-25 19:40 For $100 I think you're kind of SOL. Some of the ARM devices (BeagleBone, etc...) might work, but you're looking for a more general purpose piece of hardware and can't get the cost efficiency and economies of scale that a vendor can get. These look slick and even have install instructions for OpenBSD / FreeBSD: [Netgate RCC-DFF 2220](http://store.netgate.com/ADI/RCC- DFF-2220.aspx) , but they'll run you $275. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MrGeekAlive · 2015-08-25 20:58 tedu@ just did a blog post on a 90$ router that supports OpenBSD: http://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/OpenBSD-on-ERL The router in question: http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-EdgeMax- EdgeRouter-ERLite-3-Ethernet/dp/B00CPRVF5K I have been hesitating to pick one for myself, they look pretty sweet. edit: lol did not see that you posted the link in your post. Why isn't that OK for you ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- veritasserum · 2015-08-25 23:07 RaspberryPi - I set it up as a wifi router on Raspbian but it also runs FreeBSD. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtualization_Freak · 2015-08-26 00:35 >Size, Speed, Cost. Pick two. Is size a factor? $50 PC off craigslist that's dual core. Drop in a $30 dual gigabit nic. Done. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtualization_Freak · 2015-08-26 00:38 I think [this](http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Ubuntu-Qotom-Barebone- C1037u/dp/B00ZFEQSX4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440597206&sr=8- 2&keywords=dual+nic+pc) is reasonably the closest BNIB x86 based PC you'll get to $100 that has dual nic built in. It's still $134. Here's a [similiar model](http://www.amazon.com/Celeron-Fanless- Barebone-Industrial-Support/dp/B010OZF01E/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid= 1440597233&sr=1-6&keywords=dual+nic+pc) from a different manufacturer that also has wifi. No HDD/RAM. $129. Edit: Fixed the link. However I just realized that model is "barebones" so no ram/hdd. You'd have to source your own. (Although 2gb sodimms are plentiful around here. I'll ship you one for free.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Navigium · 2015-08-26 03:15 It's closer to 150$ than 100$, but a PC Engines APU might be an option. I run this board as a router on OpenBSD. http://www.pcengines.ch/apu.htm It gets a bit warm and uses 12W, but works ok. I don't know what the shipping costs to your place are, though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 08:08 Thanks, this Netgate looks great, but sadly is out of my reach currently. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 08:09 Size and cost, so standard PCs are out of question now, because they aren't that cost efficient and kind of large. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 08:11 Thanks, somehow this escaped my attention, though it's on the same blog. Not sure about the Atom D2550 if it's worth to invest into nowadays. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 08:12 I think there are better suited devices out there than the RPi, but thanks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 08:13 Can you fix the link? I'm curious about this one. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 08:15 APU might be my another option, there is a reseller here in Hungary so getting it should be easy. Can you tell me your experiences so far? And how long have you been using it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 08:16 I'm never said it's not OK, I'm just want to know what are the other options for the same price, that's it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- veritasserum · 2015-08-26 13:57 There are, but they are much more expensive. For a "home router" application, the Pi works fine, though I wouldn't use it for gaming ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtualization_Freak · 2015-08-26 13:58 Done. Sorry about that! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtualization_Freak · 2015-08-26 14:18 >because they aren't that cost efficient You say that, but I don't think you've done the math. Assuming we need dual gigabit and a *pc.* * [Dual gigabit NIC](http://www.ebay.com/itm/NetApp-106-00048-A0-Intel-Pro-1000-PT- Dual-Gigabit-PCIe-Server-Adapter-/371419051786?hash=item567a4cf70a) made by Intel. $15 shipped. These are the bread and butter of dual port Intel nics. * [Dell Optiplex 755](http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002H9RL5 O/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1440597906&sr=1-2).$62 shipped. 