Recommendation for Gigabit router, advanced features, small form factor.

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Recommendation for Gigabit router, advanced features, small form factor.

Aaroona

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#312040 10-Mar-2024 20:33

I live in a flat, so will need to leave the main router in place. But I want to have the ability to secure and play with my side of the network, while leaving the other part untouched (flatting arrangement, and don't want to be on the hook for supporting their devices when things don't work).

Ideally I am wanting something that is/with

Full (1) gigabit routing (though more wouldn't hurt depending on price)
Has some "advanced" features (think vLAN, VPN (mainly client. server optional.), access to routing tables and advanced firewalling, etc.)
Is physically not massive, ideally with passive cooling or just *very* quiet.
Does NOT need to have wifi.
At least 2 LAN ports + 1 WAN.

I'm not not talking 100's of devices or a super long list of complex firewall rules (but I will play with a few).

This is mainly just a personal project, so not looking to spend thousands, but could possibly justify 200-300ish... obviously would prefer lower, but appreciate the gigabit and more advanced feature requirements push things up a bit.

Anyone embarked on a similar journey recently? What did you get?

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#3205154 10-Mar-2024 21:19

A Topton N100 should do what you need. That's what I've ended up with after needing to replace an edgerouter, it has been rock solid. Tho I'm not doing gigabit (900/500).

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumId=66&topicId=307078

lxsw20

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#3205182 10-Mar-2024 23:53

Grandstream GWN7003 fits the bill pretty well.

mrgsm021

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#3205210 11-Mar-2024 08:01

I am using a Mikrotik RB750Gr3, been rock solid although setting it up is a bit of learning curve although there is a general Mikrotik setup guide here on Geekzone that you could take a look: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=66&topicid=206084

ShinyChrome

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#3205213 11-Mar-2024 08:10

MikroTik routers are a great fit for what you are looking for... powerful hardware + software for a decent price

Someone else might be able to give you a better value recommendation from their range, but I think the hAP series is pretty good value for money, so I would look at the hAP ax3 as a good all round unit at the top of your price range

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3205251 11-Mar-2024 09:26

rscole86: A Topton N100 should do what you need. That's what I've ended up with after needing to replace an edgerouter, it has been rock solid. Tho I'm not doing gigabit (900/500).

There are plenty of cheap boxes on AliExpress that would meet your needs, the Topton being just one option.

Any N100 with dual Intel Ethernet ports would be worth considering IMO. The N100 is priced well and very capable... I have one, which I use to host multiple virtual machines for remote software compilation and debugging.

I just recommend buying a DIY kit to install your own RAM and SSD in, otherwise you don't know the quality of the parts you're getting. My main router is an older N4200 and it works great running pfSense.

nzkc

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#3205288 11-Mar-2024 10:27

ShinyChrome:

MikroTik routers are a great fit for what you are looking for... powerful hardware + software for a decent price

Someone else might be able to give you a better value recommendation from their range, but I think the hAP series is pretty good value for money, so I would look at the hAP ax3 as a good all round unit at the top of your price range

A +1 on the Mikrotik range. I very nearly got this but ultimately went for a RB5009 instead to have a little bit of future proof (2.5Gb port + 10Gb SFP). Whilst people will say Mikrotik has a steep learning curve I've not found that at all. Sure its not "plug and play" like a consumer router. But if you're prepared to read you'll be fine. The out of the box configuration these days is good too.

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deadlyllama

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#3205295 11-Mar-2024 11:31

What's the main motivation? Having the features, learning about routing/..., a bit of both?

I do all that & more on my NanoPI R2S running boring Debian Linux (armbian with latest kernel). With flowtables it can route gigabit. Only has two GigE ports though. There are newer boards which are faster and have more ports. This setup would be challenging if you're new at it, though. I've been using random Linux boxes as routers on and off since the dialup days :)

If you want a nicer UI, something running OpenWRT might be more to your taste. I have a bunch of Redmi AC2100 routers around the place, mostly just using them as APs now but did have one as a router for a while. OpenWRT capable hardware is affordable and all the features you're after are available. I've been running OpenWRT for decades :)

As others have said, Mikrotik is a good option too. When we first got fibre in 2013 I used a Mikrotik router. I find it fiddlier to set up than OpenWRT, the UI takes some getting used to.

My next thing to try out is the free-for-home-use Sophos firewall, which you can run on a PC or VM.

