Best router for home use?
Best router for home use?
I am planning to eventually build my own home server, and when I do I will hook it up via ethernet. But I do want to switch away from the generic FIOS router and use my own for more control over my data and security. Any recommendations?
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Everyone has some great recommendations. I didn't see anything about Ubiquiti so I'll throw it out there since I've had a good experience with them. The Dream Machine is for home/small office setups and is fairly inexpensive for what it does: https://store.ui.com/us/en/collections/unifi-dream-router.
Edit: it's now the dream router. They changed the name it seems.
This is interesting, I hadn't seen this from them before and I'm in the market for a new router! Does this play nicely with additional access points?
They work with existing Ubiquiti AP's no problem. I have the Dream Machine (I guess Dream router now) and it's awesome. Wish I got the Dream Machine Pro which is switch-like and comes with no AP's so you have to add them as needed and it supports cameras.
They don't supply PoE, mind.
I'm planning an ubiquiti deployment:
- 5-6x AP 6 Pro (haven't done survey yet)
- 1x TL-SG1016PE PoE switch (yuck, but cheap)
- 1x R86S running opnsense and docker VMs, with unifi controller and pihole in docker
The R86S is the same price as the dream machine, but good luck running pihole on the DM.
I considered Mikrotik, but my mum would have to call me every time there was an issue, and it would only be marginally cheaper. I expect any competent local tech to be able to support unifi and opnsense.
I have an older version but I think they all work pretty much the same. It should work fine for you depending on the brand/voltage of the APs you have currently.
I have a couple Asus CT8's that are dying on me, so I'd like to see if I can turn them in to AP's. While I'd eventually like to get on to an OpnSense box I need a near term solution (as that will be a steep learning curve for me).
Is there a resource available that documents compatability?
I'd say they should work fine if you can disable the routing and have them act just like WiFi access points. Then connect the LAN ports to the Ubiquiti and you should be good. That said, I'm not familiar with those devices so take this as you will.
The only compatibility issues I was thinking about was PoE-related mainly but those look like they need their own power supplies. Ubiquiti used to push a nonstandard PoE spec with some of their APs but I don't think that's the case anymore.
I wish they had more 2.5G or even SPF+ options in this range. I'm lucky enough to have a >1gigabit home connection but router options are surprisingly limited if I want that full connection speed going to my server
They do have the XG series. I actually have a SW-16-XG for the backplane on my server for my SAN. Local access 10G using SFP+ ports are definitely doable if you don't need to cross any VLANs or do any routing.
I haven't used one personally but the cheapest they have is the Flex-XG switch it seems, which seems pretty cheap for 10G.
Yeah if it was just a switch I'd be fine, but for gateway/firewall options it's a bit of a bugger unless I want a 1U device
Ohh, sorry I misread your comment. Yeah, 2.5G WAN is a little trickier unless you go with something enterprise grade it seems.
My only complaint is that coming from a networking background, Ubiquity's OS is awful and makes me want to gouge my eyeballs out. Navigating the interface to find settings makes no sense, it's not very granular in how you can configure certain filtering settings, dual wan setups are difficult to manually change over, and good luck looking at logs to troubleshoot any traffic flow issues (hint: you can't).
For someone who just needs a firewall and a VPN endpoint, it's great. If you need anything more than that, get opnsense/pfsense. Pairing one of those with Ubiquity APs (which are actually pretty terrific) is a really solid setup.
I’ve considered upgrading to a dream machine. I’m still rocking an old USG
I just retired an Edgerouter lite for a UDM Pro. Finally happy with it after moving on to the 3.x firmware.
Glad to hear it. I went from edge router to usg and haven’t seen anything since to move to. After all the problems I was hearing about UDM I didn’t end up trying it