Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#201

Post by ryantgtg » Wed, Dec 29, 2021, 8:49 PM UTC

Jnr wrote: post #196

ryantgtg wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the indications that you need to upgrade (aside from "device has broken")? I've been the same using an 802.11n (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) since 2014, as well as the same modem since 2014. Aside from flashing a newer version of dd-wrt every four years, I don't think about my modem/router much and I don't know what I'm missing! Speed at my house is fine for my needs - however, my coverage doesn't seem perfect (notabl…

I suspect I will upgrade when I go from 1 GbE to 100 GbE for local network. After looking at storage speeds and other things, it seemed like I should just skip 10 Gigabit altogether (cheaper to get additional faster NVMe SSD drives for local devices). And the AC wifi is completely sufficient for my needs. Upgrades won't be needed until all the ISP's finally start offering >1GbE at home. Who knows how many years it wi…

Thanks. I have a Mikrotik HAP AC2 on order to (hopefully) replace my Buffalo Airstation wzr-600dhp (an ancient N). Once that proves itself I’ll get perhaps another AC2 to act as an AP. And will also look into replacing my Arris SB6141. Baby steps.

I haven’t delved into local speeds very closely. My home “server” is simply a pi4 with a WD mounted and shared across my network. I have navidrome on the pi for music and just use the file explorer for video. I sometimes have an issue when watching vids over wifi where the band simply stops being responsive and I have to switch over to 5ghz (or the other way). It’s strange, and my assumption is usually “spectrum is suspicious of something.”

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#202

Post by dredmorbius » Thu, Dec 30, 2021, 5:38 AM UTC

NortySpock wrote: post #84

dredmorbius wrote: post #9

Any system capable of running OpenWRT. https://openwrt.org/supported_devices You might find / inquire about specific devices at the OpenWRT subreddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/openwrt/ The Turris Omnia is priced above your preferred range, but is effectively a small server and has excellent capabilities. It runs a specifically-tuned and live-upgradable version of OpenWRT: https://www.turris.com/en/omnia/overview/

I would also suggest dd-wrt as an alternative; it seemed a little easier to find a working build and I've eventually gotten used to the UI organization.

I've used dd-wrt for over a decade. Issues:

- Seems very badly out of date.

- Far more limited capabilities

- Much less clear upgrade capabilities / path.

If it works for you, then sure. I'd lean strongly to OpenWRT.

Much of my dd-wrt comments also applies to Tomato from what I've been able to sort.

dd-wrt and Tomato were built for systems as they existed a decade or two ago, notably the venerable Linksys WRT54G router. These work, but have highly constrained hardware.

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#203

Post by windexh8er » Sun, Jan 02, 2022, 6:30 PM UTC

wkearney99 wrote: post #192

windexh8er wrote: post #141

It really depends on the functionality and performance you want. Given the price range the performance side will be on the low end. I would recommend moving up your price-point (if at all possible) and buy something slightly more capable that will last, potentially, longer. Protectli [0] and Qotom [1] are popular among the OPNsense[2] / PFsense[3] / Untangle[4] firewall distros with respect to small form factor devic…

I've had a fanless Qotom running pfsense for wire-speed (gigE) routing for several years. Set-and-forget, no moving parts. The wifi runs separately, using Unifi atm.

Exactly. I've got both units running in different locations for different (personal) networks. I'd say the quality of the Protecti unit is a bit higher where as you get a bit more for your money in terms of hardware with the Qotom. I was leery of both at first but so far no problems with either brand.