ShinyChrome

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#3205434 11-Mar-2024 15:27

nzkc:

A +1 on the Mikrotik range. I very nearly got this but ultimately went for a RB5009 instead to have a little bit of future proof (2.5Gb port + 10Gb SFP). Whilst people will say Mikrotik has a steep learning curve I've not found that at all. Sure its not "plug and play" like a consumer router. But if you're prepared to read you'll be fine. The out of the box configuration these days is good too.

Agree, I actually have both (rb5009 as a main router, hAP ax3 was meant to be a wireless bridge but got demoted to managed switch). I feel like they go far enough into homelab tinkering for the most on dedicated hardware (the only thing stopping me from going the pfsense/opnsense route)

If I didn't have the carefully engineered complexity I crave, I could have plugged the hAP into the ONT and got a flat network setup with WiFi with low/no config, much like a ISP router tbh. And from there I've found it was easy to find tutorials on the more advanced stuff

Aaroona

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#3205802 12-Mar-2024 18:40

Thanks for the suggestions, all. Keep them coming.

The TOpton with the N100 looks pretty good. I like the idea of x86 because I can pick and choose what I go with, as well the option to run some containers if I wanted to.

This is mainly a personal project. 1. to split off some network resources and secure my part of it, potentially refresh/learn some networking and otherwise a new toy to to play with.

I do like the idea of Mikrotik devices, but I will need to see how I can support it via Mac. can I configure it without Winbox?

RunningMan

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#3205805 12-Mar-2024 18:59

MikroTik - can use webfig (web based interface, looks pretty much the same as winbox) or SSH in and use CLI. No problem at all without Windows.

https://mikrotik.com/products Look in catagories ethernet routers & wifi for home/office. Suggest ARM based not MIPS. USB and decent amount of RAM useful if you want to run containers as well.

michaelmurfy

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#3205808 12-Mar-2024 19:34

WinBox also runs incredibly well in Wine (they actually worked on this) and I personally use WinBox on my M3 MacBook Pro absolutely no problems. There is actually a packaged version (with wine included) available on a GitHub repo.

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Aaroona

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#3206832 15-Mar-2024 19:19

rscole86: A Topton N100 should do what you need. That's what I've ended up with after needing to replace an edgerouter, it has been rock solid. Tho I'm not doing gigabit (900/500).

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumId=66&topicId=307078

Interesting - I am probably leaning towards this... I couldn't quite get clear on what storage options there are in this... Is it 2xM.2 slots? or 1xM.2 and 1xSATA?

My ideal config I think would have 2xM.2 and 2xMini pci-e (wifi + 4G/5G cards), but seems that config is considerably more expensive (and also not a requirement).

Also thanks for the other suggestions too - The Mikrotik stuff is interesting to me- I will play with the x86 appliance and see what its like. I got the WinBox client running no problems. But does seem to have a bit of a higher learning curve - plus won't have the flexibility of the x86 processor or 2.5Gbps ports (not an immediate problem, but thinking longevity). The wifi aspect would have been nice, but not a biggie for now.

michaelmurfy

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#3206834 15-Mar-2024 19:41

IMHO a router should be left to routing duties but on the RB5009 for example you can run Docker containers on it.

Tinkerisk

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#3206870 15-Mar-2024 23:28

Aaroona:

I live in a flat, so will need to leave the main router in place. But I want to have the ability to secure and play with my side of the network, while leaving the other part untouched (flatting arrangement, and don't want to be on the hook for supporting their devices when things don't work).

I have a mobile, private network (incl. VMs and server) in a flat small briefcase that I use with customers, in the hotel and on the road (e.g. in the camper van). Looking at your requirements, my GL-AXT1800 fulfills them right off the bat. It also has openWRT installed. It can access the Internet via WAN, WLAN or USB modem stick with data SIM or smartphone. The only thing it can't do is dial in itself via PPPoE. I paid 90€ (equal to 135 NZD) for it.

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snowfly

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#3206955 16-Mar-2024 13:26

lxsw20:
Grandstream GWN7003 fits the bill pretty well.

Also recommend the GWN7003.
I use 2 of them in different locations, OpenVPN tunnel between the two.
Good value, user friendly as well as advanced features. Big improvement on their previous gwn7000.
I've also used 2.5G sfp rj45 adapters in mine (there are 2x sfp ports).

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