1.8ghz dual core, 2gb, 80gb hdd. Old enterprise workhorse that's most likely off lease. You can find these (or similar) pc's by the pallet on your local craigslist. Convince your family member to upgrade and you can get one for free. I have about 10 of them in my garage... So that brings the total for $$77 usd. Let's assume you get that qotor for $134 and get the rest of the parts for free. That leaves us with a $57 cost difference. This specific [Dell Optiplex 755](http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2255115,00.asp) was built around energy efficiency, and uses about 50 watts (plus it had a faster CPU, so the 1.8ghz model will consume less.) Dell: 50w X 24 hours X 365 x 9 cents/kWh = $40. Qotom: 10w X 24 hours X 365 x 9 cents/kWh = $8. I assume 10watts, as I couldn't get a solid number. It would take nearly 1.5 years before the Dell costs more to run than the Qotom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 15:35 Hmm, you are right, maybe this is a better route after all and I have some spare parts too. Sadly we don't have craigslist here, but I'm sure I can find a used one. But one more thing I'm worried about is that those are desktop PCs designed for desktop usage. You never know how can it handle the 24x7x365 runtime, although buying new parts for repair should cheap as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtualization_Freak · 2015-08-26 15:58 Where do you live? Australia has gumtree, Canada has Kijijii, etc. You might be able to find a pc close to you in /r/hardwareswap, /r/HardwareSwapEU, etc... >But one more thing I'm worried about is that those are desktop PCs designed for desktop usage. You never know how can it handle the 24x7x365 runtime, After working in the enterprise, I can tell you that these last running 24/7/365. (Hell, my own computer never gets turned off at home.) Our old shop computers hit the 10 year mark (pentium 4 era machines from the early 2000's) before I finally replaced them. Most had the original hard drives. The computers designed to be used for office use are literal workhorses. Dell/HP/ETC doesn't want them to fail, as it would mean sending out a tech to fix them as most new pcs come with a 3 year warranty, plus you can buy longer warranties. On the flip side, companies don't want machines to fail, so the major OEMs build them to be durable. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-26 18:29 Hungary, but I can manage it, we have particular sites for those kind of used hardware. Oh and I almost forgot that my parents have a HP DC7700 machine, which is similar to DELL you linked and currently serves as a dust catcher. So I just buy an Intel NIC and ready to go. Thanks for your help! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- p4p3r · 2015-08-27 02:49 There is a decent chance your tplink will run openwrt. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Navigium · 2015-08-27 05:17 I've only been using it 7-8 months. It works well but could use a bit less power. At first I had a problem with routing speed. But I think that was OpenBSDs problem. The WAN-Port auto-negotiated to 100mbit and the internal ports were set to 1Gbit. Now that everything is set to 1Gbit, I get a reasonable throughput. Another thing to note is that you have to buy it with the case since the case doubles as heat dispenser. I read somewhere that the black case gets a little less warm than the others since it emits more heat. If you plan to run the OS from a SD card it might be a good idea to configure it to write temporary files only to ram disks. Otherwise your SD will probably die within a year. I run OpenBSD from a mSATA SSD. Let me know if you need any other info. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- johnklos · 2015-08-27 17:13 You don't really qualify what you mean by "better". If you have 100 Mbps of Internet, then something with real gigabit ethernet ports, like the Ubiquity, is best. If you have 50 or less Mbps and price is an important factor, then you can easily use a Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black with a USB-ethernet adapter to do NAT / firewalling without any bottlenecks. If price is REALLY an issue, you can get a PogoPlug and run NetBSD on it (not sure about OpenBSD). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bsdfaggot · 2015-08-27 18:43 Depending on your connection the ERL is limited because OpenBSD does not support the on board hardware packet accelerator. I couldn't get more than 65-70Mbps with pf + NAT on it. Maybe this will change in the future, I am not sure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-28 16:03 Thanks for the detailed answer! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-08-28 16:04 Last time I checked it was not supported, but I don't want openwrt anyway, so... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- smileybone · 2015-08-31 19:36 My next build is def gonna be using one of the super micro mobos w embedded atom cpu and 7 Intel nics. Overkill is best kill. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sirdond · 2015-09-06 15:18 So I ended with the DC7700 and bought a PCIe NIC into it . I edited the original post, if you are curious about a little more details, and thanks again for the suggestion! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtualization_Freak · 2015-09-06 17:01 That's awesome! Glad to see it all turned out.